Number of trusses?

I’m growing oxheart as well. I’ll wait to pass judgment on it when I’ve tried a fruit. But if I was going on plant alone, I’d not be growing it again. For a beef tomato it’s got a very weedy stem.

Ox heart or Cuore di bue as the itailian name is often more we’ll known has a very robust stem often 1 1/2 inches in diameter. It will produce fruit the size of your hand.

I’ll photograph the young plant in my greenhouse shortly for you. It’s by far one of the most robust stemmed tomatoes I’ve ever grown as it will have upwards of 30 tomatoes hanging off it at any one time and each will become very heavy.

They are also very soft skinned so you need to be careful not to bruise them. Wonderful taste though.

This raises an interesting question, how much space do you give between plants?

The reason I pinch out is I find it easier to see what the plant is upto. They are always growing new armpits, sprouting off the end of trusses. My plants are about a foot apart and they will cross over in the greenhouse, so I cut back the branches by half. These often sprout New growth as well.

You could say I do extreme topiary on my tomatoes, in part because I want all effort concentrated on the fruit and not growing extra limbs. It gets harder and harder the taller the plant gets.

I’m doubtful of your ox heart JJB, one limb will be weaker, and you will have to support the fruit more as the limb not growing vertically could snap under the weight of the fruit. I’d be interested to know if you get more fruit or smaller fruit as a result?

When you say cut branches by half, do you mean leaves or growing points?   My toms are grown vertically and arm pitted usually single stemmed, except for two this year which grew unintentional armpits that I missed, both plants are large fruited unfortunately,  oxheat cour di bue, and black russian.   The second unintentional stem is also supported by tying to  a vertical cane.  The height is restricted by the GH roof.  The individual plants are zigzagged about 2' apart giving 5 plants down a 8' border.  Even at this spacing the GH gets like the Amazon jungle and I have to remove leaves just go see what's what.   On a tom growing website they explained the science behind the strategic pruning of certain leaves and their relationship to the ripening fruit which I found very interesting.  I will tend the oxheart and black russian the same as I do all others and see what happens.  Oh yes, there is a third with a second armpit overgrowth Sweet Cassaday which is all rather weedy so I chopped the long armpit after the first truss and told it to stop sulking.

I’m growing oxheart as well. I’ll wait to pass judgment on it when I’ve tried a fruit. But if I was going on plant alone, I’d not be growing it again. For a beef tomato it’s got a very weedy stem.

I'm with you on that SC.  Fruit is  large and stems don't seem man enough to support them.  We'll see what happens, we might be faffing around having to support trusses later on  at this rate.

I often do double stemmed cordons in the GH, they will usually grow similar amount of trusses as the main one, though I start it as low down as possible.

I don't stop my plants either.

If the fruit yield is similar, why do you intentionally go for double stems?

This ox heart is only halfway up the cane but the stem is already thicker than my finger. It’s was checked in growth early on as the roots had grown out the base of its pot before transplanting so it’s first week in the ground was touch and go. This plant is about 12-14 weeks old now. Give it another month and it will be huge.

I often do double stemmed cordons in the GH, they will usually grow similar amount of trusses as the main one, though I start it as low down as possible.

I don't stop my plants either.

If the fruit yield is similar, why do you intentionally go for double stems?

Similar on each stem - so double the fruit per plant? Each stem will still make the same number of trusses and if I'm really daring and prepared to feed well and have 3 stems I get 3 times the fruit from the same plant without using up a huge amount of space - much better use of space than growing 3 plants.

In practice neither do I but the gh roof does.  Just wondered whether there was a school of thought.

I do the same JJB I don't like them to grow to close to the ridge because that's were the cucs grow across a wire.

In practice neither do I but the gh roof does.  Just wondered whether there was a school of thought.

I do the same JJB I don't like them to grow to close to the ridge because that's were the cucs grow across a wire.

I agree.  In a reasonably small space, the cucs grow up to and alongside  the ridge line so the toms haven't got the choice of using the 'attic' they have to be pinched out a couple of inches after they hit glass. I can't even reach the ridge in new GH so toms may get a bit more headroom.  Half my problem is growing too much in one space.  Each year I vow not to, then make the same choices as always.  Some people never learn!    I begin to see the problem when in late summer I'm having to bend double just to get in past the greenery!

I often do double stemmed cordons in the GH, they will usually grow similar amount of trusses as the main one, though I start it as low down as possible.

I don't stop my plants either.

If the fruit yield is similar, why do you intentionally go for double stems?

Similar on each stem - so double the fruit per plant? Each stem will still make the same number of trusses and if I'm really daring and prepared to feed well and have 3 stems I get 3 times the fruit from the same plant without using up a huge amount of space - much better use of space than growing 3 plants.

Understood.  Sounds like a great plan. Note to self: feed the dual stemmed plants well.