After raising my darlings from seed in the house, taking a full two weeks to hardening them off, you can bet I wasn't done after I'd planted them in the ground. Not one drop of water was going to touch my tomato plants this year. Want to know how we tie up our tomatoes (check out the video below Tying up Tomatoes ) I'm also thinking it's the reason we're having an unseasonably hot and dry season…. I was through taking chances with our rainy weather. This year, we put up a high-tunnel, or a.k.a. If you can't easily pinch them off, you don't want to leave a gaping wound by ripping it. Pruning shears– for small tomato plants I use my fingers, but for the larger vines, I use pruning shears. Soaker hoses– never all water to cause fungus or encourage blight by using a soaker hose Resources for How to Prune Tomato Plants for Maximum Yield and Good Plant Care

I however, took great relish in hucking those rotten tomatoes as far as I could across the fence for the livestock to nose through. Pick one that suits your garden and the amount of time you want to spend tending your tomato crop.Course, maybe you don't throw rotten tomatoes. There are lots of ways you can stake and support tomato plants. Prune and support indeterminate tomato plants to optimize production-and know that they can get very tall by the end of the summer. This is the sort of tomato plant often grown in commercial tomato greenhouses. “Indeterminate” tomato plants keep getting taller and taller all summer long. Stake or cage determinate tomato plants to increase planting density and to keep tomatoes off the ground. Great if you want a concentrated harvest for sauce-making or processing. “Bush” tomato plants (also called “determinate” tomato plants) get to a certain height and then don’t get any taller. “Dwarf” tomato plants are quite compact and usually don’t need any pruning or support. The type of tomato plant you grow affects the need for staking and pruning.

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