| Pruning Tomato Plants | | | | photosynthesis whereby the sun becomes the |
| IF you want the most fruit from your tomatoes, | | | | energy source to produce carbohydrates. In an |
| they should be pruned to remove unnecessary | | | | ideal situation every leaf is exposed to the sun. |
| shoots and leaves. Pruning will give you the best | | | | Each leaf stem exposed to the sun fills with sugar |
| yield from the plants and better tasting fruit. | | | | including stems and leaves that produce no fruit. |
| Pruning is not a difficult task but is a necessary | | | | These are the shoots and leaves that need to be |
| one that most backyard gardeners enjoy. It | | | | removed to increase optimum fruit. Essentially |
| takes no special tools to prune tomatoes. You | | | | they are robbing sugar from the fruit producing |
| simply pinch the unwanted growth (shoots and | | | | shoots. |
| leaves) away with your fingers. | | | | Pruning also minimizes the risk of disease. It |
| Shoots that you want to remove is the growth | | | | actually helps improve plant health by exposing |
| that has no buds or flowers. Essentially they are | | | | more leaves and shoots to the sun. Pruned |
| nothing more than suckers that take nutrients | | | | plants allow dry leaves to fall off faster reducing |
| from the plant. Before you start to prune you | | | | bacterial and fungal. To aid in this process the |
| have to know whether your tomato plants are | | | | plants should be staked or grown in baskets to |
| determinate or indeterminate plants. Determinate | | | | prevent them from falling upon the ground and |
| tomato plants are compact or somewhat bushy | | | | becoming shaded from the sun. If a plant or a |
| with short branches and clusters of flowers at the | | | | portion of the plant is shaded from the sun it will |
| end. This type of tomato plants are in full growth | | | | not mature and produce little to no fruit. |
| before bearing fruit and do not require pruning. In | | | | Start from the base of the plant and pinch off |
| fact pruning them will probably destroy the plant. | | | | the unnecessary shoots and leaves leaving only |
| If your plants are more upright as opposed to | | | | the fruit producing shoots. Later on in the season |
| bushy then you have indeterminate tomato plants | | | | as the plant reaches full growth the top leaves |
| that should be pruned to get the best growth and | | | | and shoots should be removed to allow the plant |
| flavor. | | | | to continue to receive sun energy to produce |
| Tools are not necessary for pruning. Using knives | | | | fruit. |
| or sheers may introduce unwanted disease into | | | | |
| the plant that will diminish your crop. Pruning | | | | Happy gardening. |
| maximizes the natural process of plant | | | | |