Talk to me about pruning...

[pjhootch]

I have been growing tomatoes for a long time- but have only become focused in the last few years. Simultaneously, I moved to a home with very little sunny area. So I have three or four tomatoes in the ground/raised bed up against the southeast side of the house, and am growing in an ever expanding selection of containers, pots and large planters in a sunny part of the back patio. I grow tomato, a few peppers, and as much eggplant as we can eat and freeze (usually about 4 plants in pots) along with herbs in small pots and shallow planters.

As I moved from all hybrid to mostly heirloom I had to start learning about diseases and insect vulnerability I never researched before. 25 years ago I planted stunted plants purchased cheap from walmart when it was 90 degrees out and they lived or died- and we ate what the birds left me when I had time to go check them. 😂

So now I need to learn to prune proactively instead of as a reaction to a diseased plant. I use large, heavy duty square tomato cages in planters that are about 25 gallons, and smaller round cages in planters that are 15-20 gallons. We get a lot of rain here at times and high humidity is possible and unpredictable.

So when to start? What is the best way to keep them maintained instead of trying to fix them when they get too thick?

I realize people have different views about this so would like some suggestions about how to handle this as I learn new tips.

[oakley]

Lots of past discussions by using the search upper right....

Here is one,
http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...uning+tomatoes

And this a good episode from GrowingAGreenerWorld with an excellent visual.
https://www.growingagreenerworld.com...epic-tomatoes/

You might want to try some dwarfs next season as they don't mind smaller containers,
say 3-4 gallon, and can be easily moved throughout the season as the sun shifts.
They behave and are nearly self pruning getting only 4-5 feet. You can fit more in
a smaller area. A bit lower yield but more plants makes up for that.

[edweather]

I'll have to check out those links. This is my second year in hot humid Georgia. Never had to worry about this in northern NY. Last year was a rude awakening with bugs and disease. This year my rookie pruning season, I've just started out by removing the interior branches, to keep the inside opened up.......and am removing any suckers. So far so good, but it's early, and April is usually ok, but like you say, I don't want to wait until it's too late. Just waiting for my first leaf miners and white flies to appear. :-)

[AKmark]

Originally Posted by pjhootch

I have been growing tomatoes for a long time- but have only become focused in the last few years. Simultaneously, I moved to a home with very little sunny area. So I have three or four tomatoes in the ground/raised bed up against the southeast side of the house, and am growing in an ever expanding selection of containers, pots and large planters in a sunny part of the back patio. I grow tomato, a few peppers, and as much eggplant as we can eat and freeze (usually about 4 plants in pots) along with herbs in small pots and shallow planters.

As I moved from all hybrid to mostly heirloom I had to start learning about diseases and insect vulnerability I never researched before. 25 years ago I planted stunted plants purchased cheap from walmart when it was 90 degrees out and they lived or died- and we ate what the birds left me when I had time to go check them. ��

So now I need to learn to prune proactively instead of as a reaction to a diseased plant. I use large, heavy duty square tomato cages in planters that are about 25 gallons, and smaller round cages in planters that are 15-20 gallons. We get a lot of rain here at times and high humidity is possible and unpredictable.

So when to start? What is the best way to keep them maintained instead of trying to fix them when they get too thick?

I realize people have different views about this so would like some suggestions about how to handle this as I learn new tips.

I prune to a single stem and do so for production, disease control, and I can lower my plants when they get too tall to maintain. I will never go back to multiple stems unless it is a cherry tomato, or a saladette.

[pjhootch]

Originally Posted by AKmark

I prune to a single stem and do so for production, disease control, and I can lower my plants when they get too tall to maintain. I will never go back to multiple stems unless it is a cherry tomato, or a saladette.

Mark, you are not too far from where I used to grow tomatoes in my stepdad’s greenhouse in Palmer. As much wind as we get and with our hot direct sun, I would have terrible sunscald I think If I tried to go
down to one stem.

[AKmark]

Originally Posted by pjhootch

Mark, you are not too far from where I used to grow tomatoes in my stepdad’s greenhouse in Palmer. As much wind as we get and with our hot direct sun, I would have terrible sunscald I think If I tried to go
down to one stem.

Leave the shade leaves that cover the fruit. People prune this way all over the world, even in Australia, Israel, the South, it is how commercial growers maintain plants unless it is a determinate. I am talking GH culture though, they reduce some sunlight intensity.

[Worth1]

I have found that some varieties sun scald worse than others and shade leaves have nothing to do with it in my area where I live in my yard with my sun and growing location.
This is but one of the reasons I have picked the varieties I have.

Worth

[pjhootch]

Originally Posted by oakley

Lots of past discussions by using the search upper right....

Here is one,
http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...uning+tomatoes

And this a good episode from GrowingAGreenerWorld with an excellent visual.
https://www.growingagreenerworld.com...epic-tomatoes/

You might want to try some dwarfs next season as they don't mind smaller containers,
say 3-4 gallon, and can be easily moved throughout the season as the sun shifts.
They behave and are nearly self pruning getting only 4-5 feet. You can fit more in
a smaller area. A bit lower yield but more plants makes up for that.

Thanks for the links. I had searched and found quite a bit of banter about whether to prune or not, and a bit of arguing. I have decided I must prune SOME and now am trying to figure out how, when and where. Reading through the threads it is frequently difficult for me to tell if posters are growing commercially, growing hybrids, or just a little back yard hobbyist like me. I kind of hoped some of the small backyard urban gardeners might have suggestions. Not that the commercial or large scale folks dont have good ideas too- just that what works in a big greenhouse operation may not work well on my patio. It MIGHT and I am open to new ideas.

[saltmarsh]

After reading how you grow, I'll answer your pruning question with a variety suggestion.

Punta Banda - It's a nice carefree semi-determinant. Gets about 3 1/2 feet tall. Doesn't require pruning. If you prune it, you're just pruning fruit. Great salad tomato. Ripens early and bears till frost. If you want seeds, PM me with your address. Claud

http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Punta_Banda

[oakley]

I posted the first links and am a backyard gardener. You can learn from all gardeners.
Commercial, or a five plant deck gardener. All good information to use in your situation. All valuable . All is worth digesting to use in your climate/situation.

No hand-holding will get you through your specific needs/climate/soil/temps.

Read the banter and decide what suits you. Jump into the information closet and take
out whatever outfit that makes sense and experiment.

[zipcode]

Well, you start from the beginning. You choose the pruning method and stick to it. It's usually one stem pruning or almost no pruning. Everything in between is usually just more work.
I use one stem and also did when I lived in a high altitude high humidity area. It makes a clear difference but some spraying is certainly a good idea as well. I staked and space between plants was about 40-50 cm I guess?
20 gallon for one stem is a bit of a waste though. I put two plants in 15 gal and lead them to the edge of the pot to space them properly.

[imp]

Pruning can be a tough question as there are so many variables.

How much sun is around on the plants, humidity etc., determinate or not, air flow in your location, which varieties, time and equipment set ups....

I can tell you I do not prune much, but I have very good airflow here and I space my plants at a good distance between them, too; humidity is lower here and the wind is almost always blowing. The heat runs high, so I may be leaving more cover to protect from sunscald, plus I am not set up to do a single stem with lean and lower style growing, though I admire it. I do clean off the lowest leaves as the plants grow up/out, to avoid soil borne problems.

My disease pressure, and bug problems, may be lower than yours in your location, as well as soil borne problems.

[pjhootch]

Thank you to all of you. I realize there is a lot of work involved, both reading, and doing, and that all the ideas in the world aren't going to make any difference if I don't work it out myself. :-)

The yard itself is a work in progress. The sunlit areas get a bit smaller each year as the old trees spread even further. My neighbor has a beautiful old sycamore tree that spreads more shade every summer. My own trees will get cut back next year, and one of them probably has to come down- but it is more west than anything so won't impact my available sunlight much.

Even in our area- summer weather isn't very consistent. We had a lot of wind last summer, but we also had a lot rain and high humidity. So although I had fewer mosquitoes (a pest to ME even though they don't bother my plants) because of the moving air, we had some disease in my plants that were very bushy and dense. Some summers are so dry I can't even use the rain barrel because it empties and doesn't refill for weeks at a time. Pests aren't consistent even. I was invaded by Horn Worms last year, after having not much trouble in the previous 20 some years in Iowa. I was invaded by aphids after never having an aphid problem at all. And now we have a plague of stink bugs that is devastating some gardens, when I had hardly seen them in Eastern Iowa at all until about 2015.

I am lucky (so far) that I have not had soil borne issues yet.

I did try growing two plants in one 25 gallon planter last year, and it wasn't terribly successful. It may have been the type of plants, and it may have been that I had more depth available than width.

Everything is an experiment for me! I don't expect that will change too much. In the meantime, I appreciate what you all have to contribute, even if it isn't something I can put into practice this year- I take it all in.

[oakley]

Did you watch the video I posted? If not, just fast forward to minute 15 and
watch 5 minutes....so much information that you can use this year.

[Cole_Robbie]

In my experience, early season pruning to get the plant up off the ground is very worthwhile. But after my single stem gets a foot or more off the ground and secured to the support at two points, pruning is not just a waste of time, but counter-productive. I give myself sun scald and lower yield, as well as spread disease around with the shears.