Once plants are more established you can remove all the leaves up to the first flower/fruit truss.Ideally, we don’t want any leaves coming into contact with the soil, so prune out leaves to keep them well clear of the soil surface.In all cases, the aim is to keep the plants up off the ground to reduce the risk of diseases spreading and fruit rotting where they touch the soil.Īnother way to manage disease risk is to cut off the lowest leaves of your tomato plants.They are much shorter and stockier than vining tomatoes, but even these types will benefit from some sort of support, particularly as the plants get laden with heavy fruits. Bush, or determinate tomatoes don’t need nearly as much attention.There are additional benefits of growing vertically, including better light levels and, through targeted pruning and removal of side shoots, better air circulation.

(See video for a demonstration on both tying a stem into the cane and weaving a string support around a stem.) Weaving stems into position are best done in the afternoon/early evening, when stems are more supple as they have warmed up during the course of the day.

There are different types tomato supports that can be used throughout the garden: sturdy canes for outdoor plants and string supports for greenhouse tomatoes.

Left to their own devices, vining, or indeterminate tomatoes, would sprawl along the ground, but we want to grow them vertically to make the most of space and minimize transmission of soil-borne diseases such as, for example, septoria leaf spot. Offer Tomatoes SupportĪlmost all tomatoes need some form of support. By taking the right steps now, you’ll put your tomatoes in position for a bountiful harvest. Should you prune tomatoes? When do you feed them? Keep caring for your tomato plants with these tips for disease-free, trouble-free tomatoes.

Free download pruning tomato plants