I have a tomato plant that is very "bushy" for lack of better words.
I have read some on pruning, and don't want my fruit to suffer because of too many vines growing. It is fairly heavy with fruit (green still) and am wondering if I should get rid of some non-producing pieces of vines so it concentrates on fruit growth?
I can post some pics if it would help.
Thanks!
-
gixxerific
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 5889
- Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2009 5:42 pm
- Location: Wentzville, MO (Just West oF St. Louis) Zone 5B
I have a lot of tomatoes and I try to keep up on the pruning. I don't go hog wild but every new sucker I see gets pulled. You get to a point where it is almost futile but you try to keep up.
But yes you can increase fruit size by trimming. you will decrease fruit numbers but size will be better. It all depends on what you are looking for. For the most part I let mine go but that is mainly because I am in a loosing battle with more time things might be different.
But yes you can increase fruit size by trimming. you will decrease fruit numbers but size will be better. It all depends on what you are looking for. For the most part I let mine go but that is mainly because I am in a loosing battle with more time things might be different.
Fruit growth won't suffer so that you would notice. The studies I have seen showed some but not all of the varieties tested had statistically significantly more first class fruits and less cull fruit, but in a home garden that translates to two or three more medium sized instead of medium-small fruit per plant. Two years ago I did a count in my garden and the unpruned plants actually had slightly larger average fruit size than the pruned staked plants.
That being said I often prune out the runty non-producing vines/branches to get more air and light into the middle of the plant and make picking easier.
That being said I often prune out the runty non-producing vines/branches to get more air and light into the middle of the plant and make picking easier.
