Keep Your Tomato Plants Healthy In July With This Pruning Tip
Backyard gardens are one of the boons of summer, and some plants need a little more attention than others, especially in July when they seem to be thriving. Tomato plants need direct sunlight, along with a lot of love and care. This includes tending to the one thing about tomato plants that can drive you bonkers: Suckers. Suckers are the little shoots that appear at V-shapes where the leaf branch meets the main branch of the tomato plant. The sucker divides the V into a 45-degree angle. It's a good idea to prune them because make your tomato plants appear overgrown and unruly. But that's not all.
They will also sap the energy from the main vine. What does this mean? The main vine will have to share nutrients with the new shoots. Suckers won't hurt your tomato plants, but if you prune them as they start popping up, you will get a big benefit. This simple gardening technique will give you both a meticulously maintained plant and bigger tomatoes.
To keep or not to keep?
And while there are mistakes to avoid when growing tomato plants, not removing suckers isn't necessarily one of them. It's more of a choice because if you keep the sucker, your tomato plants will yield a greater number of fruits, as each sucker transforms into a vine. However, they will be smaller. Still, even if you do keep them, prune ones that do not produce any tomatoes. This helps your plants flower and grow more fruit.
And while you are pruning your plant, make certain that you clip the leaves from the lower third of your tomato plants. These lower leaves are not providing any support for your plants and are increasing the risk of disease.
If you do choose to remove the suckers, you can place them in a cup of water and try to grow a new tomato plant. Once it has a root system, you can plant it in the ground. Just remember to choose the best spot for your new tomato plants where they can get enough sunlight to thrive.