Jessica,

I have pruned in these type of situations before because of a concern about the spread of disease but other then that I think it will be self regulating. In other words, if you plant six plants in a 3 x 3 area you will get the same amount of foliage as if you planted two or three plants. You will also get the same number of tomatoes. You can cut but the plants will continue to grow. Seems like a waste of time to me.

Greg

Jessica,

If you've taken out the suckers that's probably good enough. Unless they are in an area that's damp and dark (which I doubt) the pruning will be a waste of time. Remember, the fruits need protection from the sun as they are growing and the leaves will provide that. Make a mental note for next year...plenty of space between the plants!

matt

Here is a link that might be useful: My Garden Blog

I also have a question about pruning.

I have strong, vigorous tomato plants but a couple of them were damaged in a recent hailstorm (lasted five minutes and trashed my garden!) One of the plants in particular was blown completely over, cage and all. I immediately set it up and anchored it back in the ground as best I could. But two weeks later I have a good many stalks that have curled, wilted, browning leaves. Even the new growth on these stalks seems limp and yellowed. The green tomatoes on the damaged stalks also seem slightly shriveled. Obviously there was some irreparable damage to the plant but I'm wondering if I can save it by pruning off the most damaged stalks. The main part of the plant seems to be intact. Will pruning off some of the plant's major stalks kill it or damage it further?

lisalu - One of my tomato plants blew over in the high winds and snapped the stem nearly through towards the bottom. I straightened it up and tied a small rag around the break (like a splint) and piled soil up around the damage. Then tied the upper plant off in a three point configuration and soaked the whole thing down with Neptune's Harvest fish/seaweed emulsion. Darned thing's healed up and growing just like the others, even better. I would suggest you pile up soil tightly around the stems of the injured plant stalks and they'll grow additional roots. Hail will wreak havoc with leaves so expect some wierd looking leaves for a while. I wouldn't prune until the plant has a week to recover and start new growth. Tomatoes are quite tough and will survive considerable damage. Best of luck.

I prune for air circulation.

I prune wilted, yellowed, or damaged foliage.

I prune at least 75% of all suckers ... at least.

I prune wayward growing tips and excess leaves outside the plant's assigned dripline.

Two weeks ago I pruned about two bushels of excess foliage off about 16 plants. The rest of the plants were under control from frequent pruning.

Today I pruned another two bushels of excess foliage ... off maybe 20 plants this time. Sure looks a lot better out there.

I don't think I have ever damaged a tomato plant by pruning other than an occasional misplaced snip that took off a perfectly good growing tip that was loaded up with green fruit ... Ooops! :::hahahahaha::: Oh well, it happens.

Oh yeah ... Bambi dropped by last night and helped me prune one very large indeterminate ... thanks a lot Bambi, you greedy #*!@+!# (she left two half eaten green tomatoes).

A good friend of mine religiously "leaf prunes." That is, he snips off the outer half of nearly every leaf on the vine. He says an old farmer told him to do that to encourage larger fruit. I have no data to prove him right or wrong, but his tomato plants look perfectly healthy to me and he gets plenty of good tomatoes every year.

This "to prune or not to prune" discussion gets lots of play every year. I don't think anyone has proven much in the way of absolute fact, but that Organic Tomato Majic thread is getting pretty interesting.

Bill

I DON'T prune the suckers off short stake determinate types ... they need those to make a good, consentrated crop before kicking the bucket. That comment was with regard to indeterminates where I DO prune at least 75% of suckers.

Bill

I remove the yellowed or dying leaves and the leaves or stems touching the ground; that to prevent/slow the onset of fungal disease. I do no other pruning and have been satisfied with the results.