We dutifully prune our fruit trees and our rose bushes, but not all of us are taking the same care with our tomatoes.
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Doing the right type of pruning at the right time (and on the right plants) can actually increase your harvest dramatically, and it can keep your plants healthier than they might be otherwise.
Doing it wrong, on the other hand, can ruin the tasty bonanza.
Don’t worry, I’m not trying to cast gloom and doom over your garden. Pruning your tomatoes isn’t all that hard!
Coming right up, here’s everything we’re going to go over to help you nail it:
Unlike pruning fruit trees or berry bushes, pruning tomatoes is entirely optional.
You will still be able to grow a big old harvest if you save the pruners for other work. But it can make a big difference in the size, quality, and quantity of your fruit.
If you want to give it a try, read on.
Which Tomatoes Need Pruning?There are two types of tomato plants: determinate and indeterminate.
Determinate types grow to a certain height, and then they stop. Indeterminate plants don’t have a natural stopping point. They’ll keep growing indefinitely until the end of the season.
The only types that should be pruned are indeterminate ones. Leave determinate types alone.
When you buy your plant or review the seed packet, the tag or description will tell you which type you have. If it doesn’t, be sure to look up this information to confirm what you’re working with.
Why You Should PruneIn a few words, pruning increases the size and number of fruits on the plant.
Since indeterminate types grow and grow, they tend to produce too much foliage
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