Cutting out tomatoes: How to remove the leaves correctly

Pinching tomato plants is a contentious issue among gardeners. We reveal when it makes sense to pinch your tomatoes and how to do it correctly.

Rarely does a topic divide tomato lovers as much as cutting out the side shoots. Some advocate consistent austerity, always and with every plant, others simply let their tomatoes grow wild. In this article, we want to show you that stinging is not just a question of faith, but has real advantages and disadvantages. We explain how the stingy shoots develop and explain step by step the correct procedure for stinging.

Do you have to pinch tomatoes?

Whether or not you have to pinch tomatoes depends on the variety, the location and the space available. We will therefore show you in detail which plants should be trimmed and why.

Do you have to eat all the tomatoes?

The simple answer is no. Basically, only tomatoes that make sense should be trimmed. The side shoots should be removed from all large-fruited tomato varieties such as ox heart and beefsteak tomatoes. Even with medium-sized stick tomatoes, a maximum of two to three shoots, including the main shoot, are left standing.

Which tomatoes shouldn't be eaten?

Weak-growing bush tomatoes and wild tomatoes are not exhausted at all. They bear flowers on all side shoots and thus fruit again. The yield is highest without pinching. The small-fruited cocktail and cherry tomatoes can either be allowed to proliferate or you can pull them with several shoots. So with these tomatoes, pinching them is optional.

How do the many side shoots come about?

Wild tomatoes from South America grow and proliferate naturally from all leaf axils, because they lie on the ground and over time form a multi-branched bush. Our cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) was created from the ranks of these diverse wild tomatoes (solanum sp.) selected, but still bears strong resemblances to their wild relatives. In addition, tomatoes that have been planted in corners that are too dark or have been fertilized too heavily with nitrogen tend to develop side shoots more and less to flower. The planting site should therefore be flooded with light as much as possible in order to get more fruit instead of side shoots. You can prevent excessive nitrogen supply with balanced, primarily organic organic fertilizers with a long-term effect such as ours Plantura organic tomato fertilizer. The even and long-term release of the nutrients does not result in a shortage or excess, but rather provides the tomato plant with a balanced and soil-friendly way.

Benefits of pinching tomatoes

Skimming tomatoes brings a number of benefits. First of all, with beefsteak tomatoes, you prevent the side shoots from attaching heavy, large fruits that they cannot carry at all, so that they tear off or bend over. The quality of the fruit is then usually better, they taste more aromatic because the plant has to supply less fruit. It also encourages the plant to focus more on fruiting and stem growth straight up. The plants are therefore longer, remain narrow and take up less space. Another advantage is that the plants with fewer side shoots or without them are more airy and dry better after rain. This makes it harder for fungal diseases to spread.

Tip: You can make a strengthening tomato manure from the side shoots that have been sucked out, with which the plants are then watered. The production and fertilization takes place as in nettle manure in the ratio of 1:20.

All advantages at a glance:

• Prevents the thinner side shoots from snapping and tearing off large tomatoes
• The quality of the fruit is usually better
• Plants are stimulated to grow in length and the fruiting of the other shoots
• Less space required in width and better aeration of the plants
• Broken shoots can be fermented into plant-strengthening tomato manure

Disadvantages of pinching tomatoes

But of course there are not only advantages, otherwise the topic would not be so controversial. First of all, you should only max out when it makes sense - and it is not always that. Cropped plants tend to grow longer, they grow very tall and are not very stable. A light gust of wind can knock them over or snap them off. That is why dead tomatoes must always be well supported or tied.
A major disadvantage is that when the plant is pruned, wounds are inflicted, which are portals of entry for pathogens. This means stress for the tomato plants, because they have to close the wounds quickly and fight any pathogens. In addition, regular pinching means a lot of time and has to be repeated about every two weeks, depending on the vigor of the varieties. For beginners among tomato growers, it is not so easy to distinguish between the shoot tip and side shoots at the beginning. There is a risk here that the fruit-bearing tip will be removed and the plant will have to switch to the more unstable side shoot.

The disadvantages of cutting out tomatoes at a glance:

• Not useful for every type of tomato
• Binding and supports are mandatory as the plants are unstable
• Squeezing leaves wounds and facilitates the entry of pathogens
• Ausgeizen is time-consuming and must be repeated regularly about every two to three weeks
• It is difficult for beginners to distinguish between the main shoot and the side shoot

Instructions for tomato cutting

The best time to start pinching depends on the planting date. Ideally, you should start trimming immediately after planting, i.e. early May in the greenhouse or mid-May outdoors, and end in autumn.
It is best to trim your tomatoes in the morning, because the wounds dry quickly during the day. Wear gloves when doing this, as tomato shoots leave sticky green stains on hands.

How do you distinguish the stingy shoots from the main shoots? The stinging shoots of tomatoes always develop in the leaf axils of already large leaves. They grow at a 45 degree angle away from the main shoot and are still thin and springy. If you check all the leaf axils of the tomato plant from top to bottom, you won't miss a single one. These side shoots are removed, doing so either low down on the stem with fingernails between thumbs and index finger, or better yet, with a sharp knife or clean pruning shears cut off. Make sure that the cut is smooth and that the main shoot is not damaged. Small shoots can also be broken out, as they can easily be detached from the leaf axils in which they are located.

Tip: When watering, make sure that the wounds do not get wet in the first few days after degrowing, otherwise the risk of infection increases.

Summary of tomato squeezing:

• Squeezing out in the morning allows the wounds to dry well during the day
• Use gloves to avoid green stains
• Check all leaf axils from top to bottom
• Break off or snap off small side shoots with your fingers, it is better to cut off larger ones
• Keep sores dry when watering
• Repeat about every two weeks, depending on growth

Chop different tomatoes properly

Cut out the cocktail tomatoes

Cocktail tomatoes form small fruits and therefore only need to be desiccated to a limited extent. Because the side shoots usually form flowers and fruits quickly, which can also be carried well by the thinner side shoots. However, in order not to get an inscrutable and poorly ventilated plant, it is worth removing a few shoots. With the cocktail tomato, if there is enough space, two to three lower side shoots are left next to the main shoot. It is therefore brought up with multiple shoots. These shoots develop flowers and fruits, all higher lying stinging shoots along the main shoot are removed.

Pinch out the bush tomatoes

Bush tomatoes should never be exhausted! The practical bush tomatoes usually only reach a maximum height of one meter. They branch out profusely and bear fruit on the side shoots. If you pinch off the side shoots, you'll take out much of the fruit that plant would have borne with it.

Pinch out the stick and beefsteak tomatoes

When it comes to medium-sized stick tomatoes and beefsteak tomatoes, which weigh up to more than a kilogram, there are very different opinions on the merits. Stick tomatoes can usually be grown with one or two low-lying side shoots without any problems; all side shoots above are consistently removed. The lower shoots give the plant stability, where they also bear fruit. With beefsteak tomatoes, on the other hand, you leave at most one side shoot next to the main shoot and tie both well. Alternatively, you can consistently remove all stinging shoots and only let the main shoot grow upwards. Otherwise, the heavy fruits overwhelm many thin side shoots and snap off easily.

Valuable Tips for the perfect tomato in your garden, can be found in our special article.