One of the all time favorite crops for home gardeners is the Tomato. They come in hundreds of verieties, shapes and sizes. In Zone 9 there are verieties that can grow 9 months out of the year and in years with warm winters they can grow all 12 months.
There is one debate that has lingered around growing tomatoes for as long as the crop has been domesticated:
Should suckers be pruned or not?
What is a sucker?
A sucker is a new branch that forms at the intersection of the main stem and an already established branch.
Why Trim Suckers?
Suckers can take energy away from fruit production. The more a plant concerntrates its energy on growing leaves and branches the less energy it can dedicate to fruit. In some cases a smaller plant that is allowed to concentrate on fruit production will yield quite a bit more than a large, ever growing plant!
Why Leave Suckers Alone?
A larger plant has more leaves to soak up the sun’s energy and will have more surface area to produce possible fruit. In some cases a large, non-pruned plant can produce heavily!
To Prune Suckers or Not to Prune?
The question is best answered with experimentation. Each soil and climate type will have different results. In Zone 9, we tend to have quite a bit of humidity, and pruning a plant can help with airflow. The increased airflow will help reduce the chance of a fungal infection, but Zone 9 also gets a lot of sun to dry any lingering water and gives the leaves of an un-pruned plant an abundance of energy.
Now get out there and experiment!
