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**nctomatoman** · April 22, 2008

Howdy and thanks!

Here are my thoughts on pruning....because tomatoes can be fussy with respect to temp and humidity when blooming and setting fruit, I am a non-pruner - I let everything grow! Say that you are pruning to one or two main stems....indeterminates flower every so often as you go up the main stem. Once those flowers form, that is it - so if you prune to a main stem, the lead grows to 6-7 feet tall and few of the flowers pollinate, that is it. But, each sucker or side shoot represent additional flowering and fruiting potential - this to me helps to guarantee that over a season, sufficient flowers will pollinate and fruit set so that you get a reasonable yield. Plus, the extra foliage from the additional stems provide protection from sun scald.

But as mentioned above, there are as many pruning opinions and methods as people who grow tomatoes!

April 22, 2008	#3
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Howdy and thanks! Here are my thoughts on pruning....because tomatoes can be fussy with respect to temp and humidity when blooming and setting fruit, I am a non-pruner - I let everything grow! Say that you are pruning to one or two main stems....indeterminates flower every so often as you go up the main stem. Once those flowers form, that is it - so if you prune to a main stem, the lead grows to 6-7 feet tall and few of the flowers pollinate, that is it. But, each sucker or side shoot represent additional flowering and fruiting potential - this to me helps to guarantee that over a season, sufficient flowers will pollinate and fruit set so that you get a reasonable yield. Plus, the extra foliage from the additional stems provide protection from sun scald. But as mentioned above, there are as many pruning opinions and methods as people who grow tomatoes! __________________ Craig