swee'pea99
Squire
I've always worked on the basis that you should stop the plant after five or at most six trusses, to give all the fruit a chance to ripen, but a couple of years ago when we had that hot summer I was left thinking the plant would have managed more - it ran out long before the end of the season.
Now this year it's all gone a bit bonkers. The plants are absolutely loving all this sunshine, and they're growing like billy-o. One has separated into two main stems - both are flourishing, with four trusses on each. That's eight. And we've only just hit July. The other has also divided into two main stems, one of which I discovered this morning has now taken it on itself to divide again. So that plant now has three 'main steams', with a toal of eight trusses between them.
Now, should I stop/cut off all main stems and leave the eight-per-plant to mature? Or even reduce, back to six? Cutting back to six just feels like something I might well regret if we do have a long hot summer, which seems to be on the cards. It seems awful early to be cutting off thriving main stems, but should I bite the bullet?
Any advice appreciated.
Now this year it's all gone a bit bonkers. The plants are absolutely loving all this sunshine, and they're growing like billy-o. One has separated into two main stems - both are flourishing, with four trusses on each. That's eight. And we've only just hit July. The other has also divided into two main stems, one of which I discovered this morning has now taken it on itself to divide again. So that plant now has three 'main steams', with a toal of eight trusses between them.
Now, should I stop/cut off all main stems and leave the eight-per-plant to mature? Or even reduce, back to six? Cutting back to six just feels like something I might well regret if we do have a long hot summer, which seems to be on the cards. It seems awful early to be cutting off thriving main stems, but should I bite the bullet?
Any advice appreciated.
