Cut em out, Suckers!

I let my suckers get all out of control and had to really cut back my tomato plants. They were really smothering each other and I just could not get the spider mites under control using organic pesticide. Thinning the plants to allow more airflow seemed worth a try. I asked at the local nursary and they said the lower winter temperatures and rain should also help as spider mites don't like winter months.

So what is a sucker and why should they be removed? There are two types of growths off the plants main stem. One produces the leaves and the fruit and the other grows another stem that produces fruit and more suckers. Allowing suckers to grow means that the plant has to use more nutrients for growth when means less for fruit production. I have seen a few growers online that grow single stem plants that produce an amazing amount of fruit. Check out this video over on Bobby's MHPGardner channel