You do not have to prune your tomato plants to get a good crop of tomatoes.
Side shoots grow out between the main stem and the branches of a tomato plant.
If you prune them, the plant's energy will be directed to the remaining branches.
If you do not prune them, they will grow, blossom, and fruit just like the rest of the branches.
Indeterminate types.
When indeterminate tomato plants grow to about one foot tall, they will begin producing side shoots from the main stem called 'suckers.
' Each of these suckers has the potential to produce foliage, blossoms, fruit and even more suckers.
If you support your tomato plants with cages, you can let the side shoots grow and just pinch off the growing tips as they extend beyond the cage.
You might also want to prune some of the suckers when they are small to keep your tomato cages from becoming a tangled mass of vegetation.
This will block air flow and hold in too much moisture around the plants, leading to disease problems.
To remove the side shoots, just grab it with your fingers and roll it back and forth until it comes off on its own, or cut it with a sharp knife or pruning shears.
The wound will heal on its own.
Determinate types.
The less pruning the better for determinate or bush types of tomatoes.
If you prune too many of the side shoots, the tomato plants will not produce enough foliage.
Lack of foliage will increase the chances of poor tasting tomatoes and sun scald.
You need the foliage to shade the tomatoes from the sun, especially in the hotter months of summer.
Use the shoots for free tomato plants.
The side shoots you prune off of tomato plants can provide you with free transplants.
To start new transplants, let some of the side shoots grow to about five inches long.
Use a sharp knife or pruning shears to cut these shoots off.
Do this around mid summer and you will have new tomato plants to carry you until the fall.
Pinch off the lowest leaf and any fruit on each stem and place them in a container of water.
Set the container in a shady spot in your yard.
In a few days they will start to root.
Once the shoots sprout some vigorous white roots, transplant the stems to a pot and either wait for a place to open up in your garden or go ahead and plant the stems in the garden.
For the first few days after planting in the garden, provide the new transplants with some shade in the afternoon to protect them from the hot sun.
And remember, keep them watered.
Side shoots grow out between the main stem and the branches of a tomato plant.
If you prune them, the plant's energy will be directed to the remaining branches.
If you do not prune them, they will grow, blossom, and fruit just like the rest of the branches.
Indeterminate types.
When indeterminate tomato plants grow to about one foot tall, they will begin producing side shoots from the main stem called 'suckers.
' Each of these suckers has the potential to produce foliage, blossoms, fruit and even more suckers.
If you support your tomato plants with cages, you can let the side shoots grow and just pinch off the growing tips as they extend beyond the cage.
You might also want to prune some of the suckers when they are small to keep your tomato cages from becoming a tangled mass of vegetation.
This will block air flow and hold in too much moisture around the plants, leading to disease problems.
To remove the side shoots, just grab it with your fingers and roll it back and forth until it comes off on its own, or cut it with a sharp knife or pruning shears.
The wound will heal on its own.
Determinate types.
The less pruning the better for determinate or bush types of tomatoes.
If you prune too many of the side shoots, the tomato plants will not produce enough foliage.
Lack of foliage will increase the chances of poor tasting tomatoes and sun scald.
You need the foliage to shade the tomatoes from the sun, especially in the hotter months of summer.
Use the shoots for free tomato plants.
The side shoots you prune off of tomato plants can provide you with free transplants.
To start new transplants, let some of the side shoots grow to about five inches long.
Use a sharp knife or pruning shears to cut these shoots off.
Do this around mid summer and you will have new tomato plants to carry you until the fall.
Pinch off the lowest leaf and any fruit on each stem and place them in a container of water.
Set the container in a shady spot in your yard.
In a few days they will start to root.
Once the shoots sprout some vigorous white roots, transplant the stems to a pot and either wait for a place to open up in your garden or go ahead and plant the stems in the garden.
For the first few days after planting in the garden, provide the new transplants with some shade in the afternoon to protect them from the hot sun.
And remember, keep them watered.
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