How to properly prune tomatoes in the open field

Tomato is a rather moody vegetable. He loves sunlight and, in low light, may wither or simply refuse to produce a crop. Therefore, with a rather dense planting pattern, the leaves will interfere with each other and take away all the lighting, which can lead to slow tomato growth or wilting, because greenery will take away the strength of the plant to fight others for sunlight. That is why it is recommended to prune tomato bushes. How to cut tomatoes in the open field will be discussed later.

Content

1 The benefits of pruning
2 Pruning instruction
3 Video "How to prune tomatoes"

The benefits of pruning

If one plant obscures the sun for another, then the stem of the second plant, which lacks light, will begin to lengthen, will form foliage on new stems, i.e. efforts will be devoted to growing new greenery, and less to feeding and growing fruits.

Thus, the conclusion suggests itself that it is important and necessary to cut off the leaves that obscure the sun for others. This will help ensure that all tomatoes have approximately the same level of light penetration, which means it will improve and possibly increase the yield.

The increase in yield in the case of pruning is due to the fact that the functioning of the plant is reconfigured to nourish the fruit, and not to unnecessary greenery. Therefore, after removing most of the leaves, an increase in the amount of harvest can be noticed.

Also, pruning is important because it reduces the risk of disease as more germs and pests grow in the shade. In addition, it was noticed that after constant pruning of the bushes, the fruits became slightly larger, there are more of them, and they ripen much faster than on those bushes on which the vegetation is preserved. The stems should not be allowed to start fighting among themselves for heat, because then you may get large, lush bushes, and the fruits will remain the same small and green, if they appear at all.

Even if you have a very large vegetable garden, you need to prune the tomato at least from time to time. Yes, they will not ripen as quickly as with frequent pruning, and perhaps the yield will not be very large, but still do not forget that the benefits of pruning the bushes are many and you should not forget about them if you want to get a lot of tasty tomatoes.

Pruning instruction

Open ground cannot always provide tomatoes with as much sunlight as they need, usually the bushes themselves are to blame for this, because by closing each other, they thereby prevent them from developing correctly. It is for this that the tomato must be cut.

First, those leaves that touch the soil are subject to pruning. This is done to ensure direct sunlight hits the base of the stem. Gradually you need to free it from greenery. After all, no leaves should remain below the first flower cluster. As mentioned earlier, this is done in order to provide warmth for the plant and also to prevent diseases that can develop under the greenery.

Those parts that are on the periphery are also pruned. It is also necessary to remove those parts of the leaves that shade other parts of the plant or are themselves in the shade. It is also worth removing those parts that block neighboring fruits from the sun.

It is also important to remove the stepchildren on the bush, except for the strongest one - this will also concentrate all the strength and nutrients of the plant in one place, which will help it develop better.

If you do not know where the strongest stepson is, take a look under the first flower inflorescence, usually it can be seen there.The method of pruning will depend on the type of plant, so in the determinant type of tomato, usually four to five stems are taken as the basis, and the rest of the stepsons are mercilessly removed so as not to take strength from the main plant and not block the open ground and the stem itself from the rays of the sun. In seedless tomatoes, it is recommended to leave fewer stems. And when the fruits are tied and become large, in any type it is necessary to cut out all the greens below the level of the fruits.

The last step in pruning the bushes is to remove the tops. During pruning, you need to select one small ovary, leave a few leaves on it, and remove the rest. So the tomatoes will have more strength for the growth and nutrition of the fruits.

Ideally, pruning should take place two to three times a week, but if you're having trouble pruning that often, don't worry. It is enough to cleanse excess greens at least once a week, and you will get a large harvest of delicious tomatoes.

Video "How to prune tomatoes"

After watching the entry, you will find out why you need to prune tomato leaves, how to do it correctly and how often.