topping tomatoes

[pointer80]

hello everyone, Just wondering if anybody tops there tomatoes? My plants have a few sets of true leaves and wondering if I should top them?

[hendi_alex]

I always keep the central leader, but sometimes the stem puts out another leader that appears to be equal in vigor to the central leader. In those cases I always pinch or snip one off, usually the weaker stem if such is obvious.

The only other time that I 'top' tomatoes is if the plant is growing in a relatively small container and the plant size needs to be contained so as to not overwhelm the limited soil and moisture in the container.

[rainbowgardener]

I would not at this stage, you will just slow them down and reduce their vigor. I top my tomatoes when they get to be 5' tall or so, because then I want to slow them down and encourage fruiting instead of vine growth.

[pointer80]

Thanks for the answers everyone. I think I will just leave them and let them grow.

[PaulF]

I am of the group that never, ever tops or trims the tops of tomatoes. You get no more, no better or no bigger fruit by topping or trimming. If you don't like or can't handle tall tomato plants, get varieties that are bred to be short or bushy. I will trim bottom branches that drag the ground. Soil borne pathogens travel up leaves touching the ground and good air flow is needed to keep plants healthy as well.

As Rainbow says, don't trim anything off seedlings.

[TZ -OH6]

Never ever top a tomato seedling! It will set it back and reduce your yields.


The main trunk and its splits will produce over half of the plant's total fruit, and will set fruit first, before any branches. So if you want to increase your yields in a given amount of space, put in more plants, stake them and prune the side branches, not the main trunk. You do not want MORE branches.

A month or so before first frost you can top the plant and pinch flowers to direct energy into the growing tomatoes. But you have to keep pinching new growth for the rest of the season.