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pruning/stimulating cherry tomato plants #656003

Asked June 25, 2020, 1:54 PM EDT

A friend gave me a cherry tomato seedling (no info about variety) that he grew in his indoor Aerogarden from a pod he obtained from Aerogarden. He took it out of the liquid medium, put it in some kind of growing medium in a cup. I planted it in a pot containing new Bumper Crop Garden Gold potting mix and put it on my deck. It seemed healthy and happy and grew, but stopped getting taller at about 9 inches high. instead it became more bushy and compact, developed blossoms and a small green pea-sized tomato. His plant, also in a pot on a balcony, probably gets a bit more sun, but it also is under a foot tall. These are the shortest tomato plants ether of us has ever seen, and we suspect it is some sort of dwarf that is was selected for growing indoors in the Aerogarden with limited space under the lights. Some Aerogrdens are several feet tall and could accommodate a taller plant, so I had hoped for a plant 2 or 3 feet or so tall, not a tiny one like this. Looks like the fruit will be tiny as well. Can I influence the habit perhaps by pruning, or taking off blossoms, etc. What would be the best way to "manage" this plant? 976 and 977 are mine; 4143 is his. Thanks

Montgomery County Maryland

Expert Response

Hi- yes, it's most likely the cultivar. You folks can check with Aerogardens to find out the specific cultivar. Unless these plants become extremely thick with vegetation there is no need to prune. Remove the lowest leaf branches if you begin to see fungal leaf spots develop on them.
https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/early-blight-vegetables
https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/septoria-leaf-spot-vegetables
Jon

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