Ultimate Tomato Pruning Guide: what to cut, how often, and why we prune #garden #tomato #pruning

If you're confused about pruning tomatoes, this is the video for you. First up, what matters the most is what kind of tomato you're growing. This is an indeterminate or vining tomato. This is the kind of tomato you want to be pruning this way, a patio or bush tomato you don't really need to prune. Number two is the initial pruning, and that is when the plant is very young. Pruning you want to do there is making sure that you've only got one main stem. If you're seeing this video after several stems have already been established, then you'll want to skip this part. Third, you've got to decide if you're going to prune the suckers or not. So this is a sucker, this is the main stem of the tomato. This is a non fruiting leaf stem, and this is a sucker that will grow into a brand new tomato plant. So most people are going to say to prune the suckers so that they get bigger fruit. For me, I want more fruit, not necessarily bigger. So once a week, I head to the bottom of my plant and start to prune it from the base up, never pruning more than a third of the plant. Once a week, I prune the non fruiting leaf stems and I leave the suckers. Pruning tomato plants directs the plant's energy. Every time you prune away a leafy stem, you tell the plant to produce and put its energy toward more fruit. And we know that we've got to make the most of the season. That's why pruning really matters.