Tomato plants grown in the right conditions will produce big, fat, juicy pieces of fruit to last you all summer.
But there’s one tip that will help make your tomatoes grow bigger and faster.
Taking to TikTok to share his trick for growing tomatoes, Armen Adamjan (@creative_explained) says cutting the suckers off will make a massive difference to your harvest.
The secret to growing good tomatoes
“If you want your tomato plants to grow bigger and faster, you have to prune off the suckers,” Armen says in his video.
“They grow in between leaf nodes,” he says. “Grab some sharp scissors and clip them off.”
But don’t throw them out. Armen says you can create a whole new tomato plant with the suckers.
“Make sure not to throw them out. Stick them in a glass of water,” he says. “What’s going to happen is they will develop roots, and you’ll have a whole new tomato plant.”
“So every time you see a sucker growing between the main stem and a leaf – chop it off and see how much faster you will have tomatoes.”
Watch the video here.
Armen’s fans loved this tip.
“I love all your info,” one person commented. “Being that I’ve got my first veggie garden going I’ve learned so much from you. Thank you.”
Others added tips of their own.
“I just pinch them,” one person said.
Another wise gardener explained this will only work for indeterminate plants.
“Tomatoes come in 2 varieties: determinate and indeterminate. Determinate plants have a set growth size, and indeterminate will grow and grow and grow.”
Additionally, determinate tomatoes tend to ripen their fruit earliest, often all at once. While indeterminate, tomatoes will continue to grow until weather conditions are no longer favourable.
Popular tomato varieties
Australia is home to a wide variety of tomatoes. The most popular are:
- Cherries, grapes: small red and yellow fruits. They add a pop of colour and flavour to salads. Most varieties are indeterminate.
- Plum: red, round and medium-sized fruit. They are great in sandwiches. Most plum varieties are determinate.
- Heirloom: large colourful fruit that is perfect in salads and roasted. Most heirloom varieties are indeterminate.
- Roma: are the size and shape of an egg. They’re ideal for cooking or stuffing and are determinate.
- Beefsteak: the biggest in the tomato family. Beefsteak tomatoes are indeterminate.
What makes tomatoes grow the best?
- Tomatoes love the heat, so plant them in early spring.
- Tomatoes love a good quality soil with ideally a pH of 6.5-6.7.
- You can grow tomatoes in containers, pots, hanging baskets, and raised garden beds just in the ground. Read everything you need to know about growing tomatoes in containers.
- Indeterminate tomato varieties will take over your garden if you let them. To keep them at bay, pinch off side shoots using your fingers and encourage one or two stems to continue growing. For more, read our complete guide on training tomatoes.
- For the best results, fertilise your tomatoes every two to three weeks.
- To keep pests away, plant tomatoes with garlic, onions and chives.
Why aren’t my tomatoes producing fruit?
There are a couple of reasons why your tomato plant is not fruiting.
- Insufficient light
- Too little or irregular watering
- Cold conditions
You might also like:
How to create a small water-wise vegetable patch
The best time of day to water vegetables
How to plan a vegetable garden
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