I would probably just call this care ! But as our original author termed it after-care, I shall as well. We are in side shoot removing, and feeding territory here. The feeding part now made shamefully easy by the introduction of ready-mixed specialist feeds.
As soon as the tomato plants are firmly established, they will start producing side shoots in the axil of each leaf. As I have already explained, if these side shoots are allowed to develop, the plant will soon become a bushy mass of vegetation, with the leaves robbing the fruit of nourishment and shading them from sunlight. They should therefore be rubbed off or pinched out when they are still quite small.
If the plants have been well grown, the first truss of flowers should be produced before they are a foot high and thereafter another truss should appear at every second or third joint. Until the first and second trusses of flowers have “set”, no extra feeding should be given to the plants.
The following conditions promote a good “set”:
- A uniformly moist soil.
- A moist atmosphere when the flowers are open.
- A night temperature of not less than 55F.
To encourage pollination, the main stem fo the plant or the support to which it is secured should be given a sharp tap with the finger each morning when the flowers are open. This will help to carry the pollen from the male to the female parts of the flowers.
Once the second truss is “set” and commencing to swell, the plant can be assisted in carrying its extra burden by periodical top-dressings or feedings. A compost mixed from three bucketsful of loamy soil, half a bucket each of well-rotted manure and clean grit, with a tablespoonful of sulphate of potash and a dessertspoonful of superphosphate of lime will make a good top-dressing for plants in pots, or those in beds built up on the greenhouse staging. Water the plants an hour or two before top-dressing; add only an inch or two of top-dressing at a time; ram it down reasonably firm with a blunt rammer, and finally give another good watering.
With the feeding of all plants, ” little and often” is far better than one big feed. The idea is merely to maintain the plant in steady, healthy growth, in spite of the extra load it is having to carry. If it is overfed and a more rapid growth impulse is started it is highly probable that it will “run past” the upper trusses or the flowers will drop while still in the bud stage.
The decision as to how many trusses of a fruit a plant should carry is largely a matter of discretion. Indoor tomatoes, which are “started” earlier and therefore reach maturity sooner, can carry and ripen a heavier crop than those grown outdoors. My own experience, however, has shown me that it does not pay to be too greedy, and if five or six good trusses are set and swelling nicely, I nip off the growing point of the main stem at the second joint above the top truss, leaving the side shoot immediately above the top truss to grow on as a secondary main stem.
So long as the foliage keeps green and healthy I am all against removing it, but if it gets so dense that the lower trusses are heavily shaded, then I advise you to remove one or two of the bottom leaves from time to time in order to give the sunlight full access to the ripening fruit.
Ah – a point of difference in the after-care approach! Whilst Mr. C is all against foliage removal – I am all for – or perhaps more accurately- once I start I just don’t seem to be able to stop snipping – perhaps I should have been given poodles not tomatoes to care for !
