Growing Tomatoes – Should You Remove Bottom Leaves?

A local gardening group was touring a greenhouse operation that grew tomatoes. The tour guide told the visitors that they removed the lower leaves from the plants because โ€œthey robbed nutrients from the upper part of the plant that was producing fruitโ€. In short, removing lower leaves resulted in a better harvest. It is unclear if that means larger tomatoes or more tomatoes.

Some home gardeners remove lower leaves believing that they will get a better harvest. Others donโ€™t bother and claim they get a good harvest without the extra effort. Who is right?

Growing Tomatoes Should You Remove Bottom Leaves
Growing Tomatoes – Should You Remove Bottom Leaves? source: Dan Klimke

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Growing Garlic – Hardneck or Softneck?

I haveย grown garlic for years and consider it the easiest vegetable crop to grow. I have always been taught that, given our northern zone 5 climate, we could only grow hardneck garlic. Turns out that this is a myth.

Both the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture andย Filaree Farms (keepers of the largest privately held collection of garlic in North America) agree that both hardneck and softneck can be grown in colder climates.

Growing garlic - hardneck or softneck
Growing garlic – hardneck

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