If you’re looking forward to cooking delicious plump tomatoes this summer then make sure to follow this one easy tip to ensure your fruit develops to its full potential
Tomatoes are undoubtedly one of the most popular fruits for British gardeners to grow – but if you want them to grow as big and juicy as possible, make sure to follow this one tip.
While many commonly mistake this fruit for a vegetable, tomatoes add a wealth of flavour to all kinds of savoury dishes. From pasta sauces to curries, many of our favourite foods incorporate the tomato’s hearty flavour. Even better, they’re typically quite easy to grow, especially if you own a greenhouse or a sun-facing garden.
However, this doesn’t mean that tomatoes don’t require some maintenance. According to a famous gardening expert, there is one small – but crucial – task that tomato-growers should do.
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Monty Don is a presenter in BBC Two’s Gardener’s World and a bonafide gardening expert. In his blog, he advised: “Regularly pinch out side shoots on tomatoes.”
He continued: “It is best – and easiest – to do this first thing in the morning when the plant is turgid and they will snap off easily in your fingers.” Otherwise if you leave them for too long, they can become tough to remove.
The reason why side shoots should be removed is that they divert the plant’s energy and nutrients into the growth of foliage. Removing them allows the plant to focus on growing fruit instead.
This in turn results in riper, healthier fruit – that also tastes much better. Nutrient-starved tomatoes also won’t taste as flavourful, which will ruin your dishes.
Better still, pulling side-shoots also ensures that the tomato plant will continue growing in a neat, vertical line. Allowing the side shoots to grow out can result in a sprawling mess that is difficult to control.
Also, if growing tomato plants outside, it can also be a good idea to pull away lower foliage. This will reduce foliage exposure to soil borne diseases by eliminating soil contact.
One such disease includes fusarium wilt, which is a fungal infection that can attack tomato plants. It blocks their vessels, which can cause them to wilt and die.
Of course, the good news with cutting side shoots is that they don’t have to go to waste. These shoots can be reused as plant cuttings to grow even more tomatoes.
Simply place the cuttings in a glass of water near a sunny windowsill, then leave them for three to four weeks. Once a root system has developed, you can then place them in plant pots.
