How to prune tomatoes for maximum production
Pruning tomatoes is the best way to keep your plants healthy and increase yields. In this post, I will tell you why you should cut tomatoes, what varieties need it and when to do it. I will show you how to prune tomatoes step by step.
Even if your tomato plants grow large each summer and do not produce much fruit, it is time to bring out your pruned aubergines. The best yields are obtained by making a habit of trimming the tomatoes regularly.
Some are thought-provoking and intimidated by plants. But don’t worry, I’m going to make this much easier for you! Below I will tell you everything in detail.
What kind of tomatoes should be pruned?
Before going into the details of chopping tomatoes, it is important to understand that there are two types to consider: determination and uncertainty.
Since it is important to know the difference between them, the same amount of pruning is not required. It is very easy to cut firm tomatoes ...
Determining how to prune tomatoes - Remove the suckers at the base of the plant only from the first flower cluster. Do not prune the upper branches, otherwise, it will adversely affect the fruit production.
It's simpler than that! However, pruning unstable tomatoes is a bit more complicated. So, the rest of this post is all about that.
Need to prune tomato plants?
Pruning is not necessary to grow a healthy crop of tasty tomatoes. If you are happy with the look of your plant and the number of tomatoes, there is no need to trim it.
Why prune tomato plants?
Regular pruning of tomatoes is very beneficial for the plant and can produce more fruit. Here are some reasons why it is important to cut tomatoes often
High Yield Results - If you do not prune tomatoes, they will expend more energy on growing leaves and suckers. This can lead to a shift away from fruit production, which means you won’t get many tomatoes.
Prevents Disease - Making tomatoes thinner improves ventilation and helps prevent fungal problems. Proper pruning can also help prevent blight and other soil-borne diseases.
Keeps them beautiful - uncut tomatoes are overgrown and weedy. In addition, when they overwhelm their support, they can quickly fall to the ground.
More ripe tomatoes - Pruning at the right time promotes faster ripening of fruits. That means you won’t be stuck with a ton of green tomatoes that don’t have time to turn red before frosting.
What is Tomato Absorbers?
Tomato suckers are extra growths that appear between the stem and the branch joint. If left to grow, it will become another branch of the sucker, which will also grow flowers and tomatoes.
The reason for removing them is because they compete for the energy available to the plant. This extra growth will make the fruits smaller and reduce the overall tomato yield.
Once you remove the suckers, your plant can dedicate more energy to producing tomatoes, instead of wasting it on weak sucking growth.
Absorbents can make the plant look overgrown, and they can be very heavy. So you can control their size and shape by pinching them on a regular basis.
When to prune tomatoes
When the tomatoes are small, it is best to start pruning as soon as the flowers begin to form. Then continue on a regular basis throughout the summer. This will allow you to produce as many tomatoes as possible.
Then in late summer, you should get it more aggressive. At this point, you can pinch the top of the plants, and any new flowers.
This will help the fruits ripen much faster, so you will not get stuck in clusters of green tomatoes when the frost comes.
Tools for chopping tomatoes
You can pinch the small suckers in the tomatoes with your fingers. If you do not like the smell on your hands, use a couple of micro-dip pruners.
To avoid damaging the main stem, it is best to cut large suckers, stems, and leaves using scissors. Personally, I like to use precision pruners for work.
No matter what cutting tool you decide to use, be sure to clean and sharpen the tomatoes before pruning. This will help prevent any damage or disease complications. How to prune tomato plants
You do not have to worry too much about pruning, tomatoes can handle a pretty heavy trim.
But it is important to know how to prune tomatoes to ensure that you are doing the best for the health of the tomato and maximum fruit production.
Here are the tips for trimming tomatoes ...
Step 1: Cut off the dead leaves - Remove the dead or yellow leaves you see. This is an easy first step and will help clear up the clutter so you can focus on trimming the rest.
Step 2: Remove the leaves below - It is important to remove all the leaves that touch the ground. This will help prevent infection from soil-borne diseases such as blight.
Step 3: Pinch the suckers - you do not have to remove every sucker. This can become very difficult, especially if you have never done this before.
I usually try to remove the large absorbers at the bottom first and then pinch some of the smaller ones at the top if I have time.
Step 4: Prune the extra leaves again - this final step is optional, but is best done for excess tomato plants.
Also thin, control the size, stimulate fruit growth, cut off some of the larger leaves or pull back.
Do not cut too many leaves, plants need their leaves to grow.
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