That is the question.
After two years of messy, out of control tomatoes, I’ve tried to be extra diligent this year, pinching off the laterals and keeping the fruit airy. But, man they grow fast! There are a couple of laterals that I’ve missed, little suckers! (which is funny cos laterals and suckers are synonyms. Ha).
So, here is my question: should I prune the little (big) suckers that have escaped my pincers and matured, or just leave them?
For example, the shot on the right is a lateral. It already has buds on top. It’s not in anyone’s way. Should I just leave it and let it fruit? I’m guessing the answer is yes but I love tomatoes so much I want to be sure I’m doing the right thing!
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Tomato tree in my garden and I never trim it, perhaps it would be better.
Have a nice day!
They’ll fruit either way. If you prune, you’ll be able to reach everything, the fruit will get enough light and air, and the plants won’t topple over. If you don’t prune, you’ll have a tangled jungle which will eventually fall over and potentially re-root itself somewhere new, but you’ll *still* have tomatoes! I start by pruning and usually give up about half way through the season. You should see the mess my cherry tomato vine is in…. Still giving us toms, although it’s now on its last legs and the Roma is taking over.
I’m a bit of a neat freak so I prune out the side shoots on indeterminate tomato varieties – even if I’ve previously missed them and they’ve got big. I find it stops them (and me) getting in a tangle.