Do tomatoes need pruning? Garden experts disagree. The bottom line is that tomatoes will do just fine without pruning . . . but there are some good reasons to prune.
Pruned tomatoes take up less space than unpruned ones and are less likely to become top-heavy and topple their support cages. There will be fewer fruits but individual tomatoes will be bigger since the plant has more energy to put into each one. Pruning opens up the plant so that air can circulate better, which helps leaves to dry faster and prevents disease. The big benefit is that they are likely to set fruit up to two weeks earlier than they otherwise would.
Late season pruning allows more warmth and sunlight to get to the tomatoes to help them ripen faster. At this point, new growth on the plant itself won’t have time to produce more tomatoes anyway.
The parts of the tomato that are pruned, if you choose to do so, are the suckers. These are little stems that sprout in the crotches of main branches. They can easily be snapped off with your fingers. If you need a scissors or pruning shears to do the job, you’ve waited too long. Too heavy pruning may cause the leaves to roll. It won’t hurt the plants, but take note and back off a bit next time.
If allowed to grow, each of the suckers will become another big stem with its own branches, blossoms, fruits and even suckers.
If the plants are in a very hot sunny area, pruning is probably best left undone. The fruits need some shade to avoid sunscald. At first, a yellowish-white patch appears on the side of the tomato facing the sun. The area gets larger as the fruit ripens and becomes grayish-white. An alternative is to let the suckers develop a few leaves to shade the fruits, and then pinch out the tops to stop the growth.
While pruning is a matter of gardener’s choice, mulching is always recommended. To avoid the many fungal diseases that splash up onto tomato plants from the soil, lay down a mulch under each plant, being careful not to let it touch the stems. The mulch also keeps tomatoes that are touching the ground clean. Some mulch possibilities are untreated grass clippings, shredded leaves, pine needles, hay or straw.
Fungal diseases usually start at the bottom of the plant and work their way up. You’ll notice yellow leaves or yellow, red or brown spots on the leaves, which eventually dry up and fall off. Remove any diseased leaves from the area and do not compost them. Tomatoes that ripen on the diseased plant are fine to use, but at the end of the season, pull up and destroy the entire plant. Next year, put your mulch in place earlier.
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