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Explore SAE - An Online Ag Ed Tool for Discovering SAEs

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Due 7/12

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intro, starting to grow,plant parts, making food, pollination, seed dispersal, plant adaptations

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Seeds wait to germinate until three needs are met: water, correct temperature (warmth), and a good location (such as in soil). During its early stages of growth, the seedling relies upon the food supplies stored with it in the seed until it is large enough for its own leaves to begin making food through photosynthesis.

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Animation from our text book that shows the steps of photosynthesis

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Plants: 11 StudyJams! Interactive Science Activities | Scholastic

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These activities help students understand photosynthesis, gymnosperms, angiosperms, plant cells, plant adaptations, and more.

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I love pruning....absolutely love it. Of course, this may be for the same reason I love weeding (yeah, I am a little weird). There is something about interacting with the plant and helping it towards some better future or purpose...like producing the biggest and tastiest fruit . So how do we make that happen? First, what type of tomato plant are you growing?

Determinate or indeterminate?
Determinate generally grow to one "determined" size and have one large harvest.
Indeterminates get big and crazy and produce fruit over the course of the season.

I only sold one determinate variety this year...Roma. If you are growing a determinate, pruning is of little concern. You might consider removing a few lower branches to assist in air movement under the plant (reduce fungus concerns), but that is it.

Otherwise, read on for indeterminates...

- Clean hands and tools. Please wash your hands before pruning. If you smoke, use lots of soap! Smokers can actually pass a virus from the tobacco in their cigarette to their lovely tomato plants. If you do smoke, you should quit....really...quit. If you use a tool (like pruning shears), you should wash these regularly to avoid passing disease between plants.

- Ideally you would prune early in the day when the plants are dry and have plenty of day left to recover. That being said, I rarely do...I do have a day job! At the least, be sure the plants are dry. Pruning when wet will greatly increase chances of disease. Try to prune on days when you do not water (you should really do that in the morning too for the same reasons).

- You want the plant to grow to the correct size given the space you have given it. Tomatoes will grow very large and wild given the chance. So we need to control the larger growth pattern. You should already have something to assist it in growing upwards (cage, stake, twine, etc). Now, we need to control how it grows out of that space to maximize light/air exposure. The smaller the space dedicated to that plant, the smaller the number of main stems...and vice versa. However, I never give a plant more than four main stems...more than that and you will lose control. In my greenhouse, I only give each plant one! This allows each plant to concentrate on growing the largest possible fruit. Two is a good number given a smaller garden with space limitations. More stems may give you more flowers/fruit, but the tomatoes will be smaller. The less clusters, the larger the fruit! To add a new stem, you basically allow a sucker to grow. These should all grow from roughly the same area in a plant, above the first flower cluster if possible. If you are unsure of what a sucker is...keep reading.

a) The first area I prune is the lower portion of the plant. This promotes air flow under the leaves and on the soil...all very good for the plant and its health. You should remove any branches below the first set of flowers. To remove, just use your thumb and fore finger to snap off the branch at the main stem. If the branch is too large, you can use shears or scissors. Below is a good picture I found ... b) Next up are the suckers. I have yet to decide if these guys are good or evil. "Sucker" is not a very nice term in my opinion. These are basically the plants effort to spread out and take control. Each one is no different than the top of your plant...minus the fact they were not the first in line. Again, you may want to let a few of these grow to allow multiple "main" stems. Given the chance, a sucker will grow to monstrous size in a very short time. You may have a hard time differentiating between the main stem and many suckers. If you find this is the case, you may just need to cut one and allow the other to take over. You may want to allow one sucker to grow in addition to the main leader/tip on each stem at a given time (remove it when the sucker above grows to an inch or two). This is your backup if the main leader/tip becomes damaged. Here is a picture displaying a sucker. They basically grow between a branch and a stem (or in the crotch...sorry if that is mildly crude, but it is accurate). This picture displays both "Simple" and "Missouri" pruning...stick with Simple. There is a reason they call it Simple :) . Remove suckers once a week...

c) Lastly, you should top the plant about a month before first frost. This will allow the plant to concentrate on ripening the remaining fruit. Feel empowered and just do it. Prune each and every growing leader/tip on the plant...you will be happy you did.

As always, please let me know if there are any questions or experiences that may contribute.

Thanks and happy gardening!

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I love pruning....absolutely love it. Of course, this may be for the same reason I love weeding (yeah, I am a little weird). There is something about interacting with the plant and helping it towards some better future or purpose...like producing the biggest and tastiest fruit .

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Arms: The main branches or extensions of the trunk.

Bearing tree: A fruit tree that has reached the age where its ready of producing blossoms and fruit.

Bud: The slightly enlarged portion in the node region from which shoots grow.

Central leader: A type of pruning where the grower chooses one single strong trunk from which all side branches are allowed to grow.

Disbud: The selective removal of swollen flower buds or young shoots so that the remaining buds can grow bigger.

Dormant: Vegetation resting for a time period and not growing. (usually winter season)

Fruiting wood: Shoots or branches that are selected for their size and cut back and have the potential to bear the current year's crop.

Head: The part of the trunk or extension, above the first growing branches or arms.

Heading back: Cutting a portion of the terminal growth usually to control the size of the tree.

Internode. The portion of a shoot between two nodes.

Laterals. The side branches of a shoot.

Node. The joint on a shoot where buds and leaves are found.

Pinching. The removal of the growing tip of a shoot by pinching between thumb and finger.

Pruning. The removal of excess parts above ground.

Renewal spur. A spur that produces shoots for the next year's fruiting.

Shoots. The new growth that develops from buds during the growing season.

Spur: A short thick growth that produces flowers on apple, pear and cherry trees.

Stone fruit: Plums, peaches, apricots and cherries are most commonly know as stone fruit.

Suckers. Vigorous shoots growing from below the surface of the ground from the rootstock.

Terminal bud: The bud at the end of the branch that extends the growth of the tree.

Thinning. The removal of flower clusters, immature fruit clusters, or their parts.

Training. The direction or form given to a young vine as it grows, usually by attaching it to a mechanical support.

Trunk. The main body or stem of a vine.

Vigor. The rate of growth of a vine part.

Watersprouts. Vigorous shoots growing from buds usually on the trunk or older branches.

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How to prune fruit trees: Pruning made easy!

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First of all a let me say this; fruit trees do not need to be pruned to produce fruit. The fruit production of a tree is a natural occurrence which ensures the survival of a tree. That means a gardener may choose not to prune and on that note why...

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What Does the Leaf Says About Nutrient Deficiency Problem

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Helpful chart to identify deficiency problems in plants. What Does the Leaf Says About Nutrient Deficiency Problem

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Higher Education Support | McGraw Hill Higher Education

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Learn more about McGraw-Hill products and services, get support, request permissions, and more.