Agree with Dan in asking why? What is your purpose in doing so? It sure isn't required for any reason. It would be quite unusual for the same plant to need it "every other day" regardless of the goal.

Dave

I always read to keep one main stem - but I think it does not matter, saves some space though. It does not need it every other day but I do - suckers, just because.

Don, it sounds like it's too late for this year, but I think you should experiment a little. Let a plant grow out with no pruning at all. On another, prune it per your regular routine.

If you can take cuttings to do the experiment, all the better. Also, try to keep the conditions the same. Weigh all the fruit, and you'll have an answer that gives you an idea of which method works best under your conditions.

Just my opinion, but I think pruning all the suckers is a bit extreme. I like to have 2-3 stems on string-trellised plants, and quite a bit more on caged plants.

I've also occasionally had sun-scald issues on my fruit, so I try to strategically plan pruning so that there's at least a bit of shade on the fruit. (I accomplish this by letting some suckers grow a set of leaves before pinching off the sucker's growing tip).

Scissors are fine; if it's small enough, I just pinch with my finger nails.

"I always read to keep one main stem - but I think it does not matter,
saves some space though. It does not need it every other day but I do -
suckers, just because."

Don't know where or what you read or what their point was in making that claim. But as long as you don't care about all the fruit you are losing or the increased risk of disease and pest issues, pruning is your choice. Properly spaced and supported plants don't need any pruning, are generally healthier, and produce a great deal more fruit.

But if you are going to do it I'd suggest you space it out more. It is a real stress trigger for the plant so doing it so much and so often only keeps the plants constantly stressed.

Dave

sound like original op is from UK given antiquated knowledge about tomato pruning

I prune mine about twice a week and check them over. I trellis them up a string with 2 ft spacing. I get abundant fruit.

Prune twice a week? Wow. I sat through your video, and had a hard time understanding why you pruned. "Keep them organized so I can access the fruit"? I've never had any trouble accessing the fruit on my trellised indeterminates. I organize them by just tying up the branches.

Now, it was finally clear that you're trellising them with a single vertical string for each tomato plant. Just one. Yes, if you do that, having just one vertical stem might be handy. Side branches will have no support. But most trellis arrangements are more two-dimensional, whether a wire mesh or string cross-bracing. Such a slightly more elaborate trellis arrangement will have no trouble supporting what comes out of suckers.

I watched part of it as well. Don't understand why you chose that method of support given all the alternatives available and all that lost fruit production. But the choice is yours I guess. Personally I prefer the much less work and much more fruit approach of CRW cages.

Dave

The reason I prune them is that I get bigger earlier fruit, easier access for picking without breaking branches, easier trellising (less stims to support), higher density of plants which gives higher yields.

Everyone has different experiences with tomatoes so do with works for you.

Source: https://bonnieplants.com/library/how-to-prune-tomatoes/

Here is some real research from OSU on the issue.

http://horticulture.oregonstate.edu/content/tomato-yield-and-quality-affected-pruning-method-1978

I tried the pruning method the past two years as I have read it a few different places and thought I would try it. This year I am back to the old way of just letting them grow. I didnt notice any earlier yields or larger tomatoes. It was just extra unneeded work and I prefer to not fiddle with plants if you dont have to. The more you touch them the more likely you are to be spreading fungal spores all over the place

Thank you for that OSU writeup. But what I see there is that "severe pruning" gets you "earlier ripening, increased fruit size, and possibly some disease protection at the cost of decreased yield/plant". I guess if that's all important to you by all means do it. As noted, it's a lot of work. But if what's important to you is yield, it seems to be not the best thing to do.

Beyond that, it's fair to say that proper pruning strategy has to be dictated by trellising strategy. That's pretty much what the bonnieplants page is saying -- "Pruning works best for plants trained on a strong vertical support, such
as a trellis or stake". So yes, if you have one vertical support for a plant, you'd better prune the plant to make that work well.

Yeah there are all sorts of claims of earlier and bigger fruit but in controlled studies those claims just don't hold up. Any gains on either are minimal at best and even that is off-set by the reduced lbs. per plant production.

So if one wants to crowd multiple varieties into the same space normally used for fewer plants, then yes pruning would be necessary. But that does not mean there is increased production from the same space, just increased varieties.

Dave

gridgardener9 seems to really have it in for UK gardeners and their "antiquated knowledge about tomato pruning". This knowledge is not antiquated - it is climate-appropriate. What works in much of the US would not work in the UK. Today, for example, it is pouring with rain and the temperature is 63f. This is not unusual for mid Summer. If we left indeterminate tomatoes to grow naturally we would get nothing but sodden vines and rotting fruit. We'd have no ripe tomatoes at all. Of course I wouldn't advocate for a minute using the same techniques in climates with tomato-friendly Summers. But please credit us with some understanding of how to grow things under our own conditions.

well even if one prunes their tomato plants Im still a bit perplexed as to what type of bionic tomato needs suckers pruned every other day

No fear Floral as I'm sure most of us are well aware of gridgardener9's attitude problems. I'm sure it is safe to say that there are just as many tomato growers in the US who prune as there are in UK. We all know there are conditions where pruning is advisable, even mandatory. What I take issue with is all the grandiose claims some make about superior production and size, "better" tomatoes, no disease or pest issues, and claims that it is mandatory to do in order to grow tomatoes regardless of any other considerations.

Dave

I think we had this conversation in another thread, about trimming squash vines. Again, if your season is short, it makes sense to trim to concentrate the efforts of the plants into fewer fruit that you can be sure will be harvestable before frost. So that's very sensible that a decision would have to be climate-appropriate.

To prune or NOT - I have done it both ways and now prefer the string method even tho I am not an avid pruner. If I forget to "pinch off" a sucker - (one has to wonder why they call them suckers) I simply run another string for support.

When I planted tomatoes 4ft apart each way and didn't prune by the season end the plants were barely held upright by both cages and stakes (sometimes several stakes) and you couldn't get in between any of the plants to harvest. Then when the hurricane rains & winds come and the plants are loaded with fruit and HUGE they would just get blown over.

I was skeptical when I read about the string method in the SFG book but when I tried it the plants held up to those hurricane rains & winds (pruned or not). The authors concept of saving time was to "pinch off" suckers using fingers while you were watering or otherwise tending to the plants.

To me that is not a concerted effort but still I often do NOT pinch and just run another string IF the sucker gets too big. I guess one could always root an oversized sucker and have another plant - tho it will be behind the others.

In any case I have always gotten more fruit than we can possibly eat and give to the neighbors so I don't see loss of fruit as a problem-- most plants are extremely prolific esp. when they are happy.

To me most of gardening is not a must do either way but a preference of the gardener. I think the exceptions would be sun, water, & nutrients - other than that just enjoy.

JMMO - Just My Meaningless Opinion

"Suckers" make fruit.

Here's photo proof. Unfortunately I trimmed off the bottom leaf because it was unhealthy, but you can clearly see it existed.

This isn't even an old sucker.

Certainly they do - that can be either good or bad.

<I trim suckers every other day - to much? I use sharp scissors is this ok?>

Don, I think you can see you won't get a consensus here. So the choice is yours - do it your way or someone elses way but in the words of Nike "Just Do It".

Do you really need or want permission?

I've never pruned a tomato plant. I have plants that have grown up to 8' tall with 6' being common. They produce tomatoes from top to bottom. The only fertilizer I use is old chicken manure or cow manure. The only problem I have is the summer heat will get to them and I have to replant for the fall.

Sure, you can do whatever you want. There are no laws on the books about tomato pruning. But just ask yourself what exactly you're trying to accomplish by doing it, and whether there is good evidence that tomato pruning does that for you. Doing it because you heard other people doing it is not a reason.

Some people prune to keep the width of the plant down.

I space mine out and never prune suckers. Mine grow in 6' diameter by 5' tall concrete wire cages. Our neighbor grows his up an 8' conduit pipe, attached with zip ties. His plants are already pushing 5'. My plants are 3-4' tall and as big around as the cages.

By the time we are picking fruit, my plants always outproduce theirs by a lot throughout the season. They don't care, as they have limited space and like their garden tidy. It is just two of them, whereas I am feeding 5 people, and put up over 50 quarts of tomato sauce each year in addition to all we eat in season.

< Mine grow in 6' diameter by 5' tall>

Now that right there is a reason to prune (or NOT).

Many believe that commercial tomato growers would never take the time to prune, especially if it was required 2x per week. However pack-out is important to anybody selling any produce and if you are growing 50% cull tomatoes you aren't making money. So while earliness, fruit size and plant health are good reasons to prune, yield of premium quality fruit is number one reason for me. I hesitate to even mention the price I'm getting for my sellout tomatoes but it pays off or thousands of commercial growers wouldn't be doing it.

Leaving aside the prune or don't prune question, which is entirely a matter of your goals and climate, axillary shoots are easy to snap off with your fingers leaving no stub. Cutting with scissors etc leaves a stub which could encourage disease.

Also the reason I do it every other day is this. If you are going to prune a sucker why wait????? The longer you wait the bigger the wound and the more wasted energy - and they pop up in a day so why not hit them young? In a week they are huge - no brainer to catch young hence every other day.

Good point Floral but I carry a snipper for those situations where the need for one occurs. Often with heirloom varieties a forked branch will occur; sometimes a fused blossom fruit forms and in hot weather some larger suckers are resistant to snapping off.

A sharp scissors works, I use one in a separate high tunnel for harvesting peppers. Just sanitize whatever you often.