If the leaves are covered, they won’t get any sunlight and will struggle to survive. Tobacco smokers can easily infect tomato plants with "Mosaic Virus.". It's my first time to grow tomatoes, but I have actually gained knowledge about pruning and other, "Sucker removal. Removing the suckers will direct more energy to the fruit. When to prune a tomato plant. ", Thank you very much for this important information. Types of tomatoes that need pruning. I always grow my tomatoes by seeds from tomatoes from the year before, never had a bad crop. ", "Knowing the difference between indeterminate and determinate, plus, the proper way to prune. Lots of opinions out there, but this article was easy to understand. ", "The pictures with the instructions make it more understandable. If you smoke, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before handling tomato plants. What do I do? Prune suckers all summer long to keep the plant healthy. Andrew Carberry has been working in food systems since 2008. You wouldn’t want tiny tomatoes. Tomato plants need to move and sway in the breeze to develop strong stems. EMAIL. How To Prune Tomatoes Tuesday trim and Feed updateToday we are caring for the Alicante Tomatoes and Gardener Delight - We trim the lower leaves and feed weekly with tomato feed. When growing any plant we always want it to yield bigger and better fruits and flowers. Hold the part of the plant between your thumb and index finger … % of people told us that this article helped them. I have learned more about how to prune tomato plants and the, "I like the straightforward way it is presented, with no specialist language and the use of graphics instead of an. You must prune your tomato plants once in a week or whenever your tomatoes are extremely vigorous.15 minutes is quite enough to spend time in your garden. You should also pinch off any suckers that grow beneath the first flower cluster on the plant. Suckers are small shoots that grow where the leaf stems meet the main stem on the plant. Shopping from these links supports our channel with a small commission without any additional cost to you! On a perfect tomato plant, every leaf can receive sunlight. ", has grown thicker than a pencil and not to remove it - I have removed one from my plant, so I may have caused a problem; I will see later. To remove a sucker, grab a growing tip by the base between the thumb and forefinger and bend it back and forth until it snaps cleanly. If there are any flowers on the plant, remove them. Indeterminate varieties, also called "vining" tomatoes, grow as tall as people and produce and grow all season long. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. ", growing well and getting very good amount of fruit. I've been removing the wrong things in the past. What is the ideal distance between tomato plants? ", "Best diagrams and explanations I've seen browsing numerous sites for how to prune tomatoes! Thank you. ", "Good help. Last Updated: November 17, 2020 How To Prune Tomato Plants - And Why It's The Secret To A Great … Learning to prune tomato plants is important to ensure your tomatoes will grow in your garden the right way with the best results. This is called "simple pruning". wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. ", including myself, are aware of this procedure. While you’re at it, use poles, trellises, or cages to keep the tomato vines off of the ground. Thank you very much for the help. How to Prune Your Tomato Plant and Suckers. They are up to about 5 feet tall and have very few tomatoes on them. Is this true? Looking forward too greater success with this. I didn't know if that, "When and how to remove the lower leaves from my tomato plants. Learn how to prune your tomatoes with our expert tips and tricks. To prune tomatoes, you simply remove lateral stems when the plants are about 300 mm or a foot high and the laterals are about 30 to 50 mm (or one to two inches) long. How to Prune Alicante and Gardeners Delight Tomatoes. Andrew Carberry has been working in food systems since 2008. Determine which variety you're growing. Also, the tip about how to deal with a sucker which, "I'm a first-time tomato grower, and I seem to have chosen one of the more difficult types to try. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Before you make any cuts, figure out whether you're growing an indeterminate or determinate variety of tomato plant. This article was co-authored by Andrew Carberry, MPH. Thanks. Here, you'll find out if you should prune, how to prune, and when to prune your tomato plants. ", great to keep control of the situation. What I found especially thoughtful is that when I printed the information, the colored pictures were not included, thus saving myself printer ink. Just follow these tips. Support wikiHow by {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/6\/6b\/Prune-Tomatoes-Step-1-Version-3.jpg\/v4-460px-Prune-Tomatoes-Step-1-Version-3.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/6\/6b\/Prune-Tomatoes-Step-1-Version-3.jpg\/aid335182-v4-728px-Prune-Tomatoes-Step-1-Version-3.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"