4 Mistakes That Are KILLING Your Tomato Production!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

If you enjoyed this video, please “Like” and share to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching 😊TIMESTAMPS for convenience: 0:00 Tomato Growing Mistakes Intro 0:26 Mistake #1: Fertilizing Tomatoes 3:45 Mistake #2: Incorrect Fertilizers 7:28 Mistake #3: Pruning Tomatoes 10:20 How To Determine Tomato Plant Type 11:05 Mistake #4: Tomato Plant Spacing 15:43 Adventures With Dale

[@reneeadams9673]

This is the first video on tomato pruning that actually explained why you would either want/or not want to prune indeterminate tomatoes. Most sites say "prune the suckers". But no one discusses how close your plants are to each other in relation to this. Thank you!

[@Mrbfgray]

Indeed--I've been growing maters (and many other things) for many yrs and still have so much to learn, this vid very helpful.

[@1sthawkfeathers547]

Yes, I have seen videos that tell you that the suckers will not produce. I broke off a main stock, so I thought what the heck. I have great beefsteaks growing from that sucker. Fried Green tomatoes tonight for dinner !! ❤❤❤ Also,I took the stalk that I broke off and trimmed it down. I now have 3 more plants that are blooming 🎉❤ We shall see. 😊

[@jgehbinv]

On indeterminate CHERRY tomato plants, try to minimize pruning suckers, yet at the same time thin foliage in the middle of the plant to allow adequate air flow and prevent disease. On indeterminate non-cherry tomato plants, generally the rule is 2 stems and then prune all suckers after that.

[@MrsGator7]

@@jgehbinv I came here to say the same 😂

[@jakesarms8996]

This is the best gardening channel on YT.

[@ivahihopeful]

First time I’ve seen a channel explain WHY we might choose to prune a certain way, other than to say we need airflow so single or double stem them. Really impressed with the thoroughness of your channel.

[@dmick9168]

I follow your exact fertilizing guide here with my pepper plants and last year I had plants nearly chest high- it was crazy!

[@cwoosh]

Of all the videos about tomatoes on KZbin, yours is the most helpful with the most amount of information as well as not being annoying by repeating the same thing over and over again, like so many other gardening KZbinrs do.

[@suzannestack7784]

My mind feels like a pinball machine. As soon as I think I know and understand something like pruning suckers, I'm given a whack to the bean into another direction. Always more to learn.

[@dorotheaspeight5998]

😂

[@deborahhasty8515]

Thanks for the information, MG. You splain things like an engineer. I love it!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I am an electrical engineer and work as a civil PE 😎

[@aharri381]

This is the best video I have watched on growing tomatoes. Very thorough. Finally, I understand!

[@brichter4669]

I have a very small backyard and no room for an in-ground garden. I use fabric grow bags. Transplanted dwarf tomato varieties end of March for my region, zone 8b. I saw an earlier video of yours about growing dwarf tomatoes versus indeterminate tomatoes. You liked the Celebrity tomato a lot, so I bought Celebrity seeds for my spring/summer garden. The seeds were slow to germinate compared with the other tomato seeds and didn't grow as fast. I thought once I transplanted the seedlings into a 7 gallon grow bag, the plants would get taller. I water consistently, use a slow release fertilizer, powdered bone meal you recommend and every 2 weeks water with a diluted liquid 6-12-6 fertilizer. It's now 2 months after being transplanted, and the Celebrity plants are almost 2 feet tall with lots of little cherry size tomatoes, no big tomatoes. I expected the plants to grow 3-4 feet tall and produce 6-8 oz. tomatoes. My other dwarf plants are growing taller. I have a dwarf variety that was supposed to grow 18" tall with dime to quarter size fruit and was recommended to plant in a 2 gallon grow bag. I used a 5 gallon grow bag, and the plant is a little over 3' tall with big tomatoes. This dwarf tomato experience has been confusing.

[@ericawentz2734]

Thank you for all this excellent information on tomatoes! As a Jersey Girl, I will always contend that nothing beats a Jersey tomato! With all this useful info, I will get as close as possible here in PA Zone 6b! Keep on growing!

[@jasoncziok7324]

Hands down the best information I have gotten after 30+ years of growing tomatoes! Not only the pruning video, but the fertilizing videos as well. I've used all these tactics for many years but this guy explains the pros and cons in detail. Thank you for the excellent advice. It's nice to find more than just somebody's insight.

[@CriticoolHit]

I am really enjoying your content man. Idk why you-tube only just started recommending you. I've been typing gardening questions into you-tube for years now. Congrats on winning the algorithm.

[@stevehunt3954]

Wow! Great video! Excellent information!

[@lindazick5601]

THANK YOU! As a new gardener you have educated me again and again…going to shop in your Amazon Store right now❤

[@tradermunky1998]

Reminds me I need to fertilize this weekend! Thanks!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thank you so much for your support and generosity! I really appreciate it ❤

[@tracybeate445]

Very good information for a beginner gardener like myself. 👍🏼☺️. No wonder my tomato plant didn’t survive.

[@mikec8237]

I've watched a number of gardener's videos, and this is the best I've seen over several subject videos to fully explain the basis of WHY you should do what is recommended. I've learned several new things I didn't pick up before. DEFINETELY a good resource for in depth and accurate information. KEEP THEM COMING! Thanks

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thank you! I really appreciate it. Glad you found the video helpful.

[@carolbarranco838]

You help me so much with gardening. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. you are my favorite gardener.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thank you!! I’m so glad the videos help.

[@CapitanFantasma1776]

Think I'm starting to get the N-P-K thing. You helped me a lot today. Thanks!

[@carolberridge6102]

Thank you! Information was presented so clearly and efficiently. All the best to you from the Pacific Northwest.

[@alokatadear7191]

As others already stated here, this is the best video that can be found on the internet on tomato growing: talking about the differences and the why's instead of stating generic and confusing info. You have a new follower here, very much appreciate you sharing 🥰

[@Sewmena918]

This channel is the most thorough source of gardening information I have found so far. I have made a lot of mistakes this year, but I won’t be making them next year! 👩‍🌾

[@NeboAllen]

A wealth of information! I'm a new gardener and I've learned so much, thank you!

[@lindag7270]

This is the best video on tomatoes that I’ve ever seen. A lot of great information. Thank you!

[@booswalia]

I used to use bone meal every year in my garden. I also learned the hard way that you can ruin your soil for about 4 years with over use. Last year I was finally able to use those beds again. There's no fix other than adding zinc and iron which is very difficult to find for home gardeners.

[@hulkamania5071]

add compost

[@booswalia]

@@hulkamania5071 I did that every year but the plants were still stunted and did very poorly. The beds are back to normal now but it took four years.

[@DebRoo11]

Hmm. Never heard of that happening and a lot of people have used bonemeal every year for many years. Wish we had more feedback on this comment. Ibe been using blood meal and/or bone meal for many years myself

[@DJJonPattrsn22]

EXCELLENT!!! Very informative with great thorough explanations.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jeffreybradley3736]

Awesome video. It's only my second season growing tomatoes but your wrap up says what I'm already thinking. Cookie cutter methods won't necessarily work for everyone. Our job as home gardeners is to assess our unique conditions and expectations and adjust accordingly.

[@gregdoh]

This is my first year growing tomatoes in pots after 13 years of growing them in the ground (dang juglone from walnut trees). I'm growing them in 25 gallon pots and was planning to prune my indeterminates to one stem, per usual, but this video reminded me that since my spacing is about 2' and the grow bags are 25 gallons, I can prune them to 2 stems. Amazing info and VERY well presented, per usual!

[@angeloporter6830]

Thanks for your very rich instructions and advice. I really appreciate hearing from you and learning more information for improving my gardening processes. Thanks again.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@Haze763]

I am sooo glad I watched this!!! I'm new at growing tomatoes, I only have 3 indeterminate in pots in my backyard here in Michigan. I was getting ready to go out and start hacking every single sucker I see!!! Lol. You taught me that it's a space thing depending on your grow area. Now it all makes since! I'm feeding them right with water soluble 18-18-21 and I have Dr. Earth granulate 4-6-3. Thank you for explaing things so clearly. I just subscribed to your channel. Dale is awesome!! ✌

[@teenagardner3623]

Another great informative video aboit pruning tomatoes from different perspectives based on what you're growing, why, how long, and climate. Dale with football zoomies😅, priceless fun.

[@warriormamma8098]

I would love to see you partner with someone who would watch the videos and then make it into a book! I have a hard time as a new gardener remembering it all but having a chapter of this or chapter on that could really be helpful. Thanks!

[@Soviless99]

so informative. my first time really trying to take time to have a good harvest of tomatoes for my mom. shes literally obsessed with growing tomatoes. youre my favorite garden channel thank you!

[@jalepeno5903]

Great input. I grow in greenhouse in the Oregon big dessert and I’ve been single stemming, but they get 10’ tall literally and the fruit prod ruin is low. I have almost zero humidity. I’m going to let these babies bush this year.

[@sandrachristiansen1404]

Living in Southern Oregon, we don't have humidity and have a nice long, dry summer. Last year (my first) I trimmed all the suckers from my indeterminate tomatoes and only got a so so harvest. This year, I'll try not trimming to see what happens. Thanks for the advice.

[@reallygraceful]

great info. thank you. planted 10 tomato plants this year.

[@SecondComingTwice]

Hope you included an orange cherry variety, Internet friend. EZ to grow, sweet & delicious on a sunny day in the garden

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Excellent! Variety is awesome 🍅

[@sovannay9540]

I need to learn more about fertilizer to give to a plant because in three’s years in a row I killed all my plants peppers,cucumbers tomatoes ,because I don’t know how to feed plants thank for videos I will try to practice more .

[@emylytle7149]

I bought 3 determinate tomatoes for some reason, one is not it was indeterminate and I didn’t have time to prune them so it went branch out so many stems/suckers and so now there’s no fruit and the fruit came later after it got 5’ 😮 I have pruned it and broke some stems/suckers while trellising them 😔👩‍🌾 thank you for your informative video. I hope the tomatoes grow big 🙏🏻👍♥️😊

[@theeyesehaveit]

Absolutely the best tomato growing video I’ve seen on KZbin. I grow tomato plants in grow bags. Following the advice of “others” and pruning the suckers…I had almost no tomatoes last year. I grow both determinate and non-determinate varieties. Before I even watched u here today, I decided not to do that this season sensing I shouldn’t. Your advice here reinforces my strategy with the reasons why I will not prune. TY.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I’m glad it was helpful. If you’re growing indeterminate varieties, prune them for your infrastructure. That may be 1, 2, 3 main stems, etc. Determinates, do not prune except the lowest leaves if you choose.

[@amyk6028]

Such an accurate video!! When I started using liquid fertilizer throughout the growing season, my tomato plants were so much healthier, more disease resistant AND more productive!

[@princessjava42]

I'm in the ILM area, so this is very helpful! This my first time trying to grow Roma and cherry tomatoes. My cherry tomato plant is doing fine, but with the Roma plants I've been dealing with BER. They are in containers, and I have started watering them more regularly, but it looks like I may need to adjust what I'm fertilizing with, as well as not pruning them so much. Thanks for the video!

[@pascalxus]

Excellent point! I'm so glad you cleared that up. I was still a little bit unsure about this. but now that you've spelled it out clearly, it's much better. Thanks so much for all your informative posts and keep up the good work!!!

[@Chris-op7yt]

single stem indeterminate tomato with a foot spacing is good for me, as simple to train one stem per string. completely agree about regular fertilization with balanced NPK. when i first started, i was doing the whole composting thing and only using fish and seaweed fertilizers, and rarely got a good crop. now i've been using only jack's 20:20:20, and we have loads of tomatoes for us to eat, process for later, and to give away to family..all from around 20 plants or so, in a tiny veggie plot. going to grow some sauce tomato types my next season, as eating tomatoes take a lot more work for sauce, with the seed removal. please please please do a vid on how to support heavier peppers and eggplants in a row situation. i havent been able to tame them with horizontal string and stakes. they get top heavy and start breaking, as they keep branching and growing fruit, with the branching i'm not able to secure.

[@alishasimmons1990]

I am so happy for all the info that you have given us THANKS 😊

[@anniebancroft1175]

Your advice on fertilization, esp for tomatoes is invaluable!!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@valoriegriego5212]

Great info, MG! I am especially helped by tip #4. Your plants are looking super healthy!👍 Howdy to cute Dale!🐕

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thank you! We got almost 11 inches of rain today, so I hope they don’t get sick from it all.

[@valoriegriego5212]

@@TheMillennialGardener Wow! That's a lot of rain.

[@J_LOVES_ME]

Thanks!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

You’re welcome! Thank you so much for your support and generosity! I appreciate it ♥️

[@whitneycraig1662]

Just discovered your channel, I live on the coast of North Carolina as well (Morehead City). Keep up the great work

[@moonedward63]

I always go to your videos as my main reference ( even though I'm in the SW desert), as I find them very logical and scientific. I never forget to add bone meal after seeing one of your videos. Thanks.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I'm glad to hear they're helpful! Bone meal is awesome and makes a huge difference.

[@barco581]

Your tomato fertilizing is very similar to ours. Thanks for the tip on high phosphorous when flowering-we will give it try this year.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

You're welcome!

[@Elkins24]

I do a mixter of fertlizers consisting of Master Blend 4-18-38 Epsom Salt and Calcium Nitrate 15-0-0 in a blend of 3 grams , 2 grams, 3grams per gallon of water. I do this twice per week adding 2 cups to each plant. As I have very small garden only 7 tomato plants all are independent.

[@jgehbinv]

I grew in 20 gallon fabric grow bags two super sweet 100 cherry tomato plants on my deck last year. I had tremendous production of fruit by doing no pruning of suckers on those plants, but ended up paying a price with disease developing on them because the foliage became too thick in the middle of the plant from all the suckers! This year I am again not pruning any suckers on these cherry plants, but I will be regularly thinning the foilage (leaves) to allow enough air flow through the plant to hopefully prevent disease from developing.

[@DavidA-uk9bm]

Thanks for this channel, I am a well seasoned horticulturalist and landscape designer but I always try to learn new things. You always teach me things about veggie gardening and I am grateful especially as I have recently moved to western Washington, zone 8b, built a raised bed vegetable garden and am always watching you for tips. BTW, when are you planning on a fitness channel??? :)

[@johnbutler307]

Thanks for all the great info.

[@andoniades]

2:18, "Direct Links" My man answered the call of his fanbase promptly. That just earned this vid a "share."

[@lorrismith7366]

Excellent video!! Very informative

[@noahg8328]

How often do we continue the higher-potassium/blossom booster food after they flower, just once? Or for a couple of feedings? THANK YOU for all this information, you just stopped me from pruning the wrong type of plants & feeding tomatoes incorrectly all season!

[@golfman6062]

After you get the flowers, switch to the higher P and K fertilizers for the rest of the season. Definitely less N.

[@kimlee3607]

Please enlighten me the different between solid fertilizer and Water solutions fertilizer. How would be the different in tastes?

[@stevenlong9455]

Great info, thanks! Hope to do pretty well this year!

[@haryaalionline208]

Good evening! Really its a great information

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thank you! Glad it was helpful.

[@jstamps9578]

Never heard the info you give here about pruning or not pruning indeterminate tomatoes stems depending on various factors. In my case in CA it means I will probably do zero pruning. Also thanks for the reminder and link to high phosphorus fertilizer.

[@rnr1880]

Great stuff! And Dale is so cute!

[@wanderlust332]

I have existing container tomato plants and was wondering how much and how often should I apply bone meal?

[@kimlee3607]

I use Porterhouse and super steak seeds and 5 10 10 . d Will add bone meal as you recommend recommended.

[@dowblackburn9498]

Thank you for sharing 💜

[@NicholasAlm]

Thank you for that last tip. I live in an extremely dry and cooler climate. I've always grown my tomatoes in pots spaced far apart and I would rarely cut the suckers. My tomatoes always grew huge and produced so much fruit. Now I understand why not following the internet advice was fine for me

[@marciawarden5021]

Oh thank you for this! My determinate tomatoes are pretty much loaded but I needed the info you gave on fertilizer in stages, I didn’t want to give to much nitrogen. Ha..my second harvest which I just planted is going to be phenomenal! So far I’m so happy I went to determinates, my son has been able to enjoy the garden more not having to do all the suckering bc I can’t reach them and adjusting the supports. Next year I plan to plant some dwarfs also! Thank you, I so appreciate all your advice and information!

[@sylvia10101]

Great info, as usual MG! Thanks! 😊👍

[@PlantObsessed]

Thank you for specifically calling out the DTP tomatoes.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

They’re great. I’ve been trying to promote them for going on 6 years now.

[@mmirafuentess1990]

Thank you my happy pill. I am about to plant mine.

[@charlesfoster8814]

I'm pretty much breaking every rule there is for tomatoes! I have 30 tomatoe plants! Several are over 5 foot tall! The look more like a hedge that tomato plants. I've never pruned a single limb or leaf! When I planted my garden I tilled in a huge amount of horse and chicken manure! A lot of people say to never use fresh chicken poop but I do all the time and it never hurts me. I'm in Eastern Texas and got most of my stuff in the ground the first week of March. I've picked green beans three times already and my green beans are massively bushy! I'm going to let my 4th picking be seeds for next year. My Butternut squash were aborting at roughly 3", the vines were 5 to 6 feet so I put a small shovel of fresh chicken poop whe the vine comes out of the ground! BOOM! I not have 5 Squash on one plant! I counted set tomatoes yesterday and my top three plants have 17, 14 and 14. Mine are heirloom that my dad has been growing for years so he sat me up with plants the last two years. We are harvesting tomatoes daily right now, but it's just one here, one there. I'm sure I'm fixing to be flooded with tomatoes pretty soon! But I have one question. My dad gave me 4 yellow tomatoe plants that bought the seeds. The plants are enormous! The vine diameter is double most all of my tomatoes. All 4 have had large numbers of blooms, but none has set a single fruit! 3 of the 4 are over 5 feet tall. My dad's plants of this variety has fruit but his plants are half the height mine are!

[@aidancox450]

Great video, I single stemmed last year and cut all the suckers. I won’t do that again.

[@TylerMartin-c3m]

So I recently bought citrus trees and I have came across your channel. I see you have tons of videos about growing citrus trees. How do I need to fertilize these newly planted trees? How often should I water them? I have done research, but a lot of the research conflicts and I just thought I'd ask you since you seem knowledgeable and you can't ask a google article a question.

[@jvjdrn]

3:07 I love Alaskan fish fertilizer!

[@lexiferhdmi7544]

Learned a lot here. Thank you! I have one question. My burpee bone meal is 6-8-0. Is that solid or too much nitrogen when pairing with the jobes tomato granules the same method you’re doing?

[@ralphmonsolino6364]

Best info on KZbin ..ty 4 that..QUESTION...in the early stages of growth b4 flowering do u water solely with water fish combo or do u water with plain water also..ratios of the 2 if so please

[@lorihardman1833]

Thank you, great instructions!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

You’re welcome!

[@pedromoreno5592]

Thans for all the information you provide, one question Whene wateting your plants what tipe of water do you prefere? Well, rain or tap Thans

[@amnxdas9947]

What if you have your feeding on a every 4 week basis ? (This is based off research I found when starting my seeds ) your information has been much more helpful , my brandy wine are starting to produce blooms was wondering should I take it up a notch to every two weeks with feeding ?

[@waltservice4370]

Very informative video, thank you for your work

[@cherylkjenkins6346]

Great info. Does this fertilization plan work for other veggies like cucumbers & peppers? What about citrus trees?

[@simplesimon2802]

For the first time I wrote down the fertiliser types what they do and went outside to look at what I am using. Now I undrstand why something I was using on strawberries (last year) always resulted on significant extra runner growth.

[@lynettetucker544]

Thanks for the info.

[@Doss2k]

I got what seems to be a fairly bad aphid infestation this year and several of my plants are looking pretty rough with curled leaves and not very healthy. Guess I didnt get to them quick enough, still fruit on them but I suspect that may be all I get is what is already there as they took off a lot of the flowers. Tough break learning as I go haha

[@phonymontana4254]

I learn so much from ur videos thank u

[@lyndalent]

Love, love your videos

[@kimfletter3334]

I love your no-nonsense teaching. Thank you! I’m a new subscriber, can you address Heirloom variety tomatoes from Bonnie plants? Thank you!

[@galinamazuryk2036]

I use Alaska Morbloom Fertilizer 0-10-10 for flowering and fruiting.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Yes, that will work well. You can mix that and fish fertilizer, too.

[@galinamazuryk2036]

@@TheMillennialGardener Yes, that's how I do it.

[@huertamipequenoeden9425]

Bro your tomato video from couple years back inspired me to start with eirloom 🍅....THANKS bro

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Glad the videos are helpful!

[@mikebarry3491]

Great vid. Quick question does this apply to other vegetable plants as well. (Pepper, eggplant,cucumbers….)

[@doglover7675]

Fantastic! I have been watching your videos for about six months. Best one here. Have you used Alaska Morbloom with the tomatoes? Curious how you would compare to Jack's Bloom or Miracle Gro Bloom. A few feedings, I tried Alaska Fish and Morbloom - so a 5-11-11. BTW - tried your suggestion on colder weather tomatoes, and going for tomatoes earlier. I tried this with Oregon Spring seeds. They are in grow bags, and green tomatoes. Not red yet. Patience is not a strength I possess.

[@pamdepaolo8027]

Great video! Are you concerned about Jack’s not being organic? I’ve tried to use all organic fertilizers on my vegetables.

[@solarindependentutilitysystems]

Excellent tips Thanks

[@jimjr4432]

Great, great, video. Thanks so much.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

You’re welcome!

[@wiggsan]

Is overhanging tree leaf sap bad for my vegetable garden? Thanks!

[@malka1954]

Do you have a video on how and what fertilizer to use for a hanging tomato planter?

[@priayief]

I'm intrigued by your opinion that tomatoes need more than compost to produce optimum crops. I've grown tomatoes in raised beds with compost only for more than 30 years and always thought I was getting good production by adding a couple of inches of compost to my beds at the end of each season. I've never accurately measured the number of tomatoes I grow but if I had to guess, it's about 100 pounds - determinate and indeterminate hybrid varieties. I'm cheap and lazy so I've never tried any other method than the one I'm using. But I'm always interested in trying something new if it's worth my extra time and expense. Are there any kind of trials or objective measures that clearly show adding more than compost would measurably improve my yields? Thanks for posting.

[@StefaniStevensBand]

I finally pulled a Huge heirloom tomato tree out that had blooms all winter. Many stems all over were dead. I trimmed and placed in water to “save” and regrow. I discovered how quickly cuttings rooted. Question- will all new plants give fruit?

[@hydrocontainergardening]

If you are rooting from suckers then yes they will fruit, and don't give them high nitrogen fertilizer.

[@markm1514]

I had a tomato fight with my brother last year, we both had trouble but he said early blight and I said fertility. Neither of us were growing enough or had enough success fixing it to make any conclusions, but the heat and drought last year made it a moot point. This year I'm focusing on supersweet 100 and San Marzano as the major producers and then I have yet to start a determinant cross from the dwarf tomato project called "farthest north" that's a cherry tomato that's supposed to bear fruit in 40 days.

[@sarahostrowski-joncas5922]

What about a cheaper options of fertilizer? Also i am using pre-started bonnie beef steak tomato so can I prune?