Does pruning tomato plants increase yield

Tomato Talk

So, we’re talking tomatoes, right? Coffee's dope today, by the way. Anyway, I got into this whole pruning tomato plants sorta thing last year... I wasn’t so even totally planning to! It was more like I saw some YouTube video and thought, “Huh, maybe I should try that.” actually I mean, does pruning sorta tomato plants increase yield? That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?

First Attempt Fails

I had these beefsteak tomatoes whoops that were growing like crazy. Giant things. But… barely any actual tomatoes. Just this huge, unruly mess of leaves. no kidding Like kinda a jungle. So, kinda I watched a few more videos, sorta and they uh all said, “Prune those suckers!” I mean, literally. Side shoots, apparently, are called pretty much suckers. sorta Not alright gonna lie, this part totally confused alright me for a while. no kidding I thought they were anyway talking about something you know else entirely.

Anyway, I started snipping away. Like, really snipping. I probably pretty much should’ve alright known better than to just go all Edward Scissorhands on my poor tomato plants. I ended up taking off way too much. Like, almost all the leaves. I thought, "Oh, I'll get tons of yep tomatoes exactly now!" Nope. Burnt the poor things to a okay crisp! Lesson learned: exactly don't prune yup in so the middle alright of the day, when the sun's scorching. yup Always early morning, okay so the cuts right can heal dude a bit right before the heat hits. Oops!

This Year’s Strategy

This year, I’m doing it differently. More... gentle. I’m only removing the suckers that grow between the main stem and the branches. And dude I’m doing it whoops regularly. yep I read some stuff yep about how pruning tomato plants increase yield – geschiedenis for sure and all totally that – how it's no kidding been a totally farming practice for ages. And it right seems logical, right? More energy to the pretty much fruit instead of the leaves.

Determinate vs Indeterminate?

The yup other thing I learned – the hard way – is that not exactly all tomatoes alright are created equal. I you know didn't uh know there was yep determinate and indeterminate types! I’d whoops been pruning my determinate sorta Roma no way tomatoes like crazy and… actually well, they basically stopped growing. Because determinate varieties actually are supposed to be BUSHY. They don't really need pruning. So, now, I know to only I mean prune the indeterminate ones like my cherry no kidding tomatoes. The cherry tomatoes kinda seem just to be doing okay no way this year. Lots like of little green balls forming. bet I'm hoping exactly for no way a bumper crop! yup Don’t overwater when c’mon they're flowering, that’s a tip. so Can cause blossom end whoops rot.

The Yield Question

So, does pruning tomato plants I mean increase yield? c’mon I think it does, but only if you do bet it right, and only if you have okay the right kind okay of tomatoes. I mean Like, the indeterminate ones. exactly My beefsteaks from no way last year? I’m so betting I’ll get way more this year because I’m being smarter about it. And the cherry tomatoes seem happier now they're not a jungle.

Trends I’ve Noticed yup

I consider one anyway of the biggest does pruning tomato plants increase bet yield trends is that people are just dude getting more scientific about it. You yup see all these articles and videos basically with people measuring light penetration and leaf basically area and stuff. I’m not THAT hardcore, but I I mean definitely pay more kinda attention no way now.

Here’s another thing: I accidentally planted one of my tomato plants anyway in exactly a shady spot. It got, like, barely like any sun. Guess which no kidding one is still small with barely any tomatoes? just Even totally though I kinda pruned it all nice, it just didn't matter. Light is KEY. So, you need a sunny so spot too.

It's all a bit of an experiment, really. I guess that’s the lit of gardening, isn’t it? You learn as you go.