I see alot of talk about pruning/topping tomato plants. I've never done this, I just let them do their thing.

This year I'd like to try trimming the branches so I'm asking for advise. How y'all go about it?

I don’t prune determinate varieties except to keep fruiting branches up out of the dirt 7 or 8 inches. It postpones the blights…

This guy does a good job explaining. It’s hard to explain without lots of pictures or video. With my indeterminate varieties I usually go with two main branches. I do plant things rather close so I always keep the foliage off of the lowest seven or 8 inches no matter what.

https://youtu.be/yfZ9jfrWcSY

Pretty much the same here. Prune off the lower suckers and keep stuff up off the ground.

When I start to get scared that only 6 or 8 tomatoes will be ripe before it freezes I prune mine hard. I have read that it make the tomatoes on the plant ripen faster. I have also read if you prune the plants they will produce more tomatoes and less foliage.

Thanks guys.

I'll check the video out bhugo.

On determinate tomatoes I prune every sucker below the 1st cluster of tomatoes and then leave them alone. On Indeterminate I prune all suckers as they come on the plant except for the one sucker that comes on below the 1st cluster of tomatoes. That is the only sucker that I leave on the tomato. I also top the indeterminate after it gets 4 clusters of tomatoes on the plant.

I get fewer, but nicer tomatoes. I like to prune brandywine, my favorite, and other nice heirloom varieties to get showy specimens.

I raise determinate varieties for canning.

Our own Yotetrapper30 is the tomato goddess

I take the lowest branches off, the ones closest to the ground, I figure they will catch fungus first

The cages he uses are what I use , make my own. Concrete wire.

I like others , only prune the lower branches and suckers, to keep the plant about a foot above the ground.
Pruning from what I've always understood, was to produce quality , and not quantity .
Fewer tomatoes , larger size, supposed to be better taste.
If you want more tomatoes per plant , use Phosphate mixed deep in your soil , and top dress a few times after the fruit starts to appear.
I always like tall plants started for planting, that are buried as deep as can be , leaving just the very top set of leaves/branches above ground.
That way your plants have more roots , and deeper roots.
The Phosphate helps root growth and the plant will produce more fruit.
Don't use Phosphate on root crops like carrots or parsnips , at least not very much , or the roots will grow like ginseng roots.
I know as I planted companion parsnips and carrots with tomatoes one year.
Potash is better for root crops.

good read guys thanks

The people on here are the best,

I'm going to give pruning a go this year.

Ill do just the bottom few which seems like the most common way. Thanks again!!!

We take off all the suckers & every branch below the lowest hanging fruit and keep pruning up as we go. Our tomatoes get pruned 18-24" up from the ground. The added air flow helps prevent blight and mildew.

Thanks

I only prune with mower when they get out of bounds.
Blight trouble is avoided by variety choice and mulch,
and giving them space (I have plenty).
Parks Whopper Improved and Amish paste work best here.
I've done the babysitting thing with no real gain. YMMV.

Oh and the cuttings are easily rooted in plain water.

Think Spring folks.

Copper sulphate based, fruit tree sprays will kill the fungi that attack tomato plants, including leaf spot mold. Adding calcium will help with blossom end rot. I just put egg shells in with the tomato plants for calcium.

You can buy tomatoes at auction at their peak, cheaper than you can grow them, so I plant a few plants for everyday use and buy large amounts of tomatoes for a nickel a pound, or less at an Amish produce auction for canning.

Keith

Now that's debatable lol 😆

I prune so that I have about a 12-16" of nothing but main stem from the ground

my cages are about 36 inches tall and have a hoop at about 12, 24 and 36 "

to keep stuff off the ground and avoid splash I don't let anything come out of the cage till that 2nd hoop at 24 and I keep that to 2-3 then once it is over the top of the 36 they can go wild , this seems to keep them dry with good air flow

on the indeterminates like Sweet 100 I have rebar 10 foot long and I keep training them up till it is as high as I can reach 3 leaders off that main stem one up each rebar once they hit as high as I can reach and are ties let them go wild the bottom is still dry and getting enough air movement

I take the oldest most thread bare sheet I can find and start ripping off strips a sheet a year or every other year seems to be adequate tie material rap 2x around the rebar , over hand knot and it cinches down then a nice loop with a pair of overhand knots is fast and doesn't choke the plant.

by the time they hit the top and start back down I have lost patients for training and am picking fruit


mulching helps weeds and it helps water retention it also helps water absorption because about 2 weeks after the plants are mulched I see a definite difference between how much water the soil will take vs an un-mulched plant

The watering mentioned here I have gravitated too, but I don't shake of the dew or rain water as some do. My rows are 4 feet apart but I plan to plant them further apart in the rows this year. I plant mostly determinate tomatoes, the bulk of which are Celebrity. I do about 1/4 nondeterminate. I have not to this date pruned like many of you do. I lay down a 2 foot landscape cloth down the row and cut a slit in to plant. That helps I think for rain drop splashing. I also spray with a fungicde about every 7-10 days for the first couple months.
Good read and learning a lot. My yields in general have been very good inspite of my not do as much management as many of you do.

Bryce