Pruning Tomato Plants

There are basic growing habits you should understand before pruning tomato plants. By staking and pruning your plants, two scenarios are created: maximum sun exposure to flower-producing stems, and minimum dirt and infection exposure from leaves and fruit coming in contact with the ground.

Leaves exposed to the sun produce sugar, the plants' food. This sugar in turn flows throughout the plant, to the flowers, and ultimately the fruit, along with water and fertilizer. If left undisturbed, this flow of nutrients produces abundant flowers and fruit.

Why Pruning Tomato Plants is Important

In this growth process, additional side shoots, or suckers, are also created. They appear between the main stem of the plant and the stems that are creating flowers and fruit.

The problem is that these suckers divert the nutrients needed to produce fruit. At the same time, these additional side shoots are producing unnecessary leaves that will block the sun needed by fruit bearing stems.

It's important to remember that the tomato itself doesn't need to be bathed in sunshine, but the leaves on the fruit producing stems do.

The Process of Pruning Tomato Plants

Since the main purpose of pruning is to remove unwanted stems and produce healthy, abundant fruit, you want to make sure you do not expose your plants to disease or shock.

Correct pruning requires planning and timing. Your first pruning will be when you place the plant in the soil.

Remove any branches that are less than a foot or so from the ground. Stake the plant to keep it upright and expose as many branches to sunlight.

Don't prune anything else at this point, to prevent the plant from shock. As the plant grows, watch for the start of suckers.

The main branches will start to produce flowers. Branches that appear between this flowering branch and the main plant stem are suckers.

When the plant is about a foot tall, you can safely start pruning the suckers. When they're tiny, just bend them back between two fingers and snap them off.

If they get to be a few inches long, use clean pruning shears to remove them. This again keeps infection away from the wound.

Do your pruning early in the day, when the air is fairly dry, so the wounds have time to heal.

Pruning tomato plants is a fairly simple process but it requires a little planning and understanding of the habits of tomatoes. But it's well worth the effort for an abundant crop of delicious tomatoes.

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