How to Prune Vining Tomatoes
It’s that time of year! Time to prune your vining tomatoes, that is!
As the weather starts to heat up and summer is in full swing my tomato plants are taking off and well.. taking over! Cherry Tomatoes have been my favorite thing to plant in the garden simply because of their high yields, but they do take a bit of work to get the most out of your harvest.
As you can see here, the vines are well over 8ft tall and have reached up and over my tomato arch! Now, even though they are called “Vining Tomatoes” they don’t actually “vine" themselves. They need a little extra help! I like to prune heavily. It helps with healthy air flow, pushes the energy into creating fruit instead of leaves, and also helps you notice any critters as you clip away at your vines.
Now, where to begin?? How do you prune vining tomatoes? Here is what you’ll need! Grab your Fiskars and/or garden sheers, gardening gloves, and twine. I like to pre-cut 1ft pieces of twine before I get started so they are ready to go. Normally I don’t wear gloves when gardening, I like to just dive in, but that’s up to you!
Now here is where it gets a little controversial. You may have heard (like me) to remove the suckers, BUT I am going to teach you the opposite. This is what I have found the most success with. If you want MORE fruit, you remove the stems beside the suckers. If you want BIGGER fruit, you remove the suckers.
Since these are vining tomatoes in my garden, I don’t need them to be large - I just want higher yields so I prune the stems beside the suckers (see photo to the right). You can see the small sucker is growing out of the corner where the leaf stem and vine intersect. Leave the sucker (the one coming out at a 45 degree angle) and clip off the leaf stem close to the vine. Suckers actually grow to produce flowers, and then later, fruit! So by keeping them you’re sending more energy into growing more tomatoes.
If this was a slicing tomato I’d be trimming back the suckers to get larger fruit!
I also like to clip off any leaves closer to the bottom of the vines. This helps with better air flow and reduces risk of disease. I like to think that my tomato plants tell me which leaves to remove when it’s time to prune. Any brown, yellow, or diseased leaves should be clipped! As the vines grow taller, you’ll see some lower branches start to brown, especially if there is not a healthy air flow. This is a great sign to get pruning!
This is my garden before pruning! Woah! The right side had been pruned a few weeks prior, but was already overgrown. The left side hadn’t been touched yet - a jungle!
This cherry tomato plant needed some serious pruning and help reaching over the arch for support. Once I got everything untangled and clipped off all excess branches/leaves, I was able to get to the next step - Trellising!
There are many different ways to support your tomato vines. I personally love a beautiful garden arch. It not only adds a ton of space for vertical growing and a strong support for even the heaviest vines, but it’s also is a stunning focal point in the Kitchen Garden! Since my business is all about teaching you how to grow your own organic food in a space that is both functional and beautiful, I love using arches and trellises to give height and structure in a garden.
After all of your vines are pruned and thinned, it’s time to tie them off on your arch/support. Take your pre-cut twine and tie off each vine loosely to the supports. Tie them off as high as they will go. Be sure not to tighten the twine too much, as the vines will thicken as they grow. You want to keep them as untangled as possible, and try to avoid overcrowding. This will help circulation and you’ll also be to clearly see all of your healthy fruit growing in!
Be careful when handling your vines! The worst feeling is knocking off a beautiful cluster of baby tomatoes, BUT it will most likely happen occasionally so don’t beat yourself up when it does! By pruning you’ll have hundreds more tomatoes growing in so soon!
And that’s it! I like to prune a little at a time every week/bi weekly. Don’t be like me in that overgrown photo! It was a scorching hot day in the Lowcountry and I waited way too long to get pruning! By doing a little each week, it’s much more manageable.
I hope this post helps you all with your tomato gardening! Happy Pruning!!
