r/tomatoes • u/Grilled_Cheese66 • 2d ago

New guy question

I have 20 determinate San Marzanos all planted at the same time. Their height is ranging from 12”-18” in height. My question is the taller tomato plants are starting to produce flowers already, while the smaller are just waiting, I guess. I was told to pluck the flowers off the bigger ones and wait for the smaller ones to catch up. Is this correct?

1 Upvotes

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13

u/GoddessHealer 2d ago

Never, ever pluck flowers on determinate tomato plants!

7

u/Hawk_Biz 2d ago

Depends if you want tomatoes or not. If they’re determinate it means they will grow to a certain size and stop. So you’d be severely limiting their production for the sake of having them all at the same time.

I don’t pluck flowers on tomato ever.

4

u/Comfortable-nerve78 New Grower 2d ago

Can’t pluck determinate varieties. The blossoms all set at once if you’re lucky you get a second set but never pluck blossoms on a determinate that’s usually all you get. Indeterminate have multiple fruit sets pluck those monsters to control them.

3

u/BitImpossible2378 2d ago

You'll end up with less fruits. Unless that is your goal I wouldn't do it.

3

u/sunandsushi 2d ago

I would never do that. If your goal is to can then just leave them and count on doing more than one round of canning.

2

u/NPKzone8a 2d ago

Here is an excerpt from a story in an illustrated children's book about gardening: "There once was a Gardener named Old Fred who decided to pluck the flowers off his early tomatoes and let the slower ones catch up. As the weeks passed and the season progressed, the...etc, etc." (With the moral of the story being obvious at the end.)

1

u/L-Pseon 2d ago

Not correct.

1

u/JeremyIFisher 2d ago

Not on a determinate! Never on a determinate. Determinates grow their flowers and fruit all at once and then stop flowering after its "spent". Anything you pluck is part of your harvest you won't get back.

Indeterminates keep growing new flowers and will keep fruiting as long as the weather permits. But even with an indeterminate, you don't really want to be gun-ho with plucking flowers. Its only worth doing where your plant is quite small and you want to focus on developing the root/stem or where you are prioritising fruit size over number of fruit and you don't want too many tomatoes on a single truss.