How to PRUNE + POLLINATE Any Tomato Plant | The Most Effective Strategies

[@MartinVDam]

We have been growing tomatoes for years already and I can confirm that this man is 100% correct on any subject he explained in this video! We grow for our own needs but we have knowledge on how they grow professionally in large scale greenhouses in The Netherlands. Apart from the fact that professionally they grow based on hydroponics, but this is actually how you need to prune and maintain your plants to get the most out of your plant with limited space. Good info!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Really appreciate you sharing that! Always cool to hear from growers with different (and professional) experience in the field. Thank you for the vote of confidence =)

[@Lizzy_333]

Ponics😂

[@rosalazcano6197]

​@@NextdoorHomesteado look kkķn(k

[@carrielisi7124]

Is it a good idea to spray baking soda on it

[@jamesandsusanshortill8713]

Holy Moley, thanks for taking me to school...this is hands-down the most informative and easiest to understand video on tomato maintenance I've ever seen...now, I GET IT!!! Thank you so much!!!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

You are so very, very welcome! I love hearing we helped make something click =) Absolute best of luck with your toms. Ours are just ripening up and it has been delightful to have some summer harvests!

[@MarieEveBisson]

I second that!!! Super clear and to the point!! Thanks for taking the time to make this very educative video! 😊🙏🏼🌿🍅

[@MarieEveBisson]

….And OMG! I wrote my comment a few seconds to the end of the video….! So just heard about the tip of growing new roots on the stems we just sadly had to cut to plant them back!!! So simple and never thought about it…!!! 🤯….😂😂😂

[@GabeMap]

Agreed this is a great video and with the really good quality shots I can see exactly what parts of the plant he’s referring to with the terms I don’t understand/know yet😂

[@holocene.]

What if the base set of branches and leaves are really thick and leathery but not necessarily yellow? Should I trim those off or wait further?

[@jenniferwhite7134]

Thanks for acknowledging the emotional aspect of pruning. Even after having many gardens over the years, I dislike cutting plants back. I also struggle to pull out the weakest of the seedlings. ❤

[@NextdoorHomestead]

You are welcome! I hate culling seedlings and I worry about hurting the plant overpruning. Just the truth =)

[@krunkyk2294]

True that, I'm always worried "will I kill it?" also, "will I reduce my yield by pruning?" Great info on determinant plants, thanks.

[@jenniferwhite7134]

@@thenneedd 🤣🤪

[@ThatMeansHesMad]

Thought I was a little strange for my sympathy for seedling pulling! It's so intense to the effect of me finding a random available spot to transplant it, weeds or not 😢

[@olivemurielle389]

Lol. Probably have a hard time letting go.

[@missdaisy9957]

My mom use to take suckers and replant them for a late crop. They always rooted good.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Definitely! Great way to get the most out of your pruning chores =)

[@carolyn6001]

I have a friend whose garden got frosted, so i went to my garden picked a bunch of suckers and told him to take them home stick then right in the dirt put a bucket over them for the next week and he would have a while new crop planted. He said it was the best garden he ever had.

[@gablan1468]

But how is it possible if the suckers don't have any roots? Just put them straight in the ground, water them, and they will grow their root system?

[@DR-rw7es]

​@@gablan1468 yes, they root in dirt. You can also root them in water then transplant to dirt. Lots of vids on YT show the process of removing lower stems b4 putting in water if you want to give it a try

[@bobborlog1677]

Yup I get another large round out of them.

[@lindaking7860]

Finally, an informative video! So tired of trying to get information from gardeners who want to show you their house, sports, cars, boats, and RVs before they take it to the garden and give little to no information. We all appreciate you, and I have subscribed! You are the new go to.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

My lack of boats and RVs keeps me honest on that front ;) So glad you enjoy the videos and the channel. I'm recovering from some big life events and being under the weather but will be back to uploading regularly soon!

[@truckywuckyuwu]

I stopped pruning like this quite a few years ago. I mostly prune to just remove some density of the plant and whatever leaves are close to the ground now. At a certain point in the season about 3 weeks before the end of the season I top much of the plant and it puts its energy towards the tomatoes. This gives me huge tomatoes and quite a lot of them. I have had a single indeterminate fill a plastic laundry basket about halfway at harvest. I only plant about 10 plants and they produce enough tomatoes for me to make a couple dozen jars of salsa, and a bunch of sauce and enough to eat fresh for nearly 4 months. I pick them green and they ripen slowly over the winter. I also don't support them much.. They flop over and root and I've found this to give more fruit as well. I think people need to be willing to experiment in the garden. Especially for their setups. I kept being told the suckers are the enemy and kept believing it. But there's nuance to it. Some of them are the enemy. Others turn into more solar panels that feed energy into the plant. And that's a common sense thing. You are removing new leaves which help the plant grow faster and make tomatoes faster, you are also removing new flowers this way too. You just don't want it going absolutely wild because it gets diseases easier. My plants are about 3x bigger pruning this way.. and I get at least double what I used to at harvest. Tomatoes want to be quite large. I think the single leader method can help in some cases, but I don't think its giving the best result for most. Suckers aren't the enemy. I think the ones that hurt the plant are the ones that form in locations that can't get any light or airflow. Removing those and leaving others seems to have been the best result for me. I've been growing tomatoes for about 12 years now. I try different methods each year and this has been the best result so far. I believe they were pruned like this so that they were easy to support and they looked nice. Not because its the best way to grow them. Since my bigger, multi-stemmed tomatoes have outperformed them every single time.

[@DiminutiveFlower]

I have been a teacher for nearly 20 years. So appreciate when I can learn from others. You are a stellar teacher!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I really, truly appreciate that. I hope it proved helpful in your garden =)

[@MrBibo24]

I'm gardening for the first time this year, and my tomatoes definitely look out of control. Thanks for such a well explained video as it's helped me a lot to understand how to take care of the plant with pruning.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Oh you're so welcome - I'm glad it helped =) Good luck with your tomatoes!

[@brendabeston65]

I too am new to gardening and my tomatoes look vey bushy. Will be trying this. I have a lot of cherry and alike. Need to address them now.

[@christineedwards4865]

At 12:05, you're not wrong, but in wetter environments like some of the eastern US where it rains pretty much once a week (sometimes raining pretty much all week), if you leave the lower leaves on you are inviting soil borne disease issues. You can wait and cut the lower leaves off gradually, cutting it back as the leaves develop brown spots, but ALWAYS cut off the affected leaves if you live in an area with lots of rain. If you don't, you will notice that one brown spot on a leaf quickly becomes brown spots on many leaves all around the initial infection as rain splashes the spores around. At 14:48, it's probably important to mention that you need to remove the flowers, or the cutting will try to prioritize making tomatoes instead of roots, and often dies trying to do so. Great info in this video, I'll have to check out your channel.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

This is such a thoughtful, well-reasoned comment. Love it =) And GREAT POINT about rooting suckers - definitely remove those flowers! WRT disease spread, fair points I reckon. There's a gradient that goes from dry, low-disease pressure contexts to high-disease pressure contexts that should inform our pruning strategy. I hope to one day find some definitive research on whether (and to what degree) lower-foliage pruning truly impacts disease spread but I haven't been able to so far! Thanks for adding to the discussion and have a great day in the garden^^

[@christineedwards4865]

@@NextdoorHomestead No problem. I'm in the Blue Ridge Mtns of VA, and it rains all the time. I'm also in a cool, damp microclimate in that range, so fungal issues are even worse. Every time a raindrop hits the ground, it has the chance of splashing up dirt and whatever's in it. If you ever went out after a heavy rain and noticed the lower leaves and stems of your plants are coated in dirt, that's an extreme example of the issue. I noticed over the years that mulching compared to bare dirt makes a huge difference, but without more input, disease still works it's way up from the bottom, and once one leaf becomes infected, the next rainy period will spread the problem, mostly horizontally, but also upwards. The only way to stop the spread is to remove every brown spot before the next rain, but if it rains too soon, it can spread before it's even visible. Staying on top of it extends the production of my indeterminate tomatoes by weeks to a couple months, depending on weather.

[@daz6637]

Thanks for the info, appreciate it. We’ve had a really bad growing season in the UK this year, so I’m not sure if we’ll get any decent crops of tomatoes at all.

[@barbarahill9176]

​@@daz6637😢 Sorry to hear that. I hope that not all is lost, and that next year's yield is better! 🍅 (cheers from 🇺🇸)

[@misfitkrew2144]

What’s funny is we grow in bags but we do not remove suckers we barely prune at all. We have no disease, in zone 10b (hot), and we have more tomatoes on each plant than we did when we would previously prune them. Sometimes it’s fun to experiment.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

100%! Experimentation is the best way to find what fits your garden at the end of the day =)

[@Johnnnnnnnyyyyyy]

I prune and barely get any tomatoes. I am going to stop and see if it works for me. 😂

[@HalleGardens]

He said that in the video, that without the pruning you’ll see still a lot of tomatoes but the plants would be a lot harder to manage in terms of disease and pollination.

[@SuzMcDonaldWellbeing]

I’m growing tomatoes for the first time this year. I’ve let a few lower suckers get huge as I didn’t understand they were suckers at first. I didn’t know what the best thing to do with them was until I watched your video. This has been very helpful. Thank you.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

No problem! So glad it was helpful - and good on you for researching like this on your first year with them =) Good luck!

[@kerryburns-k8i]

I´ve done everything wrong -- but this video is really helpful so I hope to improve. I´m on the southern slopes of the Spanish Sierra Nevada with three growing seasons per annum, so things get real hectic, real quick. I have four plants in one smallish bucket (I didn´t expect all the seeds to grow) and now there must be a hundred cherry tomatoes with more suckers everywhere, and I have to water it at least twice a day. There are three cherry tomato plants in a Growbag, largely unpruned, fruit and suckers everywhere, and as they grow I wind them around garden twine suspended from above, these could do with bigger pots too, to stabilise the water content of the pot more efficiently. After watching, I removed a couple of largish suckers and planted them straight into a pot which had just grown a marijuana plant (not a crime to grow your own here ) since I spend rather a lot on compost, soil being a bit scarce on a mountainside. If that doesn´t work I´ll take your advice regarding the glass of water. I have a good supply of water channelled down from the high Sierras, so you could say my tomatoes are full of snow.

[@ZoeBaldwin-x6z]

Thanks for the most helpful tomato pruning video I've found on youtube yet! Glad I'm not the only one who feels the emotional pain of removing big suckers 😂

[@NextdoorHomestead]

You are so welcome! How is the tomato garden going this year?

[@bodhivistaproductions]

Great video. Why not root and plant the pruned Suckers?

[@1chooOne]

Besides learning a lot from you, another awesome thing is listening the birds in the background

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I looooove the birds in some of these. Always bums me out now when they aren't there.

[@johnharrison2511]

We seem to be at a loss for birds. They are still around in much smaller numbers or infrequently. Used to be birdsong in the morning every day. Haven't heard that for maybe a year now. Replaced by the increasing noise of traffic. I made a birdbath but no customers so far. Other wildlife also less. Including bees. Planted a few flowers which I never normally do. Putting in retic, with timers/controllers eventually. Tomatoes now look like a good idea !!

[@lauramarriott8706]

I learned something new with Missouri pruning. Thank you!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I really like that technique! I wish I found all my suckers early.... but you know, life happens =) Thanks for watching!

[@janellenelson7361]

I only have 8 tomato plants and keeping up with the suckers has been overwhelming to the point I might just let them grow wild and be better about it early on next year. I didn’t know cherry tomatoes differ in pruning, that’s great to know!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I sure know that feeling! Now that summer is in full swing, it won't be long until I start getting overwhelmed too. Weeds and pruning are the two things that always seem to get out of control in July. Anyhow, the nice thing is, if you get the early suckers it's not as big of a deal if you let them bush out a bit later on. It's those first couple months you've got to be on it =) Best of luck with your plants Janelle! And thank you for watching as awlays!

[@Itsgettingcrazy.]

Same! I went out to do some pruning and it seems like most of the tomatoes are on the suckers! 😠

[@corkion]

its a full time job

[@Littlewing6was9]

If cherry toms are in hanging baskets can you still have a successful harvest if you leave them be or will the stems break. 🦋

[@Aunt_Nessa]

I like how he gets to the main discussion! 🎉 thanks

[@NextdoorHomestead]

You are most welcome! Glad you liked it =)

[@HollyPierson]

I only grow cherry tomatoes and this is the first time I've heard cherry-specific instructions. No wonder my yields are always small!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I hope it helped! Happy gardening this year - cherry toms are the best =)

[@vickybullock6036]

First time seeing this guy and he is great!!! Neen gardening for 40 yrs!!!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Well thank you for saying so! Glad we made it onto your radar =)

[@teddyg317]

Thank you so much for learning about pruning our tomato plants. We never knew! I'm heading outside immediately to get rid of the sucker's, and then plant them on their own for more tomato's!! I have 3 plants in pots that are only going to get 3-5 feet tall (indremenant tomato plants ?) I believe is what you said they are... Thank you again!

[@Buick59]

Ive been backyard gardening for about 6-years which means Im only beginning to learn the ABC's of soil mechanics and plant biology, your videos are concise, informative, and above all you are not trying to upsell me anything, thank you so much for that. Oh and thank you for the informative pruning video too. I've successfully cloned a few plants from the clippings. Once established, given to friends or family.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I love giving away seedlings! Good on you for sharing. And I think you don't give yourself enough credit - based on your comments you seem very thoughtful and knowledgeable in the garden. Cheers!

[@MrAloha999]

Well explained, well recorded and straight to the point...thank you for going into detail

[@kamuroshow4884]

Totally true. When i starten growing tomatoes years ago, they went crazy. Huge bushes. I didn't know you have to remove the suckers. Now i do.

[@breathnstop]

Love how chill you are. I can't listen to overly caffeinated tutorials. Lol. Thank you.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Haha the allure of making hyper videos sometimes wins out, but I honestly prefer to keep it low key. More fun to make and edit... =) Thanks for watching!

[@jberge58]

The best tomato video I have ever seen. Thank you!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

YAY. That's high praise and I genuinely appreciate it =)

[@superseamstersewingshow514]

Best video I've seen on Pruning. I watched, then started pruning my tomatoes. I have around 40 tomato plants growing. I caught your video at the perfect time. Your explanation was very through. I also took a few of the larger suckers and put them in the ground. I'll check out your video on cucumbers. I'm growing them as well as melons. Hit me up if you ever need some sewing done. Thank you so much for your tomato tutorial. I learned a lot. I still have a bunch to plants to prune.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Wow, thank you! Feels pretty good to know it was useful enough to make such a good impression. I hope the suckers you planted take off and you get an amazing tomato (and cucumber!) harvest this year! Happy gardening =)

[@superseamstersewingshow514]

@@NextdoorHomestead You're very welcome. I wish I had more. I mentioned I do sewing. I'd love to send you a couple of bags that I make. This morning, I've pruned almost 10 plants. I noticed that a lot of my plants have three and four stems. A few of the plants I pruned to two stems. I'm not sure what to do with the others. The plants are a lot more manageable after pruning. It was getting crazy. Your tutorial helped me tons. When I have time I'll check you other videos. Right now I have to hurry and finish setting up my strawberry patch.

[@superseamstersewingshow514]

@@NextdoorHomestead One sucker is doing good the other 6 or 8 are in shock, but maybe they'll come around.

[@_JimmyBeGood]

The best video on anything would be 5 minutes long and get to the point but KZbinrs want money from viewing time so they all need to be 20 minutes long. Waste of life.

[@LegacyConnection]

Easily the best, most comprehensive and practical guide to pruning and overall care of all kinds of tomatoes. Thanks for sharing! I'm now going to go back and look at more of Nestdoor Homestead's videos!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Oh well thank you very much - really appreciate that! Hope you like the other videos too =)

[@LegacyConnection]

@@NextdoorHomestead I just watched one your videos on filling a raised bed. Very good suggestions! FYI-last year, we bought two key-hole gardens, 4'x4'x2.5'. The manufacturer suggested layering the cardboard the kit came in, fresh grass clippings and brown organic material such as leaves, and then top it with a good soil mix. It worked great to fill up 2 ft of space and use up all of the cardboard.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

@@LegacyConnection A cardboard layer can be a great addition! We don't have much weed pressure in that area so I skipped it but it can be very helpful in converted lawn spaces IMO

[@gibsongirl6816]

I just planted a small garden for a family to help them. I am astonished that they literally know nothing! But want to!!!! So thank you for knowing there are people just starting and we should help them so they don’t give up!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

No problem! We're all still learning and getting better I figure. Gardening's a fun hobby because it moves too slow to learn it all in a year or two =)

[@OleensEmbroidery]

Too bad I didn't watch this before I planted. I'm new to gardening and am learning so much from people like you. Very informative and well made video. I'm laughing as I look at my 6 x 8 foot raised tomato bed. Everything you said is true. It's a JUNGLE! Next year I will be following your tips.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Well thank you so very much for such kind words. We've all been there with the tomato jungle! At least they're still fun in their own right =)

[@eileencollins3126]

I have grown tomatoes on my back deck for quite a number of years, some years more successfully than others, and always wondered about how to help pollinate the plants when the bees are not plentiful. This was very useful information. I will have to get the electric toothbrush and try it out. This year the "Tomato Forest" numbers 25, and may be the best one yet because of you! Thanks!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Best of luck! The electric toothbrush is a great tool to have while you're just out enjoying the garden to get that extra boost out of your plants =)

[@johnharrison2511]

Wow. Such a great video !! I struggle to pay attention but i could not miss one word of this. High praise for the presentation and for the production in general. I learned so much !! Thank You 🙋☺️☺️🙋

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I'm so glad to hear it! Thanks for taking a moment to share. This is one of my favorite topics for sure =)

[@XYZGarfieldZYX]

Thanks for your great video, you share valuable information including complete explanations, i appreciate ur work very much! I'm growing about 30+ tomatoe plants in my garden and started gardening 3 years ago, i already knew a bit about pruning but learned more from your video, didn't know the specifics of cherry tomatoes. Only thing i won't do is using a tooth brush because there's so many bees and insects in the garden which will pollinate almost 100% of the flowers - it's not a veggie garden only, but also houses different wild and natural spots with wild flowers, deathwood pile, wild meadow and so on. Thanks again ❤

[@NextdoorHomestead]

That sounds lovely! I am definitely finding I have to do less manual pollination the more flowering plants I grow. Depends on the time of year for me though - we tend to get a lot of pollinators in early summer and then fewer as the flowers taper off.

[@stacymead2477]

I learned a great deal - thank you!!! I just want to tell you about an experience I had last year (unfortunately we moved to a condo and I don't have my patio tomato anymore) I trimmed a big sucker and stuck it in a pot of dirt. I had just sitting there and it started growing... And it grew more tomatoes and got bigger than my initial plant!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Love that! It's the way of the garden right? The random plant we grow on a whim does the best ;)

[@CMTiger62]

Thanks! What I learned… I have been pruning my cherry tomatoes to 1 main stem. Next year I will try two stems. I have been growing tomatoes from seed for quite awhile. Nice to see it confirmed that determinants can be left alone except for maybe bottom leaves

[@NextdoorHomestead]

No problem! I hope you like the double leader style! What variety do you have growing this year?

[@PennyFarmer-w8g]

You always do a great job of explaining how to do both types of tomatoes.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Well thank you very much =)

[@nyssaplum9732]

I have started to say that I am an expert at growing tomatoe bushes, I hardly get any tomatoes but my tomatoe plants are incredible. Thank you for your advice, I am going to go out now and do some pruning.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Hahaha oh no! Pruning and potentially determining if you have too much nitrogen might help =) Absolute best of luck to you!

[@johannafechtel4301]

I've watched so many videos on tomato pruning... finally one that explains everything step by step and in a way that makes it really easy! Thank you so much! Going to wait for the full moon and then jump right in!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

You are so very welcome and I genuinely really appreciate your comment! Love hearing our stuff was helpful =) And I love your Totoro icon! You may see my Totoro mug pop up in some of our videos actually^^

[@leahrolan1265]

This is my first year growing tomatoes in containers. I have been removing small suckers but didnt know about the rest. I have been fighting end bloom rot. I think that is over but what a crazy ride. I will go and do this today to my tomato plants. Thank you for the information!!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

You're welcome! Blossom end rot is a total pain but at least it's typically temporary. Best of luck with the rest of the season =)

[@M_C79]

Years ago, when I first started growing tomatoes, my father -- who had never in my knowledge even stepped foot in a vegetable garden -- told me about suckering. Now that he's been gone the last few years, every time I'm in my garden, and especially when I'm tending to my tomato plants, I think of him and grin. What's an odd duck he was!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

That's a lovely memory! It's strange how little factoids stick with us to share on... =)

[@joanvanparidon9807]

Thankyou! I had NO idea I was supposed to prune my tomatoes. Your videos are concise and easy to follow and I really appreciate them. 🙏

[@NextdoorHomestead]

No problem! I appreciate you watching =)

[@meljordan220]

When I first started with tomato plants, I did not support it properly and it broke at the base. I was able to cut a couple of the branches and root them just like you said and I was able to have tomatoes anyway! Then I attempted to fix the original plant and I was successful. So I ended up with extra tomatoes. Thanks for the video!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Oh cool! I haven't had that much luck with fixing snapped main stems - I usually just let a sucker grow in instead. Good on you for making it work and getting even *more* out of a damaged plant!!!

[@victoriatraylor5634]

You were so right about using the electric tooth brush on top of the flowers. I have trippled my tomatoes! Thank you so much.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

OH YAY! So glad to hear that - hope you're enjoying the toms this year =)

[@heavyhorse7506]

Loved this video, thanks so much! I just got a green house set up in our cold climate and now understand how to make the most of my plants to get fruit from them. Well done and many thanks ♥

[@NextdoorHomestead]

You're so welcome! That's very cool to have a greenhouse to help - good luck with your garden this year =)

[@TheKateniz]

Thank you for making such a clear video. I’ve never really pruned my tomatoes, and they have definitely been overgrown and thick like a berry hatch. In the weight of the tomatoes often times break the branches last year was my first year that they got a late flight and I lost most of them. I’ve been researching how to trellis. And I will prune as you showed and hope to have a much better and more manageable crop this year!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Good luck with your plant management! I've been away from the garden for a bit and need to go clean up the bushy mess myself today =)

[@valb6739]

Thank you so much! That was a wonderful, clear presentation that I will apply to my new tomato garden! Yes, I’m glad that you said it is emotionally hard to prune off those big suckers; because I feel the same way!😭😂❤ 🍅

[@NextdoorHomestead]

No problem, I'm so glad it made sense - we just love hearing that =) And I will never not get a little bummed having to prune my tomatoes!

[@mjk0117]

I'm watching the video and captivated by the amount of information being provided that your mini reminder to like and subscribe reminded me to do just that.

[@teresamcneal512]

Great info thank you so much for being so thorough. Greetings from Colorado

[@LAWandCoach]

I practice the sucker planting and usually end up giving them away when they get going good. I do keep some to stagger and have fresh plants for later in the season if they can make it through the SC heat and humidity in the deep summer. Enjoyed your video. Thanks.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

That's such a nice idea! Just gave away some starts today ... now to find a home for the rest of the extras =)

[@ali88881]

Thank you for this video! Hands down the best video on this topic. You wouldn’t believe how long I spent trying to find a video like this last year... to no avail! Surprising seeing as tomatoes are the thing most people grow! I feel more confident in my pruning now, and not like I’m just winging it! I was pruning cherries down to one leader. I’ll let another sucker grow now.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Wow, that's really wonderful to hear. Love that our little videos are proving helpful out there. Best of luck with your cherry toms - they're the best!

[@carolel2851]

Im in the UK and have planted cherry tomatoes for the first time...l only have 4 in containers lm the only one that likes them.. thanks for the information its going to help me not to feel nervous about taking care of them..👍

[@BeeKaye]

So cool! I had no idea I needed to do this. It’s my first year gardening. Thank you!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

No problem - I hope it proved useful! Good luck in the garden =)

[@julimartin3312]

Wow, I didn’t know a THING about pruning cherry tomatoes! (60 year old gardener here!) I will give it a shot - today!😃

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Have fun in the garden! We've got a big day of gardening planned for later too =)

[@emmajenkinsNAL]

This was really helpful for me. Thank you so much. I’ve been growing for 4 years and this has really filled in some knowledge holes for me. I especially loved that you don’t like to damage plants and acknowledge they are living beings with their own feeling presence. As soon as I heard you talk of that, I subscribed. Thank you xx

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Oh I am so thrilled it was helpful! Thank you for the kind words =)

[@superseamstersewingshow514]

Thanks for your response! I've watched this video a few times and now I have my tomatoes pruned back a lot. Question? My container plants are barely growing. when I see many other videos their container plants are always growing large like your demonstration plant. what type of potting mixture do I need to grow vibrant plants, if you know? Your Tomato plant in the video is what I'm describing. Please if you know,

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Heya! Thanks for the support! There are a lot of potential reasons for stunted tomato plants when you grow them in pots, but I find two to be the most likely: 1) The growing medium (soil) is not supporting proper growth. Most decent quality potting mixes will support healthy tomatoes if you provide additional fertilizer as needed. One popular option is pro-mix but it does require you to mix fertilizer in from the get-go. It's very common for DIY potting mixes to result in poor growth. What soil are your plants currently growing in? 2) The other common problem is unhealthy seedlings. It is possible for your transplant seedlings to be so stunted from either too much cold or too much time in a small container that they never grow properly. Cheers,

[@UltimateArts13]

Watching this beside my tomato plante

[@NextdoorHomestead]

How's your garden going? Thanks for watching =)

[@jribble3]

Is it a French tomato?

[@UltimateArts13]

@@NextdoorHomestead good, thank you for the tips!!

[@williamdonald2830]

you are insanely educated and experienced and flawless in your delivery. I am completely interested in how you absorbed all of this growning knowledge. you rock brother.....

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Well dang thank you very much! I really loved reading this comment, I've gotta say =) Good luck in your garden - hope it's off to a killer start.

[@williamdonald2830]

@@NextdoorHomestead your welcome my friend.......

[@mandycorser3631]

Fantastic video, learnt so much to do differently next year. I’ve rooted my suckers this year and have so many free plants!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Yay! Especially to free plants! I'm a big fan of all things free in the garden ;)

[@Heddanofarsan]

Just what I needed. Today I realized I must learn this.❤

[@bluemoon6625]

Thanks that was really interesting. I've grown toms for years but never realised that cherry toms require different pruning to get a higher yield. I grow Sungold and have always removed all side shoots, but noticed the plants were often quite sparse and less productive than other varieties. Now I know about growing them into a V shape I will use that method next year. PS: It's great that you found a new career path after your split from the Eagles... must have been hard to leave behind the roll 'n roll lifestyle (but on the plus side you can grow your own drugs now). 😁🙃

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Ah very glad it was interesting! Hard to go wrong with a good sungold regardless of pruning =). Loving ours this year. And I appreciate your support in this new direction I'm taking ;)

[@ajays5]

You are a very good teacher. Thanks for the great demo and the steps shown in the video.

[@hands2hearts-seeds2feedamu83]

@ryan @everyone I almost always try to root the bigger suckers. But I just but the suckers into wet soil, keep it wet till the plant start getting roots. I also cut off any blooms, & most if the leaves, stuff the stem into the wet soil about 1-2 inches. I love extra plants. You can ALSO do this with the Aztec Marrigolds, they root very well in wet soil from cuttings. I am not real good at keeping up with the cutting of the suckers. 😆🎉

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Ah! Yes, you're right! Remove flowers too before rooting suckers. Thanks for the reminder =)

[@virginiaseedsskogen2038]

I pruned our tomatoes this morning, there were two suckers that were large enough to plant. There were a couple holes in the raised bed where the parent plant is growing. I trimmed the suckers till they looked like palm trees and planted 4-6" of their stems deep in the loose damp soil. All the little hairs on the stems can beome roots, I've heard from other channels it is best to plant the suckers deeply. The plants were started from seeds on or around March 20th. MIgardener seeds are only $2 a pack, so planting from seeds is a great way to save funds rather buying plants like we've done for so many years. Then, on top of that to plant the suckers, it's like getting food on the table for next to nothing, other than the time and work investment, which I enjoy anyway. I watched your video to make sure I pruned the plants in a healthy way. It's good to get a refresher and keep learning. I didn't know cherry tomatoes and regular size tomatoes should be pruned differently.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

@@virginiaseedsskogen2038 I love Migardener's seeds, seriously. Best value (maybe only dollarseeds.com compares) and great quality.

[@virginiaseedsskogen2038]

@@NextdoorHomestead , I trust the quality of MIgardeners seeds, they almost always germinate and sometimes much faster than expected :) I may left the flowers on mine suckers, have to check tomorrow. Hadn't thought about the flowers I was focused on getting them planted add adding twine to guide them up the trellis. Probably could have waited to add the twine till they are established, but I'm sure they will root well.

[@gjs2009]

Your video is very informative for us newbies. It's good to know we prune cherry tomatoes different from large tomatoes.

[@GardenandGrub]

love your channel! I am a new gardener and am learning so much. Thank you😃. would love to see a pepper variation of this video.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I'm so glad you're enjoying our videos Marianna!!! And no problem at all =) We do actually have a pepper pruning video but the takeaway is pretty simple: I don't recommend pruning them very much!

[@ArthurDentZaphodBeeb]

Genius - cordless toothbrush to get fruit set. Best explanation of why to prune. Must have watched a dozen tomato pruning videos from well-known channels and yours is the best.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

This comment just 100% made my day! Thank you for watching and for the kind words! More importantly - good luck with your toms!

[@craigborgardt6396]

The electric toothbrush hack is awesome. My neighbor might think I'm nuts but I'll still give them some tomatoes. If they laugh at me, they get ZERO. :)

[@NextdoorHomestead]

LOVE IT I garden primarily on a converted front lawn space so the neighbors certainly must assume I'm nuts =)

[@clarissejones9353]

This has been the most informative video. I have seen on trimming tomatoes

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Well thank you kindly for saying so! Appreciate that =)

[@fuzzytale]

You're the first person I've seen address pruning cherry tomatoes, very helpful. (You covered it in an earlier video as well, I believe?) I still only have 5 of them, 3 sungold and 2 sweeties, but it's more than I'd fit if they were unpruned

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Yay! Glad to hear it =) And yeah, we made a dedicated cherry tomato pruning video last year so I wanted to do a more general "hands on" video this year. Also, we grew sweeties last year too actually!

[@fuzzytale]

@@NextdoorHomestead This is my first year trying them, the library had them so I decided to give them a shot. None ripe yet, as I started them late, but they're covered with ripening trusses

[@robklein583]

very good video as usual. One small point i would mention is to not prune off bottom branches until they have turned completely brown and withered. the plant takes all the nitrogen out of the bottom leaves to redistribute to the top growing leaves and if you prune them off when still partly green you rob the plant of nitrogen it is moving to the top of it's canopy.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Hey thank you! Appreciate the extra detail on that - nice to hear from others that don't advocate for the immediate removal of every bit of growth beneath three feet ;)

[@nathanberry1093]

Maters don't like nitrogen.

[@stephen-rp6ew]

Electric toothbrush tip is grt thanks 😊

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Hope it works for you!

[@bubbleslafleur]

"You're not growing leaves. You're growing tomatoes." That line hooked me on your channel. It was the first time I ever heard it and had a great chuckle. It also happened to be the first time hubby and I decided to grow tomatoes; grow anything. He came out with 17 cubes of tiny plants. 😅 'big boys.' No info how to grow them, no cage or trellis, and no information sheet. I pull out two window size planters and was pleased as they started growing. Realized soon after that this 'project was going to be more than I thought. Three ten gallons later with three tomato plants later I was off buying more planters to repot leaving one or two plants in each. Thankfully, I found your channel and ran out excitedly with my pruner and away we went.😂😂😂

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Hahaha love this! I'm a big fan of going big to start and learning as much as you can from it. I hope you end up swimming in tomatoes. Best of luck to you and your husband on the garden adventures!

[@kriztofer3334]

Great info. I’m just now starting to learn gardening. This video was extremely helpful. You got a new subscriber

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Ah, that's awesome! So good to hear it was helpful. Gardening is the best hobby I've ever gotten into. You'll have a blast =)

[@my_bitof_nature4029]

Thank you! First time I see a tutorial that actually points out the benefit of healthy leaves. Most recommend to remove way too many leaves.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

No problem! It's something I've changed on over the years too. The urge is strong to do something, anything to help our plants sometimes =)

[@joefarmer9976]

Was not expecting this to make me want an electric toothbrush for my tomatoes, hahaha

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I am to surprise! ;) Thanks for watching btw - hope it was helpful!

[@lisajoy9588]

This was Incredibly Helpful! I just discovered your channel this morning when I searched for how to prune tomatoes. I am so glad I did! I am now a new subscriber to your channel. Thank you so much for such informative and well delivered information!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Welcome and thank you for the kind words! So glad it proved helpful and best of luck with your toms^^

[@cassandraqcassandraq5510]

Plant suckers for whole new plant ...and they seem to extend the season ..

[@dsbennett]

I have a tomato bush with a few tiny tomatoes. This information should change my world. Thanks.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Best of luck! I hope it proves helpful and your tomato yields improve =)

[@jacobfirek6414]

I love the vibe, no need to bribe, will subscribe.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

And I love the rhyme =) Thanks for joining up!

[@zan4110]

Thanks.,! Having a great beginning of a gardening season....no every day rain.. like last year...no slugs..!! Flowers on tomato plants, peppers,, my blueberry plant tripled in size..I bought that fertilizer you suggested...giving them another dose this week...!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

YAY! We've been loving the early season harvests too. Lots of cukes, cherry toms, zucchini, and eggplant =)

[@zan4110]

@@NextdoorHomestead wow....! And I really do not mind this heatwave we are having...37 degrees..!! My plants are loving it too.

[@paulgoodall_]

Don't waste those large sized 'suckers'. Strip the lower leaves, pot them up as deep as possible and in a week they will develop roots, and you have free advanced plants to then plant out in another couple of weeks.

[@paulgoodall_]

Aah, you talked about this at the end 😅

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I'm glad you made it that far into the video! It's definitely a nice little trick =)

[@chrissmith7259]

@nextdoor homestead thanks for the video. I have never tried to polinate tomatoes and I have always had 100% polination and tomatoes produced.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Oh, that's awesome! Yeah, no reason to start now then =)

[@charleneshangout]

New Subscriber 🇨🇦 ❤

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Welcome and thanks for joining up! Very nice to have you =)

[@tdsims]

Best video so far on why and how to prune your tomato plant

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Yay! Ahh, that's just so wonderful to hear. Very, very glad you enjoyed it =)

[@annaleechrista]

How are your grafted tomatoes doing?

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Well! Although I wouldn't say as well as the normal ones yet to be honest! The plants look healthier overall but they are producing notably *fewer* flowers and fruit! I think the big test is going to be if they stand up to heat/disease/pest pressure better through the next three months which are very hard on our plants here.

[@Kelly-np2tg]

I found your video the most helpful out of all the videos that I've watched. You don't want gate everything so it keeps my brain in tune and able to grasp everything without disconnecting and fading out. You have covered the house and wise where everybody else just has been saying do without leaving my brain comprehending though why. Thank you. Now to explain my situation. I've never grown a garden before. But in the spur of the moment I was at the store and I saw some seats and decided to grab various packets of seeds and start a growing a garden. What makes it unique too my situation is I live on an operate a semi truck across the country. Therefore I am growing a garden on 2020 Kenworth tea semi 18 wheeler truck. I'm not foreseeing my tomato plant growing is large as yours. And this moment I have two vine or main's stems as you call them. They are probably about a foot high beyond the soil. I would like keep them as pure informance possible without insecticides or chemicals of any sort. Would you happen to have any suggestions or tips for a newbie on a semi growing a garden? I believe that I should include the information that I do not know what kind of tomatoes these are. The package just said tomatoes. I don't believe it gave a specific type.

[@PlantObsessed]

Giant uncontrollable mess. Yep that is exactly what I have. My current tomatoes (3) are wild at this point. I am choosing to embrace the insanity.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Embrace it! We absolutely do the same for some of our container plants and it's a blast. That currant tomato I showed in the video is a spindly, messy, super fun mess =)

[@glow1815]

I'm a beginner with my mini garden( for now) your videos is so helpful. You lay out everything in details even with arrow pointing and name them what is what. Most gardeners videos just verbally telling us is not helpful we are new to the gardening world we would not understand. I should do okay with my tomatoes with your helpful information. Subscribed! Thank you!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Oh you don't know how much I love this comment! I'm not very good at video editing so all those little text notes and arrows take me forever! So, so glad you found them helpful =) Thanks for sharing!

[@MrSBGames]

If that is classed as overgrown then I am doomed with my plants🤣

[@NextdoorHomestead]

🤣 Good luck!

[@skookum_87]

I usually just let them do what they want. Thank you for increasing my knowledge. I will try and pursue the Tipps that you have given.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

No problem! Hope it helps out and best of luck with your tomatoes this year =)

[@suejose]

I dont remove them when they have flowers, it like my plant is having an abortion. Sorry, i can't do it😅. But thank you for the tips.

[@wop3asem97]

Lol i feel guilty removing that

[@t.v.4551]

Ignorance may lead to useless emotional ‘flooding’ but would never be rational or helpful! All depends on your brain’s ability!

[@wop3asem97]

@@t.v.4551 its not that serious, chill

[@julyc3134]

This is awesome! I just got a cherokee tomato plant and ive never grown tomatoes before, will definitely reference this video!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Oh Cherokee is such a cool variety. Great choice. Have fun this year in the garden!

[@LMF1187]

Gave the pigs tomatos last fall/winter, they gave me plants this spring. About 35 so far. Planted them in the raised beds, thanks for the advice.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

How fun! What kind of pigs do you have? Not being able to keep pigs and goats is a great regret of mine =)

[@spfadden082711]

Thanks so much. We have had a great summer of rain so everything is growing like crazy. It’s my first year and my plants are huge! So I appreciate the tips on taking care of these

[@NextdoorHomestead]

You're so welcome! That's so awesome to hear - let me tell you what; my first year(s) gardening were not full of huge plants ;) Hope the tips help out!

[@jneckcrank]

Very glad to have found your channel. Next year I am doing things differently per your suggestions. For example I put more than enough calcium on purpose to prevent BER. I learned differently how to attack it here. Thanks from Pulaski Tennessee where’s it’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Below zero this year.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Best of luck! I have my fingers crossed that I may have finally found a BER-resistant paste tomato worth growing this year. I'll share it if it works =)

[@loveishope4406]

I have seen a lot of pruning videos and yours is by far the best.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Oh wow, that's a huge compliment. Genuinely appreciate that.

[@ivanduguay1942]

Thank you, you have answered so many ? I had. I look forward to see how my tomatoes do. This year i have black cherry tomatoes, very excited to see end result.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Black cherry is such a *terrific* variety. My only complaint is it can be a little slow to get into production, but it's amazing otherwise.

[@yellopinki]

I’ve learned more from this one video than I have subscribing to 3 others combined. Thanks for sharing your knowledge in a simple understandable way❤

[@KieranCuneen]

Very clear and simple.

[@montgomeryharr30]

Best tomato pruning video I've seen! Really appreciate it. Thanks for explaining the why for everything. It's useful to remember the info when you know the why

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Ah, thank you for that. I was worried it was going to be too much "why" and it's been really nice to see people dig it. Cheers and good luck in your garden!

[@BlushnGlossy]

Thank you so much for going into so much depth! So many other videos on the subject only tell part of the story or assume we already know so much. Without the 'Why', it's hard to remember the 'how'. Thanks again!!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

You are so welcome! I am so happy to hear that it was useful and not just information overload =)

[@TrishLester]

Super informative! Excuse me now…I have some topping and dead leaf removal to do outside.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Have fun in the garden!