Pruning Tomatoes: How, When and with What

Pruning Tomatoes

Do you know how to prune your tomatoes? I’ll tell you everything you need to know about pruning tomato plants: how, when, and with what to prune your cherry tomatoes, large or grafted; potted, greenhouse, or outdoors.

Is it Good to Prune Tomatoes?

First of all, you may be wondering why prune tomatoes? Well then, I’ll tell you what the use of pruning tomatoes is. Without a doubt, pruning tomato plants are done not to grow, but this, like everything, has a procedure and an explanation. By pruning tomato plants, you allow all the nutrients to pass to the fruit, and in this way, you can harvest much more prosperous, healthier, larger, and more nutritious tomatoes.

With What to Prune Tomatoes?

Now, keep in mind that it is vital with what you prune your tomato plants. It is always preferable to prune your tomatoes with your own hands to not damage the plant. Before doing so, wash them very well to avoid infecting the tomato plants. If the branches are very thick and hard and you need to use pruning shears, sterilize them very well before contaminating the tomato plant.

When to Prune Tomatoes?

In any case, you need to know when is the right time to prune your tomatoes. The truth is that some varieties of tomatoes grow so that they do not require pruning. Such is the case with types of determined growth. They bear fruit before filling it with leaves and new branches. They only gain little height and die soon.

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In contrast, the indeterminate varieties grow tomatoes all season but require pruning if you want to get better fruit. If you haven’t done it before, the time to prune your tomato plants is when it has flowers. Note that buds begin to appear between the main trunk and the secondary branch. These shoots are known as suckers, and we must prune them very carefully when they are still small not to damage the plant.

How to Prune Tomatoes?

Pruning Tomatoes

Well, I will tell you how to prune your tomato plants, depending on the type of tomatoes in question and where you grow them since it is not the same if you do it in a garden or on your balcony.

Cherry

Indeed, the pruning of tomato plants also depends on the variety of tomatoes in question. In cherry tomatoes, you can leave up to 4 arms per tomato plant to obtain cherry tomatoes of good flavor and size.

Large

On the other hand, if you grow large tomato plants, I suggest leaving no more than one or two arms and prune the rest. In this way, your tomato production will maintain the quality you are looking for in its fruits.

Grafted

Grafted tomatoes are generally grown in greenhouses. The sense of grafting tomatoes is to obtain more vigorous and resistant tomato plants. Hence, the pruning of grafted tomatoes is a particular type of pruning, which duplicates the pruned arms to strengthen the tomato plant further.

Potted

In reality, pruning potted tomato plants depends on the variety in question. There are both determinate and indeterminate varieties that are suitable for growing in pots. If you choose indeterminate varieties, you should control their growth with pruning, whereas the determined ones have a controlled growth, so you will not need to prune them.

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Under glass

In addition, pruning the suckers, as the tomato plant produces its fruits, you will notice that the low leaves in the shade turn yellow or even dry out. It is crucial that you remove them carefully to reduce the plant’s strength and that the tomatoes ripen much better. Once the tomatoes appear, you can remove all the leaves from that arm.

Outdoor

Finally, without a doubt, outdoors is where the tomato plants will grow the most, and although they may have enough substrate to do so, it is also essential to prune suckers and prune leaves, especially old or diseased ones, to avoid pests. And maintain the health of the plant. In the same way, we can improve the quality of the fruits and prune some flowers that we can prune when there are more than 6 or 7 bouquets.

So they don’t grow

As I already mentioned, the reason for pruning the tomatoes so that they do not grow is to achieve larger and healthier fruits. Hence the importance and benefits of a good pruning.

More information about the tomato plant

Pruning Tomatoes

Next, I share more information of interest about the tomato plant, not only in terms of its cultivation but also to the properties of the fruit and some varieties of it that you may not know.

  • How to grow an organic tomato? As you may already know, nothing better than the organic cultivation of tomatoes without pesticides and chemical fertilizers that contaminate the fruits and affect health.
  • What is tomato good for? Without a doubt, if you grow tomatoes, you will know what the benefits of their consumption are and how rich they are. However, you may not have noticed all of its valuable nutritional properties. Get informed!
  • What is the tree tomato? Have you heard of the tree tomato? If you follow the previous link, you will be able to discover the properties and applications of this exotic fruit.
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