How to Pinch Off Blooms When Planting Tomatoes

Pinching off blooms creates stronger tomato plants.

Growing tomatoes in the home garden is a common warm-season activity that can be accomplished in the ground, in a raised bed or container or even in a hanging pot. With proper care and attention, the tomato plant will produce an abundant harvest all the way up to the first frost in the fall. When you first plant the tomatoes, removing the existing flower blossoms forces the plant to grow stronger stems and leaves.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel
• Tomato cage
• Straw or organic mulch

Instructions

1. Look at the tomato plants at the time of planting to locate all of the small yellow flowers. Grasp each flower in your fingers and pull them off the plant so that only green leaves and stems remain.

2. Look for an area of the yard that has full sunlight for the entire day.

3. Dig a hole that is 3 to 4 inches deeper than the pot the tomatoes are in. Remove the tomato plants from the pot and insert the roots all the way to the bottom of the hole. Fill in the hole completely with soil.

4. Pull off any leaves that are touching the soil and then plant additional tomato plants 1 1/2 to 2 feet away from the first.

5. Insert a circular tomato cage over the plant and push the lower metal tines into the soil to secure it in place.

6. Spread straw or organic mulch around the base of the tomato plants to prevent the ground water from evaporating. Keep the material pulled back 1 inch from the actual tomato stems.

7. Water the soil until it is wet to an 8- or 10-inch depth without getting any of the leaves wet. Afterward, provide 1 inch of water per week.

8. Monitor the tomato plant for the first one to two weeks and pull off any new flowers that develop to direct the energy into establishing a strong root system. Afterward, allow the flowers to develop, which will then turn into fruit.

References

• Gardening Tips Idea: How to Prune Tomatoes
• University of Illinois Extension; Growing Tomatoes; March 2009