Pruning Tomato Plants

First, it is important to understand that there are two different types of tomato plants, determinate and indeterminate. Determinate tomato plants are bush varieties that grow close to the ground. Indeterminate varieties have vines that can be trained to grow upward. The name cards on the seedling you buy at the nursery will indicate which type you are dealing with as will the labels on the seed packages you purchase. Determinate tomatoes, which by nature grow as buses close to the ground, should not be pruned. For the best results indeterminate tomato plants that are staked; grown in cages; or trained to grow upward on twine attached to overhead trellises should be pruned. There are at least three good reasons to prune your indeterminate tomato plants. First, judicious pruning deduces plant diseases by increasing airflow throughout the plant. Second, pruning is designed to increase the amount of light which reaches the fruit that is developing on a tomato vine. Finally, it is easier to identify and harvest fruit from vines that grow upright and are pruned correctly. I might add that I believe tomatoes that are bathed in sunlight are more flavorful than those which are grown in the shade of a bushy plant. The primary goal of pruning is to remove the suckers that grow on the stems of the vines and make them bushy. Suckers grow on two areas of a tomato plant. Most commonly suckers appear in the crotch that forms where a leaf joins the main stem of a plant. Suckers should be pinched off as soon as they are identified to keep the plant from forming a second main stem and becoming bushy. Note that blossoms do not form at the junction of the stem and a leaf; rather, blossoms form on portions of the stem that are free of leaves. Blossoms usually form in clusters and, of course, should not be removed. The second, and much less frequent place for suckers to form, is on the end of a cluster of flowers. Suckers of this type appear as extensions of the flower cluster and also should be removed. Finally, in the pruning process, I always remove any leaf on the lower portion of the plant that looks yellowish and any leaf that touches the ground. I also remove leaves, or portions of leaves, as necessary to increase the amount of light that reaches the interior regions of the plant. The judicious removal of leaves to increase light and air flow throughout the plant. Admittedly, suckers may be a little difficult to identify at first for someone not accustomed to pruning tomato plants. Fortunately, there are several instructive videos on the internet to help you learn how to prune tomatoes. Just Google the subject and let the experts teach you how to prune your tomato plants.