How to Prune a Tomato Plant - Easy || Black Gumbo

Now that you've grown tomatoes from either seeds or store-bought starts, what do you do next? Once you've planted your tomatoes, they're going to grow vigorously and will need to be pruned. I'll show you how to prune an indeterminate tomato plant for good health and vigorous growth.
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Black Gumbo shares our suburban, backyard, sustainable gardening efforts. We work a small-scale teaching garden, much like the typical Zone 9a backyard garden and raised beds, the kind of gardening accessible to all. We also grow lots of fruit and berries. We tend to take the slice of life approach and hope you will enjoy our family, our dog, our cooking, our adventures, and occasionally some commentary and advice. We love family, joy and friendship, and we invite you to enjoy these things with us!
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[@nikkijohnson552]

I like your simple approach to pruning. No excess chatter….just showing how it’s done. Makes me know I can prune and not be afraid of overdoing it.

[@deewinston5651]

Thank you Scott. I’m still growing tomatoes in buckets. My daughter brought me 10, 15 gallon buckets. Last year I just grew Determinate and one Sungold. This year my husband put some cattle panel attached to some T post, so I’m growing three cherry tomatoes. We will see. Each year our backyard loses more and more sun because of big trees, but I still am able to get some.

[@rogerhughes-tq7fu]

Thanks, Scott! I've been growing tomatoes for 47 years. Still, learn all the time from gardeners such as yourself. Picked up a couple of tips on this video I did not consider. Also, your other videos are great. Thanks again!!!

[@franklinmckeehan5315]

Great video. I too like cages for my indeterminate tomato plants. Good gardening and God Bless!

[@BuzzedGamez]

hope the hard work survived the storms man.

[@deltatango5765]

The timing of this video couldn't be better. My tomatoes are almost as tall and bushy as yours, and time for me to start pruning.

[@stephenmoberg8807]

Hi Scott - I have a small garden and plant only determinate tomatoes. I like to use 5’ t posts for supports and I prune mine as you showed us. I like to experiment with 2 of the same variety- one in my raised bed and the same in a 10 gallon container. The raised bed one usually wins! Good luck this season- your videos are top notch- Steve zone 6 b.👍

[@billelam5610]

I appreciate your straight forward explanation and guidance on this process. You keep it real!

[@raydel5732]

Good one Scott. Ray Delbury Sussex County NJ USA

[@nusulanakiragga9828]

Thank you very much Scott, your videos are really motivating me to grow more and more tomatoes

[@debbybrady1246]

My tomatoes are going crazy already. I just love to see it. I try to keep a single stem on the indeterminates and I use both stakes and string.

[@WILLITGROW]

great tips those pointing down branches are trouble.

[@GreenThumbGardener65]

Nice lookin’ plants and very good info to have. Thank you!😊

[@Green.Country.Agroforestry]

After a couple years hiatus, I am dabbling in tomatoes, again .. just a few cherry tomatoes for snacking in the garden .. you can make a salad in your mouth! 😊 Jason's best selling gadget for 2025 gardens: The magic tomato cage! it comes in two pieces, and snaps together around the plant! Don't be fooled by imitations, get yours today 😁 I won't be making them .. I'll be busy fabricating a Cat Tractor .. its a long story.

[@carriecreates1207]

Thank you! I am in Spring, and I have learned a lot of great tips! I was afraid my tomatoes weren't doing well, but now they have tripled in size!!!!!! You are a good teacher!!!

[@tinaspigener2102]

Thank you very much I had no idea how to prune thank you

[@tangell481]

hi Scott no trellis this year but the air flow after pruning always works

[@noramaegomez197]

Of course I love your videos Scott ! 🍅 although I totally would have enjoyed watching & listening to you talk about gardening. Never think that you are boring us . We subscribe to your channel because we love your content and your knowledge of gardening. 💚🌱💚🌱💚🌱💚

[@mostuniquemary]

Jolene being a determinate tomato just makes sense, lol. (Jolene was determined to take Dolly's man according to the song). First time I trimmed a tomato like that I was SO nervous about messing it up. Once the tomato recovered, it took off like it was in a race or something, lol. Makes for good compost nonetheless. We use wooden stakes or the arched trellis, and cut up old, holey clothes to loosely tie them up.

[@OnlyInTexasEst1850]

letting a few sprawl and most pruning a main vine for cherry or grape. I have a variety or celebrity, roma, heirloom, red deuce, and cherry.

[@maryboyd4918]

Thank you sir, I was always afraid of cutting back that much.

[@kath-phlox]

If you look at professional growers, they have stems tens of feet high and drop them down as they grow.

[@peacelovejoy8786]

Me too Mary but not this time! I'm ready after watching Scott's video - look out tomatoes you'll be getting cut back this time 🍅

[@teresathomley3703]

Thanks

[@wendyburston3132]

Hi Scott. I was wondering how much you enjoyed those wooden and string trellises. Good thing I didn't make any. I do have a fence like trellis and find that a stick in the ground beside them works ok as well as some string attaching then to the overhang of the fence. If my tomatoes could talk they would say why are you putting a belt AND suspenders on us!😂 I also have a few really short tomato cages that I could use with some tall sticks. Thanks for the detailed look at pruning. I over-pruned last year and didn't get many tomatoes. Your method makes sense. 10" clear one or two, possibly three main stems. Now the part that's not clear is how much of the leaves do you "leave" on? I had been pruning each branch back to two leaves. Is it better to take the whole leave branch off? They seem to get huge once trimmed back.

[@ScottHead]

I just keep the leaves thin enough so that the whole plant can get sun. I don’t want any areas of deep permanent shade

[@michelekorson332]

Hi there, so we are in southern California and our temperatures are still in the very low 60s. When should I plant my tomato seedlings? They are currently in a small greenhouse. I have been watching several KZbin channels and everyones tomato plants are huge!

[@ScottHead]

When reps stay in the 70s would be ideal but I’d look for local advice from the county ag extension office.

[@jeffsherwood9151]

Thanks for info how u doing

[@lw2131]

I was curious to hear what kind of tomato crop you got from your string trellis tomatoes. I'm thinking about doing that this year, as I have a lot of tomatoes in a smallish space. Do you think you will ever go back to string trellis? Or was it too much worked for the return?

[@ScottHead]

Very large crop, more than I could use well into the summer.

[@barbkenas5663]

🍅🍅🍅

[@slb1505]

Can you tell us why you are no longer using the "Trellis to make you jealous" system? After watching several videos of gardeners using it, I was considering trying it this year. However I usually grow 1-2 stem tomatoes & we get a lot of storms with strong wind in my area. I am worried that it may snap the tomato & break it. Not to mention the investment for all of the supplies I would need to build it. Is there a reason that you no longer use that system? I don't want to spend the money unless it is a great investment for my garden. Thanks for any help.

[@ScottHead]

I’m trying various methods on my Edox cherry tomatoes to see how they respond. Last year I let the sprawl and grow wild and had tons of tomatoes well into fall.

[@TheRustySpigot]

Can you propagate the clippings?

[@ScottHead]

Yes, real easy. Take a sucker preferably and root deeply in moist potting soil.

[@afetticini]

You said you don't want the plant to get much taller than the cage... how do you do that? Do you just cut the tops off of the main branch, and then they stop growing taller? I have about 10 Cherokee purples that are getting big in my greenhouse and don't want them to touch the top of the greenhouse. Help!!!

[@wdfamily_027]

That’s what I’ve done many times, worked well for me.😊

[@Youdoingnothing]

I’ve also cut the tops off and it did indeed stop the growth

[@MableMayberry]

Good morning, are your tomatoes planted in the ground?

[@wdfamily_027]

Yes

[@MableMayberry]

@@wdfamily_027 ok thank you

[@ScottHead]

Yes they are