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  • From: Todd Lister <toddlister1 AT gmail.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Tomato suckering, if and how
  • Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2012 22:40:38 -0400

I'm with Bob,
I've got about 200 this season, on strings in hoop houses and cages and string trellises outside. I always sucker and in fact I take most suckers up 2-3 feet. I don't like toms on the ground. I'm getting about 150-170 lbs a week and very many of them are 1 1/2 to 2 lbs each. It's a beautiful site at market and  my customers can't get enough at $4 lb. I'm selling them to 4 restaurants at the same price. I'm growing Cherokee Purple and Rose heirlooms for five years now. It's a lot harder than hybrids. Each one has to go from plant to bubble plastic lined boxes with space between them. It's like handling light bulbs only a lot more delicate. One little kiss and these things bruise and start to deteriorate.
Unfortunately I am starting to see tom leaf mold and I'm freaking as I cut away lot's of leaf mass up to 4'+. Can't find an organic solution so we'll see how long the plants make it. I now fear sun scald on some of the more exposed fruit. It's quite a sight. 9'+ plants with few leaves and lots of big fruit still hanging on approaching the finish line. Anybody got any ideas for knocking this problem out? Any help greatly appreciated.
I started the inside plants the first week of Jan. and put them in the ground the second week of Feb.
It's already been a great run and I always take my lumps as they come but haven't seen this leaf old before. There doesn't seem to be a practical solution at hand. I guess it's cultural planning for the future. I believe it is the result of high humidity, maybe too much watering in the early days.
Todd Lister
Veribest Farm
Vesta Ga

On Sun, Jun 17, 2012 at 9:56 PM, <sunnfarm AT netscape.com> wrote:
I always sucker my determinant tomatoes. The degree of suckering depends on your soil and the variety. If your soil produces big lush growth then sucker to the first flower cluster. I prefer to leave one sucker below the cluster. Suckering increases the percent of extra large fruit. I can sucker about 4 plants a minute. Its time and labor well spent... Bob.
Sunny Meadow Farm
Bridgeton, NJ

--- ramoyer AT gmail.com wrote:

From: Richard Moyer <ramoyer AT gmail.com>
To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [Market-farming] Tomato suckering, if and how
Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2012 13:44:34 -0400

We've never suckered tomato plants before.  But we have about 800 out this year, 100 in High Tunnel and 700 in field.   2 feet apart in row, 3-4 feet between rows.   We grow early blight resistant varieties, and tend not to spray, only 1-2x per year if blight is getting bad.

We trellis with Florida weave, stake and string.

Should we make the time to remove all foliage and suckers below the first flower clusters? (We do have the labor.)
Different method for cherry toms, or between determinants and indeterminants?  Sucker some of those over others?

Thanks,
Richard Moyer
SW VA  In need of rain, late seeds just sitting in ground waiting.


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