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Re: tomatoes & squash - REPLY


>I have a bunch of different tomato plants, the varieties of which I do not
>know (it's a long story).  I don't even know if they're determinate or
>indeterminate.  I am growing them on stakes.  Question:  how do I prune them?
> I don't know which parts to cut off and which to leave, so I haven't cut
>anything yet.
>
>Also -- how tall do I need the stakes to be for the tomatoes, whether
>indeterminate or  determinate?  I am worried that all my tomatoes are
>determinate.  How do I tell?  
>
If they're determinate 3-4' stakes ought to do the trick, 5-6' usually
recommended for indeterminate varieties.  Determinate plants tend to have a
stouter more compact habit of growth, the vine terminates in a flower
blossom, and the fruit usually set and ripen all at once.  There are
degrees of difference between "compact" and "vigorous" determinate but they
need alot less pruning and support.

There are many opinions about pruning tomatoes.  One common tack creates a
two-stem plant.  Break off the suckers that grow in the leaf crotches
except for the the first sucker below the first flower cluster--allow this
one to grow into a second main stem.  

I'll be posting a tomato tips feature on my Vegetable Gardens website on
Thursday.  Stop by and check it out at
http://vegetablegarden.miningco.com/library/weekly/mcurrent.htm 
if you have Netscape 2.0 or MSIE 3.0 or later frames-capable browser.

Haven't grown winter squash in a while--short on space--but I'd like to try
your trellis method.  

Regards,
Havi
in Berkeley, CA


Havi Hoffman

look what's growing now...Vegetable Gardens
at The Mining Company (www.miningco.com)
http://vegetablegarden.miningco.com
vegetablegarden.guide@miningco.com
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