Grow tomatoes, not leaves: using the best is a must for a bountiful harvest

Created: 05/21/2022, 14:54

By: Joana Lück

Every gardener wishes for aromatic fruits that taste like summer.

With the right stinging, this is not wishful thinking.

Hamburg – Tomatoes are one of the most popular nightshade plants.

And rightly so, because the fruits are incredibly versatile and vary in colour, taste and requirements.

However, all varieties have in common that they thrive more magnificently when the plants are pinched.

Grow tomatoes, not leaves: using the best is a must for a bountiful harvest

Annoying but necessary: ​​cut out tomatoes.

(Iconic image) © Stock&people/Imago

Even if it is annoying - the pinching prevents too much leaf and shoot mass from forming.

These in turn disrupt the growth of the plant.

The aroma of the tomatoes can also suffer as nutrients and water do not migrate into the fruit but into the leaves of the plant.

According to the Norddeutscher Rundfunk ("NDR"), pinching also means that the plant develops better, the lower fruits get more light and thus ripen faster.

According to the NDR, diseases do not spread as quickly in the tomatoes either, because the plant dries faster.

This is how you proceed when squeezing:

• According to the NDR, all leaves can be removed, especially below the first infructescence.

  This is only necessary for stick tomatoes, not for wild or bush tomatoes.

• While stinging shoots that grow between the leaf axils and the main shoot are broken out with your fingers, the foliage is cut off.

  Here you go from bottom to top, often up to the first panicle and with a few centimeters distance to the main shoot. 

• In the case of robust leaf stalks, it is essential to use a sharp knife when pruning, as tearing off the main stem could cause cracks.

• Existing inflorescences can also be cut off in late summer. 

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There should not be too many leaves on the plant, especially at the bottom, because these low-lying leaves are guaranteed to get wet when watering or from evaporating water.

If the weather is still warm and humid, it is easy for pathogens to settle here.