It keeps the plant growing straight up, producing beautiful fruit. Download Resource Why prune tomatoes Pruning, or selectively removing some of the tomato plant growth, can improve harvestable yields and prolong the harvest season.
Angus says, “Pinching laterals out stops the plant from growing out sideways and eventually becoming a monster. This is a trick his Grandpa taught him many years ago. Laterals will continue to grow out to form branches which produce its own leaves and eventually, flowers and fruit as well.Īngus says, “The problem with leaving the laterals is that they will continue to grow out sideways, making it hard to stake the plant, the fruit sits on the soil and rots away, and generally the plant becomes too big and unmanageable.”Īngus removes all the lateral shots as soon as they are big enough to pinch out. Laterals: These are small ‘branches’ that grow between leaves on the central leader. Leaves: These are attached to the central leader. This is accomplished during bottom pruning, but should be done regularly, especially with indeterminate varieties. The fruits are exposed to sun, and the hormones from the leaves take away energy from ripening. To understand how best to prune your plant, it’s a good idea to understand these basic points about the structure of a tomato plant:Ĭentral leader: This is the main stem of the plant which keeps growing indefinitely, producing flowers and fruits. Trimming leaf branches weekly around ripening tomatoes will help them ripen more quickly. And, Angus says, “That means pruning them.” First of all, the goal is to trim all the lower branches to allow good airflow under the plants and help push water and nutrients to the tomatoes. To get the best out of your tomatoes, especially in the small gardens that are so common today, you need to manage them well.
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