5 Tomato Plant Pruning Tips

Pruning can be an important part of your tomato growing experience and is something that you should certainly learn to do correctly. You won't always need to prune. Most determinate varieties can do without it. However if you grow tomatoes for any length of time you will almost certainly find yourself in a situation where pruning becomes important.

So here are 5 tips that will get you started in pruning your tomatoes correctly.

1) Why we prune: This is the most important tip. We only prune to; increase the survival of the plant, focus the energy of the plant or top the plant at the end of the season. Let's look at these reasons more closely.

2) Increasing Survival: This comes down to two tasks; keeping the plant away from the soil which is done by removing side stems and also staking the plant so that it has something to cling to and increasing the air flow around the leaves by thinning out the foliage so that there is distinct space around each branch.

The reason that this is done is to minimise the risk of soil borne diseases coming into contact with the plant and to assist the leaves to dry out after rains which again will help reduce the incidence of disease.

3) Focussing Energy: Removing side stems that start to grow as suckers in the crotch between the main stem and the first branches and thinning dense foliage or non-producing leaves (hidden beneath other leaves and therefore using more sugar than they are producing) are the two most important pruning acts to enhance the fruit production from your plant.

4) Topping the plant: Towards the end of the season, about a month before first frost, you need to prune all the growing tips from the plant. This is called “topping”. The reason for this is simple, by topping the plant you are maximising the potential for the fruits that are set to achieve full maturity before the frost sets in. Better to do this than end up with a plant full of unripe, tough green fruit.

5) How to Prune: Pruning itself comes down to either pinching or snipping. To pinch, use your thumb and index finger and break off the suckers when they are young. To snip use a good clean sharp pair of secateurs and cut off the leaf that you are removing flush against the stem of the plant without damaging the stem. To top plants simply snip off the growing tips.

Understanding the purpose of pruning is one of the more important things that a gardener can know. Poor pruning and over-pruning are a good way to ruin a plant. So follow the tips in this article and help your plant produce to its fullest capacity. Good growing...

By: Julia Green

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Want to learn more about pruning tomato plants? Visit my website at www.growingbettertomatoes.com for helpful tips and information on planting and caring for a thriving tomato garden. Submitted to eZine / articledashboard / goarticles / articlerich / ideamarketers / articlesbase