We decided to stay home for the big Labor Day weekend, so we could spend more time in our garden. Known as the unofficial end of summer, the Labor Day holiday makes me feel a little wistful. Already, our plants are getting withered and tired, as if they know what's coming: the fall. I spent much of this afternoon trimming dead leaves and branches off the tomato vines. Once full and bushy, now they're like ghosts of summers past, a shadow of their former selves. The Brandywine leaves are yellowing, like a tree in full fall foliage. Now, I just wonder if it's better to start clipping the flowers that continue to bloom on our tomato vines to focus on the fruit at hand or to let them grow in hopes that they'll have enough time to produce more tomatoes. Anyone have any advice on that?
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All of my plants are looking a bit tired. Except for my pole beans, we are getting bumper crops from them. Our tomatoes and eggplants all have brown and yellow leaves. I can't wait to pull them out.
Yeah, I was thinking that it might be a good idea to pinch off the flowers. There't not much time left, and once it gets cold, I think the plants will really slow. I would think that without flowers, the plant would send it's remaining energy to growing the tomatoes.
Thanks for the advice Wendy. With the weather today feeling like fall, I have to agree. And we do have enough small tomatoes that they need all the help they can get to grow before a frost. I'm going to start pinching tonight.
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