| You know you will need to be pruning tomatoes | | | | the top. With this tomato gardening tip you keep the |
| plants to avoid ending up with overgrown tomato | | | | same principal, but in reverse. You will get a bushier |
| plants, so it is helpful to realize that you will do | | | | plant, but it will not outgrow your stakes or cage. |
| different things at different stages of the growing | | | | You can pinch back some of the new growth, but let |
| season. You can easily define three separate stages, | | | | some of them grow out. Keep pulling unnecessary |
| each with their own tomato gardening tips to follow | | | | leaves off, but be aware that this is the hot time of |
| and adjust your efforts to match. You will find | | | | the summer and the ground and the tomatoes need |
| everyone has their own opinions on this, so reading | | | | the shade the leaf provides. Your goal is to still |
| about common tomato gardening problems will be | | | | channel the nutrients to the tomatoes and not the |
| helpful. this article however is based more on | | | | foliage. |
| experiences and not as much what the textbook has | | | | There is a point of no return, and you just have to |
| to say. | | | | face that you have overgrown tomatoes. You will |
| When the plants are first growing, all of your pruning | | | | have to admit that you also have tomato gardening |
| tomatoes efforts will focus on the new leaves and | | | | problems. One of the pruning tomato tips to use at |
| the new growth shoots that are between the trunk | | | | this point is to count 30 days ahead. If that is within |
| and leaves. At this point you only want one main | | | | the time you usually have left before the first frost, |
| trunk so that it can grow large and sturdy. What you | | | | then you can stop letting new tomatoes form, and |
| do is snip off the leaves that are closest to the | | | | just cut them off along with all new shoots and a pile |
| ground as new ones form above them. Then by | | | | of leaves Only pay attention to making sure the |
| eliminating the side shoots, all the energy will be | | | | tomatoes already there can finish growing. |
| directed to the newly formed tomato and not the | | | | Do the best you can for as long as you can is some |
| leaves. This lets the tomatoes grow larger. Once | | | | of the most practical tomato gardening tips and |
| your tomato plant gets as high as the stakes or to | | | | advice there is when dealing with overgrown tomato |
| the top of the cage, your strategies will begin to | | | | plants. You could really apply that advice to other |
| change. | | | | tomato gardening problems like your fungus and pest |
| Tomato plants at this size become more difficult to | | | | issues, too. Everyone really needs to think about |
| keep up. What you will do is turn things around and | | | | being sure not to overdo it by putting in more plants |
| let the new shoots form and cut off new growth at | | | | than you need in the spring! |