Check your varieties, you don’t need to side shoot some types.
Tall types often called cordon will grow over 2 metres, 6 foot plus, they are used by commercial growers, by the end of the season they can be over 6 metres long. The fruit shape can be large like a beefsteak, medium, like a supermarket tomato or small often called cherry types. There is also a wide range of mini plum types.
These need to be side shooted
Some well known varieties are
Beef – Big boy, Beef steak & Black russian
Medium – Moneymaker, Shirley, Alicante, Golden sunrise & Tigerella.
Cherry – Gardeners delight, Sungold & Sweet million.
Mini plum -Rosada, Trilly & Tomato berry.
First identify your side shoots highlighted by the white circles
They always develop between the leaves and the stem, they vary in size from tiny to quite large. It is easier to remove small side shoots with your fingers twisting them sideways, large shoots are better cut with a knife or secateurs they often tear down the stem if you pull them. The side shoot under the flower truss is always bigger than the others and needs to be removed carefully or you can damaged the flower truss.
When removing the side shoots, always start at the top of the plant and work your way downwards, if you accidentally damage the top main shoot you can leave the next side shoot to grow and replace it.
How to tame your unruly tomato
Bush, hanging basket and mini tomatoes don’t need to be side shooted.
Bush types about 1 metre high 3 foot they are good for patio pots and growing outside. Some well known varieties are Totem & Red alert
Hanging basket types
Some well know varieties are Tumbler, Garden pearl, Cascade & Maskotka
Dwarf types are great for pots, they make good windowsill tomatoes. In our experience, they are not as sweet as other types.
