Content

• Steps
• Advice
• Warning
• What you need

When you grow tomatoes, your ultimate goal is usually to harvest as many ripe fruit as possible. If you are planting indeterminate varieties or "vines" (Big Boy, Beef Master, most older purebred varieties), prune unnecessary shoots and leaves to help the plant regrow. Out of nutrition on the fruit. However, too much pruning will be counterproductive for finely grown tomato varieties (Biltmore, Heinz, Patio).

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Determine pruning time of tomato plant

1. 

   Identify the variety of tomato you are growing. Before pruning, you need to know if the tomato plant you are growing is an indeterminate or finite plant. Indeterminate varieties that grow like vines must rely on stakes and need to be pruned to thrive. Finite-growing cultivars do not crawl but grow into bushes, and they automatically add nutrients to the fruit without much intervention. Following are a few varieties that are popular in two types:
   • Infinite-growing varieties: Big Boy, Beef Master, Black Prince, German Queen, most cherry tomato varieties and purebred varieties.
   • Finite-growing varieties:Ace 55, Amelia, Better Bush, Biltmore, Heatmaster, Heinz Classic, Mountain Pride and Patio.

2. 

   
   
   Check for signs of yellowing. One sign of when it's time to start pruning is that the branches underneath the first inflorescence turn yellow. When this occurs, you can begin pruning.

3. 

   Check out the side buds. Look for new tiny new shoots where the branch intersects the infinitely growing trunk. These buds are called "lateral buds" and should be pruned. Left behind shoots absorb the rest of the plant's nutrients and cause the plant to have less fruit. While they are not always harmful, removing these buds will help the tree bear larger fruit throughout the season.

4. 

   
   
   Find tomato flowers. You should start pruning the tomato plant early, when the plant is just flowering. At this time, the tomato plant is usually about 30-45 cm tall. advertisement

Method 2 of 2: Apply the right pruning technique

1. 

   Prune all lateral buds and leaves below the first inflorescence. You should do this regardless of what tomato variety you are growing. It makes the plant stronger because the main branch of the tree will grow stronger. When the lateral buds are pruned, most of the nutrients will go to the fruit instead of being wasted on the useless growing tops.
   • To prune the lateral bud, you can use two fingers to hold the bud and bend it back and forth until it snaps well. This is easiest when the shoots are young and soft. A small wound will heal. This technique is called "simple pruning".
   • For branches and leaves (not lateral buds) that grow below the first inflorescence: If you're in a warm climate, such as zone 9, wait for the branches to turn yellow. They work to shade the ground until the plant is mature. Conversely, if you are planting in a humid environment (such as a greenhouse), prune everything below the first inflorescence to allow more ventilation. Moisture can make it easier for pathogens to grow, while also making pruning wounds dry longer and plants more vulnerable.You can protect plants by improving ventilation.

2. 

   
   
   Leave the buds on the chubby side. You should not remove any stubby side buds, as this can damage the entire plant. If the buds are larger than the pencil, use the "Missouri-style" method, which means only the ends of the lateral buds, leaving 1-2 leaves for photosynthesis and protecting the growing fruit from burning. sunny. The downside here is that lateral buds will sprout from the branch you've left behind and will need more pruning. This is a technique suitable for handling large shoots; if the cut becomes infected, it will retreat away from the main branch. This method also leaves a side shoot to reduce shock to the plant.
   • Prune the lateral shoots throughout the summer to keep the plant healthy. The buds grow fairly quickly, so you may need to prune the plant 1-2 times a week.

3. 

   For indeterminate varieties of tomato, you should leave only 4-5 fruit-bearing flower clusters, and the rest of the flower clusters should be cut off. These are branches that sprout from the trunk above the first flower cluster. 4-5 flower clusters on the tree will produce large and healthy fruit, but if more, the fruit will be small and few. Choose 4-5 sturdy inflorescences to retain and remove all lateral buds, leaving only the tops of the plants, also known as shoots.
   • Make sure that tomato varieties are tied to the stake after flowering. Otherwise, the branches will crawl on the ground and cause no healthy fruit.
   • Finite-growing tomato varieties have a limited number of branches and grow naturally, so they do not need to be pruned above the flower cluster. If you do, you will prune the eyes of the fruit-bearing branches instead of helping the tree bear fruit.

4. 

   Eliminate the yellow leaves. Yellow leaves are leaves that use more sugar than they produce. When the plant begins to mature, the leaves underneath will naturally turn yellow and wither. This phenomenon is completely normal; you just have to remove the yellow leaves from the trees when you see them appearing. This will help keep the plant healthy and prevent disease.

5. 

   Unplug the tree. For the best harvest at the end of the growing season, you need to "take off" the tops of the plants. About a month before the first forecast frost occurs, or when the plant reaches the roof of a greenhouse, remove the shoots from the plant. By this time of season, the growing tomatoes do not have much time to ripen, so all nutrients need to be transported directly to the fruit. advertisement

Advice

• Finite-growing varieties or "shrubs" do not need pruning (or stakes). They are bred to have limited heights, give a pod for 2 weeks and die. Indeterminate varieties, also known as "leo" tomatoes, grow as tall as a human being, and grow and bear fruit throughout the season. Popular finite-growing tomato varieties include Rutgers, Roma, Celebrity (some call semi-finite plants) and Marglobe. Indeterminate varieties include Big Boy, Beef Master, most "cherry" tomatoes, Early Girl and most purebred varieties.

Warning

• If you smoke cigarettes, wash your hands with soap and water before touching the tomato plants. Smokers can easily transmit the "tobacco mosaic virus" to tomato plants.
• To avoid infecting the tomato plant, remove the buds by hand instead of using pruning tools (cuts that are susceptible to infection). However, for larger, stiffer buds, you may need to use scissors to prune. Be sure to disinfect pruning tools thoroughly each time.

What you need

• Tomato plants are growing
• Clean hands
• The cutting tools are sterilized if need (it is better to break the tree by hand)