Pruning plants that grow in your garden is done in order to promote their health. While not every plant needs pruning, for instance carrots and lettuce just grow in the ground and don’t need this special attention, but it is advised to prune your garden regularly. One of the plants you need to keep special attention on is tomato plants. These garden dwellers are vigorous and robust, growing very rapidly and producing a huge volume of tomatoes. You could cheat and not prune the plant but that would end up costing you far more work in the end. Here are four reasons why pruning tomatoes is am effective way to guarantee yourself a healthy crop come harvest time.

1. Tomato plant weight

Tomato plants grow rapidly and produce very heavy fruit. However, the plant itself is quite fragile and will bend and break from the sheer weight of its tributaries. The best way to keep your tomato plant strong is to cut off some of the excess leaves and vines in order to maximize tomato production. Using a tomato stake or a tomato cage for each plant is a good way to support the branches you leave behind.  Tomato stakes are for taller plants while tomato cages work better for wider plants.

2. Tomato plant health

Pruning a tomato plant ensures its health. While a tomato plant has no problem producing a prolific volume of fruit, this fruit, if not properly pruned and cared for, will often be inedible or diseased. Prune promotes good health in plants because it allows the plant to conserve its energy. The smaller size of a plant also makes it less susceptible to disease because its energy and vigor is concentrated in a few sections rather than dispersed across the entire plant. The leaves of a tomato plant that is properly pruned will dry faster and the plant will be less waterlogged. This fights of mold and bacteria that might otherwise fester.

3. Tomato bounty

Pruning Tomatoes - 4 Reasons Why You Must Do This

One of the biggest advantages of pruning is to increase the bounty of your plants. Instead of having ten tomatoes that are below average or too small, pruning that number down a few can make it so you have seven ripe and juicy tomatoes for your kitchen. When pruned the plant is forced to divert its resources to growing the sections that remain behind. This ensures rich fruit production.

4. Tomato vigor

A prune tomato plant will grow faster than an un-pruned one because its energy is being focused towards a goal. Not only will your plant grow stronger if pruned but it will also ripen quicker, allowing you to reap the rewards of your hard work much sooner.

Pruning tomatoes is essential to a healthy crop. Don’t let your plant become a tangled, dropping mess by the time harvest season approaches. Un-pruned tomato plants have a tendency to spread quickly and can choke out your other plants because they grow so fast. Save your tomato plant and the rest of your garden by routinely pruning your tomatoes.

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