Stressing Tomato Plants to Force Fruiting
Tips, Tricks
For many of us with aquaponic gardens, the issue is not how big can the tomato plant grow so much as can I get fruit from it? In my watching, reading and asking about tomatoes this year one trick seemed to be somewhat consistent among the more advanced gardeners. Much like it helps to remove the suckers from the lower part of the tomato plant if you want to keep it controlled, there is a trick for encouraging the tomato plant to fruit. However, it seems like it would do more damage than anything else ... but it's exactly what I've been doing to this plant and I feel that tomato speaks for itself. There are a couple of different things that will sprout out of the stem of your tomato plant as it grows and they are all useful. More or less. The large leaf stems that sprout out before the suckers are produced are the victims of this pruning session. While they are needed by the plant to produce the sugars for the fruit we all desire, they can still be cut to our advantage. When they are cut back to 3 or 4 individual leaves on the sun leaf the plant will change how it produces its new growth. Basically the plant is tricked into a state of stress which seems to make it want to produce fruit. At least, it's working like a charm on this tomato plant. Please comment below if you have any tricks for making your tomatoes more fruitful and feel free to include any links. (I'll rescue them from the spam filter ... even if it takes a day or so!) Thanks for watching!
Comments
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Nooooooooo SHIT!
I had some really nice 6 ft stalks that I grew from seeds yet not a single tomato. -
I am going to try this..both my plants are lush n green but the blossoms dry out :(.. I so want to see some tomatoes lol..
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P D Same for me, beefsteak has not fruited yet and leaves are curling. Think it's due to the excess rain and lack of strong sunshine we had in June. Gonna try this method. If all else fails I have my 3 cloned beefsteaks from suckers on the go for autumn
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All my plants are doing well this year but my Beefsteak. It is strong, green and healthy but no fruit. I will try this method. What causes the leaves to curl a little? Great video!
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I tried the recommendations in this video. well.. .it seems to be working on my 14 tomatoe plants. that been in the ground for 5 weeks here in Dallas. indeed, I have heard the pitch that non-flowering plants are caused by excess nitrogen. perhaps so....but putting the stress on with modest stem trimming, as shown in this video, seems to be working.
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once you get the fruit set commercial producers cut the top's off the vigor and even some times cut the end of the flower cluster to ripen the other fruit at the same rate. and depending on the sale of the tomato if its in sauces they do that if its in the grocery store instead of cutting the end flowers they will spray them with a fruit setting spray probably something consisting of ethaline. but as a hydroponics/aquaponics you can try both techniques I'm sure both will find great results!
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I'm confused..as a noob. I'm growing hydroponically. My seed packet says "80 days to harvest."
I started the plant from seed on 12/27/15. It's now 90 days and I don't even have flowers!
Do I want to use this same stress technique?
The plant itself is great, and growing several inches/day. -
i like the way you put it, "like some wild animal has been eating it so it is survival of the species" i knew it helps concentrate the growth of the fruit, but what a nice way to remember it.
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I've heard of plants that did not bear much fruit ... I had one last year that after producing about 3 big yellow beefsteak type tomatoes, the best I ever ate, did not produce any more friuit ... BUT, can you do something to prove that ... follow up on it, or show the branches that you just trimmed in a few weeks? I don't really know if that would work or not ... I need proof.
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Thanks JT! Another method is to reduce the amount if lightspan making it think that winter is coming and forcinf it to fruit and reproduce. From seed to fruit, how long did it took you?
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Im going to have to try that. Although I am getting lots of flowers just no fruit.
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Keep me posted JT with vid updates. I'm totally into tryiing new stuff like this. For instance, I'm cutting off squash leaves and growing vertically. I'm hoping to send it running upwards and at the same time, contain the overall size.
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thank you jt! just what i needed to know! i have my pruners and i'm ready to go cut those suckers. love homegrown tomatoes. i greatly appreciate it!
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Good advice. I know too from experience that it works.
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So that's why I have a all these maters!?
...my noobness has stressed them pretty good. XD -
Thanks for posting! Great idea, I may want to try that this winter.
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i used to do that to some other plant lol
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I will try it, right now I have lot of foliage and no tomatoes, hope this stress my tomatoes into fruiting. Thanks
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