It’s not necessary to prune tomatoes. However, in my garden all the tomato plants get a little pruning. Staked and trellised plants need the most because you want them to grow only one or two main stems which will make the plants easier to tie up.

Pruning means pinching off the shoots, or “suckers,” that grow out from stems right above leaf branches. By restricting the vine growth somewhat, you’ll get bigger tomatoes. If you let these suckers grow, each becomes another big stem with its own branches, blossoms, and fruits— even its own suckers. I prune my plants in cages and those growing freely early in the season, and then I let them grow. You should go on sucker patrol at least twice a week during the heavy growing season to keep your staked plants from getting hard to control.

In a very hot, sunny area, you can let some of the suckers put on a couple of leaves and then pinch out the top to stop its growth. The extra foliage will help the plant manufacture food and will help shade tomatoes. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve always tried to have the very first tomatoes in the area. When Jan and I had our market garden it was very important. If we could get folks to come to our stand for their early tomatoes, they’d probably be regular customers for the rest of the season.

Now I’ve worked out a system that puts vine-ripened tomatoes on our table in the middle of June. That’s only 4 weeks past our average last frost date! Most folks in my part of the country pick their first tomatoes at the end of July! This method will work for you no matter where you live. Read the rest of this entry »