1) My tomatoes (which I admit to probably starting from seed too soon this year) were about a foot tall when I transplanted them into my 20 gallon containers and raised beds yesterday. I pinched off any flowers last week when they were still in 3.5" durapots and then this morning I noticed a few on one of my containered plants before I went to work so I pinched them off as well. When should I stop removing the flowers now that they are in their permanent locations?

2) How does removing flowers affect vertical growth?

3) How adversely is growth affected by not removing the flowers?

4) Last year I started my cukes, zukes, and squash indoors which was a rookie mistake I guess (this year I direct sowed -- last week actually). I was told last year to pinch the flowers (which I did not) and although it looked like everything was moving along very well, they all went south (powdery mildew followed and then brown spots on the leaves) but not before I managed to harvest a few early season cukes. Since I'm starting them all from seed this year, do I still need to consider pinching off flowers or should I just let them all grow naturally?

That's all I have for now, any words of advice would be greatly appreciated.

The usual answer is to strengthen the root system of the establishing plant by diverting its energy from fruiting, temporarily. This makes sense with perennials, with fruits like strawberries, with young fruit trees, all that you want to have producing over the long run.

It makes sense with transplanted annuals like tomatoes, while they're subject to the shock to their roots and before they've strengthened their stems to hold the weight of the fruit.

None of these reasons apply to direct-seeded annuals, so I wouldn't do it.

As for pinching off flowers from your squash or cucmbers I have to wonder where you heard that. Never have I ever heard of such a thing and all its going to do is potentially reduce your harvest. So unless you grow them for the foliage Id leave any and all flowers.

As for tomatoes the subject is, from what Ive seen, murky at best. Some swear by the practice, others not so much. But Ill let the guys who really know their maters weigh in on that one.

It's not that you shouldn't transplant squash. It's just that most warm-climate growers don't *need* to, given that summer squash has a short DTM, and can use presumably limited indoor space for things that absolutely need to be started indoors, such as peppers, tomatoes and eggplant.

Question 4 is considered optional by many but I'll just say that for over 50 years (that I know of) the recommendation in horticulture has always been to remove all blooms on any transplant before transplanting. It not only reduces stress to the plant but it acts as a hormonal trigger to the plant for new root development. It is based on an understanding of the cycles in which various plants grow and the hormonal and amino acid triggers they respond to. Blooms that develop after transplanting can be left to develop naturally.

Does everyone practice this? Obviously not. But then what we do and what we should do aren't always the same thing.

Same goes for transplanting vs. direct seeding of squash and other cucurbits - the recommended way for the best long term health of the plant and the many other ways folks get by with.

Does it automatically follow that if you don't follow the recommended way that the plants will fail or develop some disease? Of course not. Luck and many other factors play a big role. Nor is the recommended ways a guarantee. But anything that stresses plants increases the odds of disease and pest susceptibility and later failure so what odds you choose to play is up to you.

One doesn't need to have a degree in horticulture or botany to understand how a particular plant grows and what its cycles are. That info is easily available online.

Dave