Goliath Tomato Thinning?

I don't know if I have the Heirloom, the Bush Hybrid, or the Early Hybrid,
but the tag just says Goliath.
I'm hoping I have the Heirloom variety.

My question is;
Tomatoes grow a little flower branch, and on my plant it seems like it gets 4-5 flowers per flower branch (spike, cluster, cola?weed

After the flower petals die off, there is little baby tomatoes.
My problem is, on any given flower branch all the flowers seem to "die back" in a couple days time, leaving me 4-5 baby tomatoes that are all about the same size.

If I had cherry tomatoes I wouldn't worry about it, but when it comes to 4-5 of these 1-3lb tomatoes, on one branch, it worries me.

So do I leave only one or two tomatoes per flower branch?
Or do I let them mature together?
Or will the plant just shed whatever it doesn't want to feed?

Please help, just like our favorite plant on the other forums,
I would like to know this answer so I can remove unnecessary fruit before it drains too much energy.

56 views on such a specific subject, with no help?

sounds like when your done you'll be able to make a nice salad! Just go to the store and buy some freaking tomatoes?!(lol jk) if you were asking about weed youd prob get alot more relpies lol. srry i cant help.

id jusr let them grow, maybe they are not ready to produce. the only thing i would prune is maybe a few suckers near the bottom of the plants.

yeah I'd leave your flower sites alone... the plant should support itself

like mcpurple said you can prune some lower suckers to force growth energy up towards the top of the plant with the flowers.

Yea the tomatoes grow in clusters. Just let them do there thing they should be fine. If your worried about the plant supporting it own weight near harvest there are many ways to go about supporting your tomatoes. The most common would be a cage, but you have to start it early, 2nd most popular would be to just get a big ole wooden stake and put it right next to the tomato stalk & tie it.

So is the original post about fruit or plants? My store bought early girl looks like 3 plants now 6 feet tall. Fruits are clusters of 4-5. I have a large limb supporting my plants. I go out my front door for tomato sandwiches, which should last until the first frost. Then the clones are inside. Looking forward to the day you go to feed & seed for >your< smoking needs.

mcpurple said:

id jusr let them grow, maybe they are not ready to produce. the only thing i would prune is maybe a few suckers near the bottom of the plants.

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Just learned how to multi-quote! Of course it's ready to produce, it's producing. And I've been lucky enough so far that it has no suckers.
Just one big tomato plant.

Sr. Verde said:

yeah I'd leave your flower sites alone... the plant should support itself

like mcpurple said you can prune some lower suckers to force growth energy up towards the top of the plant with the flowers.

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I walk around town pulling suckers off large trees whenever I see them, it's my way of saying "enjoy your day tree, here's some help"

purpz said:

Yea the tomatoes grow in clusters. Just let them do there thing they should be fine. If your worried about the plant supporting it own weight near harvest there are many ways to go about supporting your tomatoes. The most common would be a cage, but you have to start it early, 2nd most popular would be to just get a big ole wooden stake and put it right next to the tomato stalk & tie it.

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Alright, I've noticed the vine thickening up pretty nicely and the tomato it's holding is still the size of a large pea. I'm not worried about it anymore.
I put a bird cage on it when I first got it home, in about 3 weeks or so it's grown around the cage, I'm afraid I just plain lost that cage to the tomato plant :/ And the nursery sold it to me with a bamboo stake (painted that ugly green color) but if you saw their staking job you'd be ashamed.
Imagine a $, it looks like that haha.

grizlbr said:

So is the original post about fruit or plants? My store bought early girl looks like 3 plants now 6 feet tall. Fruits are clusters of 4-5. I have a large limb supporting my plants. I go out my front door for tomato sandwiches, which should last until the first frost. Then the clones are inside. Looking forward to the day you go to feed & seed for >your< smoking needs.

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What?
It's about plants, flowers, and fruit.
Well, one plant.
Early girl sounds like a medium-small tomato, I'm dealing with softballs.
I'm so jealous of the sandwich idea, I can't wait to make S&P Tomato slices, fresh.
Do you ever have trouble cloning them after they fruit?

"Looking forward to the day you go to feed & seed for >your< smoking needs."
What? Feed & Seed?
Smoking tomatoes?
Needs?


Thanks everyone. I think I'll just quit worrying and go darwin on it's arse.
Oh and I figured out it's a hybrid.
I'm assuming early, but I could be mistaken.