How I Prune Tomatoes So They Don't Get Diseased

[@normarosado5697]

Oh my😮 I just saw my 1st seedli g sprout of basil that I planted from seed. I'm so excited, sorry I'm 1st time gardener thus year and I've learned so much from you and the comments. THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!

[@jacquesinthegarden]

That is super exciting! Going to have amazing aromatic basil soon!

[@vixwolf2037]

A simple method on how to prune to really help your plants be as healthy as they can. Thank you very much this actually helps me to understand pruning better overall in addition to making sure my tomato plants are very happy 😊

[@sharonknorr1106]

So we haven't gotten on the trellising train - still using cages as we have for 40+ years. However, I do now prune lower or any questionable leaves and it has definitely helped with keeping my plants healthy until the end of the season. Same with summer squash - trimming the leaves below the fruit as we go along.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Absolutely, especially with squash, it can really make the difference.

[@thaliav89]

The dinosaur is protecting the tomatoes? Haha very cute

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Haha, one day they showed up and who am I stop them from doing their work

[@rmgalardo]

I love trying to spot the rando dinos in every vid!

[@floopflarp]

​@@rmgalardoDo they show up on every vid? I rarely see comments since my wife and I watch on TV but both spotted them this video and I went straight to the comments to see this thread

[@rmgalardo]

@floopflarp I don't know about all, but I've spotted them in A LOT of them! Sometimes it's just a tail or head 😂 It's just a fun "where's Waldo?" to play.

[@marcosguillen6511]

I’m a big fan of this doing the experiment and showing us complete results instead of waiting for a part 2. Great job seedsman

[@tobeharvey]

I use gel hand sanitizer to disinfect my scissors between tomato trimming. It’s easier to keep on the tool surfaces.

[@francestaylor9156]

Thanks for the tip! I have so much extra hand sanitizer from a few years ago. I need a way to use it lol.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Good idea!

[@agentbarron9768]

Pro tip i found on a tiny hidden garden channel, advice that ive never seen mentioned by the bigger channels. You can graft tomatoes on solanum torvum , the rootstock will be disease resistant and alot of different nightshades can be grafted onto it , eggplants , tamrillos , etc The robust roostock of the solanum torvum seems to produce very healthy plants in climates they normally might struggle.

[@anonymousperson4242]

Those purple flowers in the background are like a dream come true

[@PacificGardening]

Really pretty

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Pride of Madeira is one of my favorites!

[@carissalizotte8977]

I agree! I always think that when I watch these videos!! Wish I could grow it here in Maine!

[@Liam.Lacoste]

They look amazing! I wish we could have them in Canada, but we get 6-8 months of snow here in my region.

[@dorybenami]

402k followers! Congrats Jacques. Have been supporting you for a long time. Fun to see you achieve KZbin fame.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Appreciate you sticking around!

[@Sendarya]

The dinosaurs scattered around are so adorable. You kids play out in the garden! My kid loved those same toys when she was little

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Yup! Haha I find them all over the place

[@troxycat]

Well this definitely makes me feel better about pruning my determinates. So many people say there's no need to prune them, so I didn't last year. They were just a tangled, solid matt of leaves, and hardly any of the fruit ripened.

[@BobbyHill26]

Last year was my first time gardening since I was a real young kid and the weather definitely saved me with my tomatoes. I planted them wayyy too densely but we had such a dry summer that I barely had any disease until real late in the season/early fall but as soon as there was any rain at all we had every disease possible taking over all of our plants and within a couple weeks they were completely ravaged even though I was spending at least an hour every day pruning. Now I have them spaced maybe 2-2.5 feet apart and am only putting one row per bed and putting something shorter on the other side so there’s no obstruction of air flow and if the amount of rain and humidity we are having this month is any indication of the rest of the summer then I think I made a very good choice.

[@suevallejo8645]

So very happy I found your channel. You are so inspiring, and real!!! Thanks for sharing your life with us.

[@eandrgoodwin]

New drinking game: Take a shot every time Jacques says “Powdery mildew”! BLITZED 😵😵‍💫🥴

[@jacquesinthegarden]

How do you think I feel 🥴😵😵‍💫

[@tpen891]

When you get short on browns the fine pine shaven from TSC is great only about 6 bucks. I have a bed that I over did as well and did the Florida weave.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

I have used that before, great call

[@geriwilliamson9678]

Just pruned my tomatoes like you do. I really like your gardening technique. I live in North County great weather to grow in

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Hopefully you get an awesome harvest this year!

[@debrak.6430]

Very helpful thank u! I have gotten it really bad the last couple yrs....I do trim but I really didn't know to look for it at the bottom early on...I will Def b keeping an eye out now....I'm in the Ohio Valley so I just planted my garden last week...does the same concept apply to zuchinni and cucumbers? I see here on utube where some gardeners also use a preventive spray...some homemade with baking soda...have you ever used anything like that?

[@allycameron2942]

How should you prune semi determinate tomatoes? I bought the glacier tomato seeds from botanical interest and they are starting to get big!

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Focus mainly on diseased leaves, leaves on the ground, and if a sucker is too hard to support you should also just clip it off. You will get plenty of harvest anyway so it is better to have a healthier plant over a ton of tomatoes on a stressed plant.

[@jamiehill3220]

Thank you so much for this video! I am new to gardening and was debating on pruning my tomatoes. Also I wasn’t sure how to actually prune them. This will help so much!

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Chris-op7yt]

what about spraying with potassium bicarbonate, which is a kind to plants fungicide and protectant against tiny pests?

[@gwendolynwebster7722]

This is such a great tutorial, Jacques! So helpful when you get right down into the plant 🙂

[@luzhang472]

what are those tall lavender plants behind your compose ?

[@selasmama4499]

Good, thorough explanation on pruning to beat back disease. Makes sense and I’ll use this info. Thanks!

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Glad it helps!

[@michellecolledge2355]

My new growth is rubbery and shriveled up. Any ideas on what is causing this? Great video. Can't wait for the next one. Cheers.

[@JodiMontano]

I've started mulching with EZ Straw and so many seeds from the straw are germinating. Do you have that problem? They look like blades of grass, and they break off easily when I pull them. If I'm able to get the root, it's substantial.

[@raeceenieb9842]

Also for the raccoons digging up your bed, have you tried crushed red pepper flakes? Something was digging up my beds but since i put it down they've never beeb back

[@jacquesinthegarden]

I did actually use exactly that and it worked! Bought a big one at Costco

[@raeceenieb9842]

@@jacquesinthegarden Us too! I'm glad there's an easy, cheap solution

[@pamkilgore8004]

What is that beautiful purple plant behind the compost bin?

[@kfetter9046]

You are such a good teacher Jacques, but tell me, do the little dinosaurs I saw throughout your tomato patch help to keep any pests away? If so, I better go get some, LOL!🤣

[@foodnwords]

Those dinosaurs surprised me! Haha

[@lolis110]

Love your little helpers today. 🦕🦖 1:05

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Haha, lots of random dinos around!

[@susanhenley8240]

Would like to see how you do the "tie up" with your tomato plants. Looks like t-posts with string woven between?

[@GreenthumbFL]

Love it, i do the same. Prune all the bottom leaves.

[@LanaiDebbie]

I live in Hawaii, which is always at least somewhat warm and humid, which makes it really hard to grow tomatoes. Mine have powdery mildew and some sort of leaf spot. If I pruned all the leaves with any disease there would only be 3mor four large leaves below the top new foliage. Should I still prune all,those leaves?

[@ceecee-thetransplantedgardener]

Because I have limited space, I plant densely and then prune to single or double stems when the plants are young. This helps so much with airflow and disease and pest management. Powdery mildew - have you tried some home remedies, like baking soda mixes or hydrogen peroxide? I believe there is enough evidence out there to support trying it?

[@nitrousblast1]

I have a question on my new tomato plants. It looks like someone snipped the tops off the tomatoes I recently bought at a local nursery. I put them in the ground a couple weeks ago and there has been no new growth. Should i give them more time or get new ones? Thanks

[@thetilelady-debbyparker4714]

I saw you cut away the mildew on your tomatoes and wonder if you sprayed them too to keep the mildew away? I love your channel 😊

[@sarakrueger495]

Would it be a god idea to spray some bakning soda solution on the lower parts of the plants after pruning?

[@dinacasey7034]

Also, I notice "Naughty Marietta' I Ordered these from Botanical Interests and planted them in my garden, especially among the tomatoes. Very pretty.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

It is such a good marigold!

[@gaylekerr9826]

Love your videos, lots of information and very calm. Question - does the powdery mildew stay over in the ground? I just pulled all my peas, they were covered. It was miserable, I could see the whiteness blowing off in the wind! I'm going to plant tomatoes today in that space, and wondering if they are doomed if the powdery mildew is in the soil. Thanks!

[@clashwithkeen]

How do you get flowers that are so big? This is my first year gardening and all my tomato plants have tons of flowers but almost all of them are tiny and starting to shrivel. Only about 1/30 look big like those. I neglected pruning my tomatoes and let many off-shoots turn into large vines but I still keep the bottom 1-1.5ft clear of leaves. I wasn't sure how much to prune because I thought lots of foliage would protect the fruit from sun scalding. (we have many 100F+ days in late June - July)

[@moekusaki]

Jacques, I'm new to planting veggies, herbs, and flowers. I'm seeing powdery mildews on my nastursiums and basil... should I cut them off? 🤧

[@lauraharris6673]

What is the plant behind the Florida Weave section?

[@summerkeeler-bachert7017]

What is thw bush qith the big purple flowers on it? I love it, it’s gorgeous!

[@judysocal8682]

Pride of Madeira

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Pride of Madeira!

[@SwiftRabbit-w7g]

Super helpful, and you're making me feel better about how densely I've planted my first crop 😅😂

[@stefanwang5787]

Funny that you released this video today, as i just revisited last years tomato pruning video yesterday!

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Hopefully the follow up this time was helpful

[@stefanwang5787]

@@jacquesinthegarden Oh yeah of course! Where I live my plants are still only like 8 inches. Just getting prepared

[@halfhalf656]

Wow what’s those gigantic purple flowers by the compost bin? Are they for pollinators?

[@stephaniefuller]

I am in Florida and I tried the Florida weave this year and I was pruning the diseased leaves off and eventually all the leaves were gone. Lol I am trying not to give up growing tomatoes but its hard to grow tomatoes in Florida.

[@davefreier7738]

I'm in Florida also. I've found growing tomatoes more of an art than a science, but soil prep, choosing the right times, a good Florida weave or similar support that allows air flow, and luck seem to be the deciding factors.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Yeah honestly a single or double leader string trellis is probably best for maximum airflow

[@mikimasumoto7392]

Great tutorial, thank you Jacque

[@mcgritty8842]

You said (paraphrasing) “if the leaf isn’t getting any sun, it serves no purpose and can create an opening for disease.” Is that true for most vegetables/fruits? Cucumbers I’ve heard to prune similar, but wasn’t sure if I should do it with, say, strawberries or sunflowers. Btw, I’m a new gardener about 1.5 months in and honestly just afraid of setting back a few nice growing plants. I’ve been enjoying your content ❤❤❤❤

[@abc_cba]

What are your tips on powdery mildew, they invade my mints and sunflower, to name a few. Btw, you are the King of Nasturtiums.

[@carriecreates1207]

Thank you, this was good advice to a new gardner!

[@johnnyroe8053]

Woah you grow them really close to each other

[@melissaannboone3639]

Great information. Thank you!

[@noahmiller6115]

It would be funny if you plant a few kernels of glass gem corn in Kevin's sweet corn patch.

[@Gonzalo_M]

Very interesting! I learned a lot, thank you! ☺️ And what is that dinasor toy?

[@adenshalala9265]

Started growing tomatoes in a giant homemade raised garden bed and I’ve had zero disease issues but I’ve had so many problems with tomato hornworms. I’ve gotten so good at finding hornworms now that I notice when they wrap themselves and leaves to hide themselves… It’s ts kind of funny

[@francestaylor9156]

I’m surprised you didn’t prune some of the growth where it was bit too dense. I do sq ft method with cattle panel trellis so I have to stay on top of making sure it doesn’t get too suffocating even above the foot above the soil. So I’ll take off leaves that are overcrowding the plants with each other too. We get crazy humidity in E TN so I have to make sure to get airflow in my plants or the garden in general gets zero airflow. The tomatoes leaves can crowd and cut off all the air flow to everything and it will cause disease in the basil I plant next to the tomatoes.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

I eventually will thin some of the branches out but I like to let them settle in first.

[@mikki_s1100]

What do you recommend when disease has spread to the new leaves as well? Early stages of some fungal something and pruning isn’t stopping it, still spreading

[@jacquesinthegarden]

At that point you may want to look into spraying. I've heard that diluted milk or hydrogen peroxide solutions work well and aren't going to be as damaging to other life. You will want to look online for ratios. After that you may get ahead of it and solve the issue

[@Arcticdi]

First year growing dwarf plants---says no pruning necessary BUT they are bigger than I thought and I did over crowd the bed. Should I 'clean them up'?

[@jacquesinthegarden]

It doesn't ever hurt to remove some lower older leaves and let the airflow come through

[@KellieDTravis]

Great advice and tips! Thanks!

[@kathyhanson509]

What is the plant behind your compost pile? It's beautiful!!

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Pride of Madeira!

[@TylerDupreez-j8f]

Hay my man your garden is looking great

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Much appreciated!

[@sharonknorr1106]

Can't remember the name of that shrub with the purple flowers, they have talked about it before, but it is spectacular. Assuming it will not grow here in northern Colorado, but wow!

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Pride of Madeira! Sadly I don't think it is very cold tolerant .

[@marktoldgardengnome4110]

@@jacquesinthegarden Good old Googol says Zones 9a-11b. ☹

[@marktoldgardengnome4110]

Tomatoes are must for us as we try to grow enough to store a minimum of 75+ pints of sauce to get us through an entire year. 75 can's of the cheap, kinda looks like sauce, is $100 at our local Slop n Shop that' is tasteless That will all but cover the cost of next years seeds we can't save ourselves from hybrid varieties of veg. We grow only San Marzano ll's and Rutgers. Both sauce, meaty varieties. Only 6 plants in a 4x8 raised bed. 3 each side under a 5' cattle panel. We've experienced that both varieties put on 2-4 suckers right from the start. The plan is to trim any leaves the 1st 12"s, fan out and train the suckers through the panel openings. From that time on, trim all leaves on each growing stem that are below established fruit. If this works we should end up with 18-30 main growing stems from 3 plants. (3-5 on each plant) all healthy nice and neat. I tried staking individual suckers one year. By the time I was done that bed looked like I was growing t posts. Successfully. TYFS Jacques

[@loveandlavender11]

Thanks for such a helpful and practical video!

[@Alexanders_giardino]

The tomatoes reminded the dinosaurs of the massive tree canopy’s millions of years ago. 🤣

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Haha exactly! Trying to create their ecosystem..

[@sheliaheverin8822]

What kind of twine do you use for your Florida weave?

[@jacquesinthegarden]

I've switched over to just using simple cotton butchers twine which is cheap and compostable!

[@sheliaheverin8822]

@@jacquesinthegarden thank you. I was using regular hay bailing twine, it's ok...but..

[@GreenPinkyHI]

Thank you for the great video, Jacques! Question - what is that gorgeous bush with purple flower stalks? It looks so healthy and adds to your garden vibes!

[@Ghoul2310]

They’re called Pride of Madeira, they’re everywhere here in San Diego great drought tolerant plant

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Pride of Madeira, super low maintenance and prolific bloomer!

[@GreenPinkyHI]

Thank you!! They're gorgeous!

[@GreenPinkyHI]

Thank you! I don't see these in Hawaii, but we can use any and all drought tolerant plants here!

[@dinacasey7034]

Did I just see a dinosaur!? At 2:00 🤣😂

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Hahaha kids have scattered them around

[@dawninthemountains]

What is the Dino for by that 1st plant? Does he scare away the pests from the tomatoes? Made me smile. 😊

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Hahaha kids have scattered them around

[@meysaechao4902]

last year i prune my tomato like you said, but got a lot of sunburn on them. how do i stop that?

[@francestaylor9156]

Have you tried shade cloth?

[@suepowlesland8541]

I second providing some shade. I have used old lace curtains with great results. I also cage my tomatoes so I can leave more leaf cover.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

If you are getting sunscald you may have more sub than I do. Ease back on the pruning right above the tomatoes until they begin to color at least. Otherwise you might have to add shade cloth

[@sandraoconnor5700]

So helpful, detailed, and informative ❤❤❤😊

[@RomanticizeReality]

OMG Jacque! When you went low to look at those first leaves, I almost jumped at the pretend dinos and lizards near your hand! I thought it was a lizard or snake until I saw all the others. It did about give me a heart attack for you though! LOL What a smart idea to keep pests away with "predators" lurking about! I know what to do with my son's outgrown dinos now!

[@debbiebolman2705]

It's time to deploy the dinos!

[@RomanticizeReality]

@@debbiebolman2705 Totally! I knew I had not purged them yet for a reason!

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Haha I wonder if it's working, this was left out by the kids

[@RomanticizeReality]

@@jacquesinthegarden seems like they had a great idea to me! If I was a bug or small bird, I wouldn't want to approach!

[@judiwhitworth8924]

I only plant indeterminate. Should i prune all leaves off under the tomatoes? If so, how do they keep making tomatoes?

[@francestaylor9156]

Check out the Epic Gardening channel’s video on how to prune tomatoes with Kevin that teaches you the anatomy of a tomato plant so you can identify a leaf vs a sucker. You can cut the leaves. Suckers are where new growth for the tomato comes from.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

If you remove only the leaf branches that go out horizontally you will still have suckers and new growth that happens from above

[@Pat6648]

Have you gotten a new camera Jacques? It's Incredibly clear!

[@firedansr4041]

This was awesome! Thank you!!!

[@buttonenfuego]

Are you getting powedery mildew in the Greenhouse?

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Yes I have had some in there but now I'm running the fan for longer

[@LhousGreenLife]

@jac what is the name of that purple flower behind you?

[@bertarnoldo5199]

Pride of Madeira

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Pride of Madeira!

[@LhousGreenLife]

@@jacquesinthegarden thanks jac I hope I have that kind of flowers here in the Philippines!😉

[@wild-radio7373]

+1 Dr. Bronners for the win ❤

[@annamalone2704]

Have you heard about using a milk solution to kill powdery mildew?

[@jacquesinthegarden]

I have heard of it being quite effective but I haven't actually tried it yet.

[@annamalone2704]

I follow a British gardener so they deal with it a lot. He said 1 part milk to 3 parts water. Has to be reapplied every two weeks or so.

[@2boys1man4me]

I had leaf foot bugs show up… I’m so frustrated! 😩

[@lenaf7758]

I'm curious as to why 91%? It may evaporate before actually disinfecting your tools

[@dhazell]

What is that giant blue spiked plant behind your compost bin? 😮

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Pride of Madeira

[@michaelgilliland6047]

My leaves currently look very odd. Kind of mangled looking. Very healthy over all except the asthetics. Idk what is or what to. Kinda seems like it might be from the wind looks like it could be from herbicide drift but neither me nor the neighbors use herbicide

[@melissapritchett2731]

I threw 18 tomatoes in a 6ft bed as a last ditch effort. 🤦🏻‍♀️😂 So far they are thriving. Gonna try some of these tips.

[@davidaleshire4292]

Looking forward to seeing how many tomatoes you get out of that one bed. Might be sauce making time. I guess hydrogen peroxide is good for preventing and killing powdery mildew. I can send a link to the video if you’re interested in checking it out.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

I have heard of peroxide but I haven't got around to trying it

[@christophervanmeier1648]

No San Marzano's? Way up in 9b, this is our third season trying San Marz. So far no a whole lot to brag about. Small tomatoes, only a few. Any ideas?

[@francestaylor9156]

I grow San Marzanos in E TN. They are supposed to be small but you should be getting a bunch. Is it getting enough sun? I planted mine last year in a spot that was shadier than I realized and they barely grew. They need a very very sunny spot. I moved them back to the sunniest spot in the garden and they’re doing great. Are those tomatoes the only ones not producing well? Sometimes if it gets too hot, the flowers for tomatoes and peppers can fall off. Then you’ll need shade cloth to protect your plants so the flowers don’t dry up before they get pollinated.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

They are honestly a temperamental plant as far as what I've heard. I don't bother with that variety in particular and just grow other plum tomatoes

[@andralandi1108]

@@jacquesinthegarden I’ve done okay with San Marzano in central Virginia, but I’m doing a direct comparison growing them and Roma VF under the same conditions this year to see if there’s a big difference.

[@モフモフ-z7d]

Due to the influence of this garden👥 I was able to harvest 3 giant cucumbers.🥒🥒🥒 I'm a little happy😗♪ Is it like making the bottom part of the tomato sparse? I pruned off a lot of the lower leaves on the cucumber. I think I'll use a sponge to clean the scissors because I cut my finger before🩸 Apparently, I like leaves more than flowers. After all, tomato leaves smell very good.🍅🐽" Will it become fruit? My tomato plant is getting bigger and bigger. The middle part of the petal is kind of hard and sharp... 👀? Petal rocket? What is this?

[@brandoncapps9720]

Powdery mildew city. Not to be confused with Root knot Nematode township.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

😂

[@andralandi1108]

Not to mention Late Blight, which is usually handled at the county level

[@anapenkauskas5255]

Great job with the tomatoes Jacque! What's with the plastic dinosaurs?

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Haha a little one was playing with them all around the garden

[@PacificGardening]

You know, up the road from me (and assuming about an hour or so away from you) there’s a roadside nursery with 6-8 foot dinosaur statues. You may need to make a visit…

[@jacquesinthegarden]

I may actually have to visit haha, what was the name?

[@PacificGardening]

@@jacquesinthegarden Moon Valley Nurseries in Irvine. They have them all over, but I’m not sure if Dinos are at this location only or not.

[@shawnknieriem464]

I see you are also getting a healthy crop of dinosaurs...

[@emkn1479]

Man I wish I could grow that pride of Madeira. It’s incredible! Steals my attention every time 😭

[@jacquesinthegarden]

It is a true stunner

[@unmeaninglessly143]

Im having a hard time dealing with leafminer 😢

[@TrixieJFerguson]

Why are there tiny dinosaurs in your tomato garden? 😂 Are you scaring away the horned worms?

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Hahaha kids have scattered them around

[@TrixieJFerguson]

@@jacquesinthegarden my grandson lives with me and I have giant plastic tarantulas all over my garden. 😂

[@andreahorsch286]

Will that lower fruit get sun scalded now?

[@jacquesinthegarden]

I don't usually have issues with sun scald as I have a lot of spotty shade throughout the day. If I over prune the top I will see sunscald but not usually.

[@andreahorsch286]

@@jacquesinthegarden I guess I am growing in a terraced garden up a hill, so the afternoon sun hits the whole plant, top to bottom...I cant prune up as high as a result

[@FluffyTheGryphon]

That dinosaur on the ground freaked me out. I was like Wtf is that?!

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Hahaha kids have scattered them around

[@terrivance8750]

Jacques, Good video. Especially enjoyed seeing the dino playground. 😉

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@mel-il4yu]

❤❤❤ dinosaurs ❤❤❤

[@GainingDespair]

Freaking dinosaurs scaring away the diseases, seen the spikes on the back out the corner of my eye like wtf was that lol