![]() ![]() ![]() They’re already growing up, right? Let’s take a look at why it’s not only helpful but often necessary: You might wonder, if you’re planting your indeterminate or vining tomatoes on a trellis, why you’d need to prune them anyway. Why we need to prune indeterminate tomatoes So, in this blog post, we’re talking about pruning indeterminate tomatoes to keep them in line and playing well with your other SFG plants. ![]() The usual cages that work for determinate tomato varieties won’t be tall enough for indeterminate varieties. Because of their immense growth, indeterminate tomato plants require some sort of support system like staking or trellises. ![]() They also produce the largest tomatoes, take longer to mature, and often stick around until the first frost. Indeterminate tomatoes, on the other hand, are “vining” types that can grow up to 20’ (or more!) with branches looming out in every direction. This will help keep the foliage and fruit off the soil. Determinate tomatoes can easily be supported with cages that are only 4’ tall. This will reduce the risk of soil splashing up onto the plants during rainfall, which can introduce fungal diseases. So, we’re not talking about determinate tomatoes here - they are already more contained and well-behaved! (But speaking of determinate tomatoes, even though they are shorter with more easily managed growth, proper spacing at 1 bush tomato in a 2’x2’ square is recommended.) The only pruning that needs to be done for determinate varieties of tomatoes is to remove the leaf branches below the first fruit cluster after it appears. Okay, before we talk about the “how,” we need to quickly go over the “what” and the “why.” Determinate tomato plants produce their crop in a shorter period of time and are typically “bush” types that grow to about 3’ tall. So, let’s learn some basics about pruning tomatoes to keep all the neighbors happy and healthy. And with Square Foot Gardening, if a plant misbehaves and takes over its space, chances are pretty good that it will take over its neighbor’s space, as well. We’re all used to pruning plants like trees, shrubs, and flowering perennials, but tomatoes? If you’ve ever grown tomatoes in your vegetable garden, you know how easily they can take over their space with their jumbly growth. ![]()
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