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Trimming leaves from plants

W

wordwiz

Not just bottom leaves, which is a good idea for tomatoes and peppers, especially if planted in a garden. But what I am doing is trimming all but the top leaves off my tomato plants, at least until I see blooms. Even after that, if the leaves do not get any sunlight (as in a GH where they are against a back wall), I cut those off also.

I admit, I need to learn a lot more about photosynthesis and how plants produce fruit, but it seems to me that leaves absorb useable light and moisture (unless they are grown hydroponically) that is what drives the plant to grow - the whole plant and not just a part of it. So, it would seem to make sense that if a plant is spending some energy to produce leaves that will not gather light, they (those leaves) are freeloaders that are taking energy that could go into more productive areas. Therefore, they can be removed.

Is there a major flaw in my thinking?

Mike
 
I really don't know if there is a flaw in your thinking Mike however if you left one or two plants and didn't remove any leaves you would be able to compare production rates.

The only thing that comes to mind is that if you remove too many leaves (however many that may be) the plant may waste energy trying to repair the damage caused from this. I find what you are doing very interesting as some members (at least one) has removed all the leaves from their chilli plants so that "the plant can focus on the pods".

I dunno.
 
I must be old fashioned...I don't touch the plants once they start growing...the wind, hail, and heavy rain does my pruning for me.
 
I don't like trimming off any healthy leaves. The plants are able to canibalize leaves if needed, since they contain stored nutrients but leaves are also needed for photosynthesis
 
I prune only if it's misshapen and falling over, otherwise I let it grow as it wants, no trimming. I see your logic though, probably nothing wrong with it.
 
On my tomatoes I only prune the bottom leaves that are touching any soil or looking a bit sad. This also allows for air to circulate up from the bottom of the plant. Once the fruit is set and developing I also clip any leaf or leaf part that is shading the fruit as well. Works for me.
 
I did some serious pruning today, at least on some plants. They are the ones at the back of the GH. The bottom leaves have not been getting any air, even though I have an oscillating fan running several hours a day. Found two baby toms and several leaves covered in mold/mildew, and lots of other leaves that were limp and turning/had turned yellow or brown. They have all joined the compost pile.

It may be the wrong thing to do, but the leaves were not getting any sunlight and seemed to be only soaking up nuits. Given our very low light levels these days, I prefer everything go into the blooms and fruit.

Mike
 
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