FORCE Tomatoes to FRUIT MORE | How to Prune Tomato Plants the RIGHT WAY

Main Ideas

• Pruning is mainly recommended for indeterminate tomatoes, which grow like vines and continue producing throughout the season. Without pruning, they can develop many side shoots, called suckers, and become dense and sprawling.
• A sucker grows where a leaf meets the main stem. It can develop into a fruit-bearing stem with its own leaves, flowers, and additional suckers.
• The presenter says pruning and training plants vertically can improve airflow and light exposure, reduce disease risk, and encourage earlier fruit ripening. It can also make it possible to grow more plants and varieties in a small area.
• Pruned plants may produce less fruit per plant than unpruned, sprawling plants, but potentially more fruit per square foot. The presenter describes pruning as a way to balance leaf growth, fruit production, and the plant’s capacity to support both.
• Determinate tomatoes are different: they tend to produce one main fruiting cycle. The presenter recommends removing only lower leaves from these plants, since removing too many growing tops could reduce the harvest.

Pruning Approach

1. Remove lower leaves. Cut or remove leaves near the soil, especially those touching it, to improve airflow and reduce the chance of soil-related disease spreading up the plant.

2. Identify suckers. Look where a leaf meets the main stem. A new shoot growing from this joint is a sucker.

3. Remove most suckers from young indeterminate plants. When suckers are small, pinch them off by hand. This encourages the plant to focus on a main stem, which can be tied to a stake or trained up a string.

4. Train the plant vertically. As the plant grows, keep checking the leaf joints for new suckers. The presenter says vertical training saves space and makes plants easier to maintain and harvest.

5. Optionally keep a few suckers for specific purposes.

   • For large-fruited beefsteak tomatoes exposed to intense sun, leave one or two suckers toward the plant’s center to provide shade and help prevent sunscald.
   • To increase production, allow a few selected suckers to grow and fruit, but remove the new suckers that form on them. This adds fruiting stems without letting the plant become excessively bushy.

6. Remove large, established suckers gradually. Avoid removing many large shoots at once, as this may stress the plant. Start with lower suckers and spread the pruning over several days if needed. If a sucker is already very large, the presenter suggests keeping it and training the plant with two main stems instead of making a large cut.

7. Use clean tools and choose a suitable day. The presenter recommends spraying pruners with isopropyl alcohol when moving between plants to reduce the risk of spreading disease. He prefers pruning when conditions are neither very wet nor extremely hot. In his experience, alcohol-treated cuts also seem to close faster.

8. Don’t worry excessively about mistakes. Tomato plants continue growing in a recognizable pattern. The presenter encourages gardeners to observe how each plant responds and adjust their pruning approach accordingly.

The presenter recommends trying the method on some plants while leaving others unpruned for comparison. He also notes that combining pruning with early-producing varieties may bring an earlier harvest.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• James Prigioni — the presenter; the auto-generated subtitles render his surname as “Pion.”
• Brent Davis — thanked as a channel member but not heard speaking in the subtitles.