Gauteng Smallholder December/ January 2018 | Page 39

From page 35
IN THE GARDEN
leave a gaping wound on the
stem. If you prefer, you can
use a sharp, clean pair of
secateurs to snip these small
sucker branches off.
The best time to prune
tomato plants is in the early
morning on a dry day. This
will allow for the wounds
from the pruning to heal
cleanly and will reduce the
chances of the plant
being infected by
disease.
If you choose to
prune tomato
plants, make sure
that you use
watering methods
that water the
tomato plants at the
soil level (such as
Removing a sucker
soaker hoses) rather
K Maximizing photosynthe-
than from above (such as
sis. Leaves need to receive
sprinklers). This will prevent
light in order to make sugars
the splashing of soil up on to
for growth and fruit set.
the tomato plant and the
K Improving airflow and
tomato plant's wounds.
decreasing disease. With
As the growing season draws
fewer leaves, pruned plants
are less dense, allowing more to a close, tomato plants are
often still loaded with fruit.
air to move through the
To speed ripening late in the
plants. The leaves dry faster
season, remove the growing
after a rain, so they are less
tip of each main stem about
susceptible to the diseases
that need prolonged moisture four weeks before the first
expected frost. Called
to develop.
K Bigger