Pruning an Overgrown Tomato Plant! ✂️🍅🌿// Garden Answer

[@stabbykat8270]

This is exactly what I needed to see as a first-time gardener with a similar-looking plant! I feel confident about pruning it now, and I loved the bonus ginger cat. :)

[@crowe2171]

Good Gosh. She’s got more tomatoes on that one big plant than I’ve EVER gotten on ALL the plants I’ve ever grown. Good on her!

[@michaelkuzelka8903]

Yeah me too.

[@willow3310]

Thank you for this. My husband passed away 3 months ago, my daughter in law planted for me and I am just getting into the right headspace to get out there and tame the tomato jungle!

[@wudgee]

Sorry for your loss. I hope you tamed the tomato plant, I’m going to do mine tomorrow. Being with nature should help you, blessings and Christian love.

[@Pete-z6e]

I’m in the same situation, don’t mope , looking after a garden will give you something else to think about.good luck.

[@michaelkuzelka8903]

Condolences, willow. Hang in there. God loves ya.

[@mimyomimyohae]

I’ve been confused on what branches are suckers for so long and you finally showed me!

[@RWonTube]

Fun fact: In Dutch we call the pruning of a tomato plant: thieving (dieven). You pinch out the 'thief' so it won't 'steal' any more nutrition from the plant 😄 Thanks for the video Laura!

[@nef4588]

I love this! I want to adapt this saying too haha

[@E.l347]

Klopt hahah 😊

[@StaceyHerewegrowagain]

That's awesome! I never heard of that before lol.

[@rachelhall4808]

How interesting! Thank you for sharing!

[@klarabettan]

In Sweden too!

[@kazuwilliams5222]

I'm growing my first tomato plant and find pruning to be incredibly relaxing. I love the smell too

[@cpolanco18]

City-girl here 🙋🏻‍♀️ who planted tomato plants for the very 1st time this year. Literally watched DOZENS of tomato videos - this BY FAR has been the BEST ONE!!! I still learned a few things watching this vid. *Hits “subscribe” button* Thank u for this! ❤️🍅

[@shilpapawar94]

Gotta mention laura you always get into all the small little details that other people tend to overlook i love the way you explain things step by step it really helps P.s love you Benjamin Aaron cheddar and russell

[@willwymer8340]

you are super good at showing what needs to be done and how. Thx!

[@maricelasanchez8439]

I really needed this. I've been so overwhelmed by how huge and crowded my tomato plants have gotten. Now I feel like I can get a handle on the situation. Thanks, Laura!

[@pennymach6934]

Jumping out of bed to go prune my tomatoes! Thanks for the 7 am motivation!

[@jansmith9922]

Never trimmed my tomatoes plants & they all thrived. I basically planted my veggie garden & watered it. It was incredibly productive each year. At the end of the growing season around fall any green tomatoes on the vines, I would bring them in the house, wrap them in news paper & place them in a large brown paper bag. Within a few days to a week all the tomatoes would be red. Then I would make tasty pasta sauce & freeze it for winter time. Very good. This is an old farmers method of using up all your green tomatoes.

[@NessInTexas-x2e]

Green tomato tip: thank you!❤️

[@lwjenson]

Thanks! I thought it was too late to try and train my tomatoes. Thanks for showing trimming a plant that was out of control I have about 7 tomato plants that are out of control.

[@carlaritchie331]

Never heard of pruning tomato plants. Love learning something new!

[@maggiecain]

Thank you for showing how to tame an overgrown tomato. It seems like everyone just advises you not get into trouble but sometimes you end up in trouble and it's nice to learn how to get out of it.

[@fr332bme23]

So glad I clicked on your video. Others didn't make much sense. I guess it was because they weren't actually pruning; just talking. Thank you!

[@angelachamaa3231]

Thanks for doing a video on an overgrown one! The other videos I found were “left too long” and were still under 3 ft tall with little issues. My situation is far more jungle!

[@jimwalker2459]

I live in the central valley of California so we have long and very hot summers and when I first started growing tomatoes I would stake them, prune them,and the sun would always burn the fruit in the end I would get very few nice tomatoes. My new method is, wire together 3 large tomato cages, and plant three plants and let them grow. My plants this year have been giving me 4or5 large baseball sized tomatoes a day and with all the foliage no sunburn.

[@paulcorwin9387]

Thanks, This is the first video on pruning tomato plants that I’ve watched all spring and summer that helped me understand.

[@paigeelliott5221]

FABULOUS video! Very thorough and detailed. Love that it was close-up enough to actually see what you were pruning. I’ve watched dozens and dozens of these pruning videos and they wave their clippers around in the general area of the tomato branches and never show what their actually clipping! It’s maddening and frustrating! This was a very, very helpful video (and important that you mentioned not to prune determinate tomato’s AND not the tops). I especially found helpful what to do about two leaders. I’ve never known what to do! (or even if there’s anything to be done!). So pleased I stumbled upon it. Actually, your video is better than the Bonnie Bell video by the ‘professional’ tomato growers on pruning. Thanks!

[@pamketron]

Fast forward to a year later - June 2020.... I’ve never pruned my tomatoes before but have been doing so this year. It does make such a huge difference. Those suckers are cut off as soon as I see them and I don’t have wild and crazy growing tomato plants. Went back and watched this again today to be sure I was doing everything the way you taught me. Old videos are always helpful. I refer back to a lot of your videos. Thanks Laura for your great knowledge and how you show & explain things!!! ☀️🍅🐝🦋

[@mattikarosenthal3298]

I wait until the suckers are a little longer, clip them put them in water and let them route. After about 8 to 10 days, they have started a root system. I take those and pop them, and then plant them Underneath the tomato plants that I have really pruned. And it does take them a couple of days to return to normal after pruning.

[@cindycreateforlife]

Very timely, I have a hot mess even worse than your first illustration! I am a beginner so this was perfect, thank you!

[@moleculist7978]

One of the best gardening videos I've ever seen (and I've been doing gardens for over 30 years). Not only was the information stellar, but the presentation flowed beautifully and was very efficient (product placement also understated). It doesn't hurt that you're pretty and have a pleasant demeanor and nice voice.

[@moondawg3693]

Being a movie buff of the 70's, it's been a while since I've heard the word "sucker" so much. Today's movie themed gardening will be, "I'm Gonna Get You Sucka", which was a real movie. LOL Gardening is so much fun!

[@barbarasanroman9484]

I just pruned my tomatoes yesterday and after watching your video I went back out there for round 2. 🥵 Thanks for showing me the right way 👍 and now I won't be scared anymore to chop so much off my indeterminate plants. You Rock!!

[@kennethzauggjr.4948]

This was a very quick, informative, video. It's tough filtering through all the nonsense anymore. Thanks.

[@aileenc7390]

This was very informative. We are new gardeners and have 13 tomato plants that definitely don't look as healthy as yours. Learning to prune them should help! We have always marveled how you get so many tomatoes in your garden. Thanks for educating us!👍

[@Aardvarkangus]

Thank you. I know to trim the suckers, but usually they get away on me and look like the "before" . Now I have a better idea of how to address them at that stage.

[@Cynicar]

Thank you for this! I could only find videos on how to properly prune them from the start, not how to get things back in check. Super helpful!

[@CottageGardensonForest]

I have a total of 62 tomato plants and in the beginning I was so diligent about pruning in the beginning. I also followed your advice as well as others on feeding my heavy feeders. At some point they exploded in growth and I lost my courage and let them get away from me. Lol The later plants I’ve done so much better with. We had some really bad storms and straight line winds laid all my 7ft tomatoes and my corn down flat and took down trees all over my immediate neighbors property. Somehow I was able to save all but 2. I did have to ruthlessly prune just like you just did. I trust your advice and look to you for step by step processes. Thanks for sharing and showing us that your garden isn’t always perfectly perfect.

[@DorkAcademia]

This is my favorite tomato pruning video yet. I watch Jess over at Roots and Refuge, and she has a great educational video but this makes me feel like I can tackle the one plant that got away from me this year. It has two leaders, and within those it seemed to have two leaders each. I cut it back to two of four, and trellised it to maximize air flow. Feeling a lot better about getting some ripe fruit soon :)

[@martibowland5911]

The deer cruised through my garden over Independence Day weekend while we were away camping and they trimmed my roses, peas and two tomato plants. I wish they watched your videos first. (new sub in MT)

[@noemierollindedebeaumont1130]

Marti Bowland I couldn't resist laughing at the touch of humour 😁 ! I also had a deer eating the new growth off of my roses this spring that grow after i gave them a very very needed trim this winter...... i hope yours will rebound and still produce beautiful flowers for you. Mine did 😥.

[@sue2611]

Marti Bowland Thanks for the laugh

[@eelast]

lol

[@Mina-A]

Lol. Funny

[@kusumgurung5109]

😂😂😂😂

[@amandavhb1630]

This is the best pruning video I have seen! (And I have watched a lot!) It made me brave enough to cut mine back and eventhough I lost a couple of tomatoes in the process... my plants do look better! And I will be able to keep them maintained so much better! Thanks for the knowledge and the confidence!

[@jimjr4432]

Very, very good! You are the scariest person any tomato plant has ever seen! Wow, very good instruction. Thanks again, Jim

[@davidcole8200]

I like the way you keep it moving. Sometimes people leave too many gaps and take too long getting to the point. You get to many points all the way through and that keeps it interesting.

[@SavvianaLanditsh]

thanks for showing us! BTW i learned it from a friend: put those cuttings in a large vase/bottle, filled it with water, in 2 weeks they will grow roots. here you go a new tomato plant. It would be a bit late fruiting yes, but extend the fruiting period if kept in greenhouse. Sounds fun!

[@dear.sunlesssociety]

Just came in from pruning mine, it was a jungle out there! I feel better now that they look like they can breathe. Had to talk myself through the whole process *its just a bloom, you’re okay, this is fine, we’re fine* I also couldn’t believe how many bare branches there were with nothing on it!

[@Farmgirlathart]

I’m going now bc I’ve never done this either.

[@ThahnG413]

2 years late but if you have some space there is nothing wrong with a jungle, it actually produces 33% more tomato by weight, but your tomatoes will be smaller by about 25%

[@kristinanoall]

Great video! I was dealing with health issues for awhile last summer, and neglected my garden. When I got back out to it, I was ASTONISHED at the wild, tangled, vine-y mess my three tomato plants had become. I’ll definitely be more vigilant this year!

[@greenthumbelina7331]

Laura thanks for the great tomato pruning tips! I got a kick out of Russell strolling into the video, he's such a cute little garden supervisor!

[@saradavis6505]

I noticed the Boss came around to inspect your work.😻😻😻🍅🍅🍅

[@artfuldodger4557]

This is my first time really growing tomatoes, and though I've read and read and reread about pruning them, even before I started growing them, I've been having SUCH a hard time hurting them. This video has given me confidence, so tomorrow morning I'm putting my game face on. Then I'm running into the house in tears, throwing myself across the bed, and crying myself to sleep.

[@smeeling]

My tomatoes are also in raised beds and hugely overgrown! I'm glad they're happy, but your video has given me some confidence to go ahead and start snipping. Thanks!! Great video!!

[@theresataylor9107]

thats why i am here mine grew so big so fast I was lost with what to do found this video and now I am informed yay

[@jonicarter9684]

Wow I really need to prune my tomatoes they look like a forest. Thank you Laura for more great information.

[@donnapellegrino4313]

When you prune good sized stems, trim off the lower leaves and place the stems in soil. The stems will form roots and make a new plant.

[@theexmann]

Does the stem need to callus at the cut end before planting them? If not, do you water immediately after planting the stem or wait a few days for the first watering? Thanks.

[@NeccoWecco]

@@theexmann Nope! Just stick it in the ground and water it

[@juliahardaway3841]

I’d love to see if it works for you!

[@janetsmith9610]

Also do it early in the season to prevent diseases. In my experience, when I put a trimmed stem into the soil and watered it, the plant wilted for some days, but eventually perked up.

[@diane6920]

This works!

[@irenealejo4619]

I don't grow tomatoes but I watch anyways!😂 You make me feel like I can grow anything! You are lovely, thank you!

[@nef4588]

oh my goodness me too...ive taken on plants that i never thought i would.,.. ive had some success and some not but it was all fun anyway!

[@kimmiller4057]

Hahaha, same! I live in Indiana and it seems everyone loves tomatoes in the summer here....not me. But still really enjoyed this video.

[@dragonflyy000]

@@kimmiller4057 Indiana here too and live in an apartment so thought my days of planting tomatoes were over..... love this very knowledgeable video of growing them in containers. Now hoping there's one on growing strawberries in containers by Laura!! 🍓🍋🍅 YUM!!

[@AnnaDunlap247Rolltide]

I don't grow them cause I don't like them🙈

[@rmohr2312]

M

[@kittyleen6553]

Russel we missed you boy...so glad to see him again...

[@rn780]

She's got an orange fluff butt that likes to help too. My cat loves "helping" in the garden.

[@theponzischeme3949]

What a lovely and peaceful place, the owners are lucky people

[@annmariealexander8506]

LOL. Your cats are such “hams”, always wanting to be on camera. Thanks for all your good gardening tips. I’ve gardened more this year, than ever, since watching your videos.

[@davidmarsh1716]

Wow, Laura! Respect! That may be the most overgrown tomato that I have ever seen and the way you just "got after it" gives me courage. I was out of town for 2 weeks and one of my tomatoes went "dark side" on me and is a somewhat overgrown beast. Now that i have seen you attack that monster in your garden, I feel like I can tackle it. Thank you!

[@TrevyTrev-andTheFunkyPets]

I’m a newbie and pruned my tomato bush and thought I messed up. Your video made me feel better.

[@florafaunaful]

This is a great video on how to prune a "rogue" tomato plant! I've had to do a lot of pruning this year with my tomatoes, but I haven't done just one leader. I think that might be my trial for next year! This year I'm trying to find out where the best spot is for my little urban homestead (in the UK) is, but next year, I see me doing the cordon style trial! Thanks for your awesome video! I truly love it! Your garden always looks so immaculate! And the smile you have on your face just shows how much you love doing what you do! Take care!

[@wendysmith6513]

This is exactly what I was looking for! My tomato plants are out of control and I needed some guidance. Thanks for the video.

[@crazycatchef]

I have been pruning my tomato plant based on videos that focus only on pruning the small tomato plants. My plant grew very big and wild in what felt like a short amount of time and looks very similar to your untrimmed beast of a plant. This video gives me confidence to go ahead and prune and makes me feel less silly for letting it get overgrown. Thank you!

[@lyla.aisle.of.blooms]

Anyone else distracted by how amazing the North Pole Arbs are looking? So fluffy!!

[@michaelgibbons8410]

Overgrown tomatoes for years... not now! Thanks for some excellent detailed, easily viewable information!!

[@MsAponte69]

Laura, you do a wonderful job. You work like no one else. I work away from home and dont have much time to make my garden look as lovely as yours....keep up the good work. Love your videos. I watch them everyday and on weekends. Thank you.

[@holzmann8443]

I'm happy you clarified not to do this to determinate tomatoes before I destroyed my marglobes. Thank you for the detailed tutorial!

[@riddhibhatt1482]

I watched this video a few years ago when I had just started vegetable gardening and boy was it useful. Revisiting this video as I dream about spring!

[@Amanda-mn6vb]

Thank you for this video! I went away on vacation and had a family members caring for my 3 tomato plants that are in a raised bed with some onions, parsley and scallions… and the tomato plants went crazy while I was away!! I needed to watch this in order to know what to cut away. I do have to wait a few days though as we have rain now. Thank you again!!!

[@Nikizunil1]

Just started growing vegetables this year. I need all the help I can get. Your tutorial was very helpful. Thank you!

[@megxerri2394]

I’m becoming a lil addicted to your videos 😍 You are tremendous Laura 🙌🏽 with my new-found (since COVID) priorities 😉 🌸🍃 Gardening is right at the top of my list! I had no idea I’d love it so much, thanks to you I have a million ideas now! 😃

[@bluejay145]

Thanks for this. I'm retired and half way through my first tomato expedition. I don't have a garden so I'm growing from pots in the lanes outside the house. Tried many youtube channels and gave up, but you seem to have a knack to make things far simpler. Thanks.

[@Barb6106]

I don’t grow tomatoes but find this SO SATISFYING to watch! Love the information-thank you!!

[@pennysantana7809]

I am always scared to trim but, watching you, I am no more 😂. Thank you 🙏💖

[@michelleperkins9886]

So glad to see your ginger supervisor seemed to approve your efforts! 💖

[@buzzcut13b66]

Best tomato video ive seen. You can clearly see what she's doing and explains fully why.

[@chezgirlrose7654]

Woooow check out the growth on your Arborvitae Trees in the background and that’s only a years growth, I can remember the day you planted them, gees they’re coming on lovely Laura ... you’ve definitely got green fingers Chicky 👍🏼🌲🍅

[@sashaduncan1730]

Oh boy, did I EVER need this video! I new they need pruning but did know were to start. Thank you!

[@wildsheepc]

Oh man, the very video I needed, at the very moment I needed it! My raised bed looks like that first one, times three right now! Yikes.

[@BeardedBarley1]

I was just going to go out and prune my tomato plants...not really knowing how to do so, just knowing they looked very bushy and were getting in the way of some of my other plants...when I saw that you put up this very helpful video. Wow! Lol. Thanks! Enjoy your tomatoes! Yum!

[@bryonyhellis]

That was so helpful, I had no idea that so much pruning was required, no wonder I’ve had such colossal plants! Thank you!

[@micheledickey4066]

I can’t even tell you how incredibly helpful this was for me! I have never had a tomato plant get as large as the 4 I have right now!! I planted them a little too close and couldn’t even tell which branches went to which plants! I just got back in from pruning the outsides of them. Tomorrow I will finish with the other half of them. Thank you sooo much.

[@hisbeautifultruth5931]

The ripe tomatoes that you did pick were pretty good sized, considering the growth you had. Thats encouraging. Thanks for the video.

[@MarieDipiero]

Thank you. This is the best explanation of how to prune. I also think it’s great that you addressed how nerve wrecking or sad it can be when you are pruning areas that are active. But explained how much it will help the plant. This is great info for anyone. Specifically a new gardener like me.

[@barbll000]

I've always been a flower gardener and I bought one tomato plant this summer so this info is really helpful for me as a beginner veggie gardener. (My dad has always done a big family veggie garden which supplies all of us).

[@bytegraftkids]

Thank you so much for the video. Clear video, clear instructions. Best I've seen on the topic.

[@daniellestanke0701]

This was awesome! I am always pruning on my moms tomato plant knowing it needed to be done but never knew there was a rhyme or reason to it - every time I watch one of these kind of videos I feel like I am a bit closer to a pro! Thank you!!

[@learntocrochet1]

Great details! Thank you for showing how to prune when tomato plant growth gets ahead of garden chore to-do list. Watching this make me realize that I need to pay more attention when purchasing tomato plant starts. I need to look at how the plants are growing if I wanted to prune to a central stalk. Some of them have many branches at lower level and it's hard to tell which should be the main stalk.

[@delaluz888]

Wow, this is the second video of yours I watch and I am very impressed. Most important is the detail to everything. In this video was how you pointed out the suckers. I wouldn't have thought a plant could have so many suckers. Thanks.

[@rebeccawoodbixler9536]

Courage is the perfect word. I’m always a coward when it comes to pruning my tomatoes. No more!Im trimming those little suckers. 😉👍🏻👩‍🌾🍅

[@danzalisnock9128]

I was at first! But I learned that tomato plants are strong and can take lots of pruning. Still, I did it over a 3-day span afraid I was going to stress the plants out and kill them, but before I knew it, I probably pruned more than was left haha. All the suckers, sometimes I'll leave one big sucker and do a double main-stem...also pruned any sun leaves that touched the ground to open up air flow and prevent any bacteria and disease from traveling up the plant. Videos like this were a big help tho haha

[@0anant0]

I have same problem thinning my apples :-)

[@Theflowergeekcrafts]

I pruned mine a little 2 weeks ago and then we had rain for almost a whole week. Over the weekend I spent an hour out in the garden and tied up and pruned the dickens out of my tomatoes. I, glad I did because we had a lot of bug eggs hiding underneath and there was hardly any airflow. It’s soooooo much better now. This is very satisfying to watch.

[@dianetreleaven5003]

This was so helpful! I have not been attending my tomatoes enough! No wonder the fruit is so small!

[@ellenmcintyre1247]

You can also use the pruned branches for a couple of days to shade/acclimate the fruit to full sun. Hello, Russell😺

[@tsllok54]

Hi from the U.K. very helpful and entertaining. You give lots of information clearly, including the little things others forget, thanks x

[@paulap5578]

This video was so beneficial to me. I had no clue what to do with tomatoes and now I feel like I can go out tomorrow and give mine a good clipping! Thanks so much!

[@elizabethabebe9735]

Thanks so much for your detailed explanations. My tomato plant is so bushy and I can’t wait to prune them. God bless🙏🏿

[@MOUSEMOM40]

I'm so glad you posted this! My tomatoes have exploded over the last few weeks and I went out the other day and pruned just so I could get in there and see what I had! lol. I sort of knew what I was doing, but I see I didn't prune back as much as I could have. I will be doing that soon! Thank you!

[@theresa6552]

I really appreciate this video, I was always afraid to cut my tomato plants back that far and really didn't know how to do it!! Now I know and I'm going to cut them back!!! I get so much useful info from you, Thank you so much for your time to do this channel!!

[@TraceePettee]

Very well spoken! Great information and I learned a lot!! I planted 2 tomatoes plants in June and now they are 8' deep and 25' long. Holy Moses

[@brendasanchez-ic2ld]

I'm growing tomatoes and so glad you shared your knowledge with regard to pruning an overgrown tomato plant. I have two of them that require pruning. Thank you and as always- I enjoy your channel.

[@djmartin207]

Literally was looking for a video on how to prune tomato plants yesterday. Thanks Laura great info and actually seeing how to prune both on overgrown and new plants very helpful .🍅😶🍅😶🍅

[@lisabillard8049]

This was so helpful to me. I always thought pruning was done from the top . It all makes sense now. Thank you so much for the step by step tutorial.

[@ellison2024]

Thank you so much! I was thinking I have no knowledge of pruning tomatoes and this video arrived. This year I have a healthy/thriving tomato plant (a first for me as,well, fertilizer and mulch do work) and was at a loss on how to to prune.

[@alisonc8867]

What mulch do you use? 😊

[@ravneet755]

Hi you gave me soooo much confidence that I pruned my whole plant! I wish I can show you

[@barbarawilson6826]

I watched this then confidently went out and did a hard prune on my bushy plants! So happy with results and I shared with my bf as we are both retired and trying our hands at gardening! Thank you for making this video! I may have actual fruits from the garden this year! ❤

[@saigequirke1579]

Thank you! I’ll be tackling my tomatoes tomorrow morning while it’s still a little cooler…..probably watch video again 1st!

[@GryphonFootball-uv6ml]

Brilliant video! I'm always reluctant to prune plants too much because I know that leaves take in energy from the sun. But you're absolutely right that the plant is supporting too many branches and it can't produce big fruit which is the goal. Proceed cautiously and try to thin it out as best as possible. Great advice.

[@cindyserry2836]

Thanks for this. This is my first garden in this climate and my tomatoes have gone bonkers. After a week of rain, they've collapsed. If I had pruned like this from the beginning, I wouldn't have this mess on my hands now. Now I know for next year!

[@moondawg3693]

Best gardening video ever ! You've really shown me everything l was curious about, incredibly clearly and in less than 15 minutes. First time gardener, so thanks sooo much.