Tomato Pruning
July 28, 2008 by Doug
Filed under Vegetables, Video
Yeah, I know you think you don’t need info on tomato pruning at this time of year but if you’re like me, sometimes you let things get out of hand. Here’s the remedy - serious pruning. Would I string you along? (You gotta watch the video to “get” that) 
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James Mann on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 8:38 am
Just the information I needed to know. I have a feeling we might not have much of a tomato crop this year but it’s our first year and we have a lot of learnin’ to do.
I actually stopped your video half way through and went out to see just how bad our tomatoes are. Well that aren’t very big yet so I should have no problem getting rid of those suckers, plus we only have 4 plants.
Next year will be planting earlier and planting more.
thanks for the great video Doug.
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Katharine on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 12:53 pm
Well that is a timely video for me. My tomatoes are out of control! They are in fact about four times the size of your pruning demo! The thing I am always trying to balance here is the amount of sunlight plants get…just because the label says full sun I don’t think the growers realize what that means here in West Texas
I have killed more things by planting according to the label directions! Well I guess I know what I will doing this afternoon. Thanks Doug.
Doug on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 1:07 pm
@Katharine -
I can appreciate what that kind of summer heat does to plants. Even here in the north, a full sun exposure - protected from the wind- can beat up on many plants in a surprisingly short time.
Having spent some time in the South (mostly winter)
And you’re right - those tags are generic and mostly meant for the big Northeast markets (unless coming from a Southern grower aiming for the Southern market and then they should know better).
Katharine on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 1:26 pm
Well my garden is trial and error, I had to forget everything I learned from growing a garden on the West Coast!
Lorra on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 3:27 pm
Love your timely videos. Growing up around fields of tomatoes, I still have problems with suckering and staking my 5 gallon bucket tomato garden on my almost full-shade yard.
Doug on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 3:47 pm
@Lorra -
Hah - your timing is perfect as always. Wait till tomorrow’s video.
We get to suckering.
Doug on Mon, 28th Jul 2008 3:48 pm
@Katharine -
Right from the bounty on the left coast to the high-heat middle. That’s a major switch in thinking as well as gardening.
joann on Fri, 1st Aug 2008 1:39 pm
I have been growing tomatoes for a couple of hundred years and so have my ancestors before me. I have never pruned, or de-suckered a tomato. But, I grow mine in cages. If I picked off all of those leaves, the tomatoes would burn in the 100 degree sun. But, As you said Doug, if you grow them as indeterminate in cages, you don’t need to do all this. I am so glad that you spend time to show us all of these things in video format. The compost tea instructions were fantastic. Thanks.
Doug on Sun, 3rd Aug 2008 6:41 pm
@joann -
There is indeed a great difference in growing in the South and the North - mind you, I’d like to be able to try both. I’m thinking going south in … say January and coming back up here in April. I think that might work.
Pays to live green on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 9:13 am
I have a tomatoe plant that is out of control and I have to get to pruning it. Thanks for the great video.
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