By skinning the tomatoes, you will ensure a rich harvest and healthy plants in the years to come.
But how does it work?
In fact, getting it right depends on a number of factors.
There are not only differences in the location, but also in the tomato variety to be removed, the nutrients or the weather.
Some varieties are even not maxed out at all.
Skimming tomatoes: this way your harvest will be rich and the plants healthy
When one speaks of pricking out,
what
is meant
is the
removal of the so-called "axillary drive"
.
So the shoot that grows between the main shoot and the leaf in the axilla.
But it also means removing the side shoots.
Depending on whether you want to raise your tomato with one, two or three shoots, you remove all the others.
If you overlook a stinginess and it gets quite large before you remove it, you can put it in water.
There it then roots and thus forms a new tomato plant.
If you do this early enough, you have great reserve plants in case the brown rot, late blight or other diseases strike.
But you can also prevent this disease with skimmed milk and water, as
kraut & beet
reported.
Gardening advisor
You can find more exciting gardening topics at 24garten.de *.
Skimming tomatoes: under what circumstances and how must they be skimmed?
When skimming, it depends very much on the environment in which the tomatoes are located.
For example, tomatoes in the pot usually develop fewer stinging shoots.
In the greenhouse or in the polytunnels, it has to be exhausted more often.
If the
location has
less air circulation and perhaps the tomato plants there are also sweating, there should also be more air between the leaves.
The narrower the space between the plants, the more thoroughly it has to be maxed out.
In addition, no matter where the tomato is located, it is important to remove all leaves that are close to the earth, as these increase the risk of disease.
But there are also
varieties of tomatoes
, which should not be ausgegeizt:
Bush tomatoes
Vine tomatoes
Wild tomatoes
Hanging tomatoes
Balcony tomatoes
Currant tomatoes
Skimming tomatoes: when is the right time?
Basically, you should
choose
dry and airy days
that are as warm as possible.
Because what one must not forget, with pruning, you inflict a wound on the plant that has to heal and until it has done this, the wound is prone to pests and diseases.
Nevertheless, you should not hesitate too long, because the greater the curiosity, the bigger the wound is of course.
In addition, the energy that is needed in the fruit is lost as the drive grows.
Because if there are too many stinging shoots, the tomatoes will be smaller and some of them will not ripen properly at all.
But what is the right tool for this?
In short: the fingers.
The reason for this is very simple: knives and scissors leave very straight wounds that don't heal as quickly.
If you snap off the axillary drives with your fingernails, the wound is kept within limits and heals faster.
Also interesting
: you have to pay attention to these things when pricking the tomatoes.
Tomatoes maxed out: This is where opinions differ
Most tomato fans will probably agree on this. Although some swear by leaving the tomato in its natural shape and not exhausting it at all. If you have enough space, you can do this, but the tomatoes then need enough distance from each other. But there is also a point where each of us probably has our own opinion. Namely, whether the leaves are also thinned out. However, all sides have valid arguments.
While some make the coherent objection that they want to harvest tomatoes and not tomato leaves, others talk about the
protection of the fruit from sunburn
, which is achieved by a dense canopy. The argument that it takes the leaves to ripen properly is also true. Because if you have thinned out too much, it can lead to the so-called green collar. The top half of the tomato does not ripen, but remains green.
Basically, the tomato plant shows you whether you should remove the leaves if you handle it carefully.
For example, if the leaves can no longer dry off, they should be thinned out.
If the leaves curl up after watering, then too many leaves have been removed and the plant should be given time to grow new ones.
* 24garten.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
Don't want to miss any tips about gardens and household chores?
Here you can subscribe to our living guide
Also read
: How to easily grow tomatoes on the windowsill.
These ten mistakes can ruin your garden
These ten mistakes can ruin your garden
List of rubric lists: © Bernd Jürgens / Imago