Hi all, I’m new to gardening and haven’t had successful runs with tomatoes and patio gardening. I’d like to know if I should be removing suckers or keeping them, does it encourage overall tomato production or limit the plants? Do they look healthy? I live in Texas and it’ll be getting hot soon, I’m hoping they’ll survive this year.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
by Naive-Feedback-7059
3 Comments
I have read what some people have said about pruning suckers as being absolutely necessary. And what other people have said about it being not true and not affecting yield. I’ve never done it and I’ve always had huge plants with tons of fruit. I prune lower branches so nothing is dragging on the ground and there’s good airflow. I trim the branches enough to keep them in the space that’s available, keep them from getting tangled together, and give airflow. Other than that I let them do their thing. I would say they need good support, especially if you’re not doing all that pruning. I’ve never found a cage that works. I do cables hanging down from a support that’s above, or trellis made from cattle panel. But yours look good for now. They will take off and get bigger and fuller when the weather gets hot.
One other thing is that containers dry out more quickly, especially in Texas heat. Having a consistent moisture level is essential to prevent blossom end rot and cracked fruit. So be vigilant about not letting them get too dry or too wet. Deep watering once or twice a week is usually good, but you might need more. You might consider drip irrigation on a timer if you are a person who can forget to water. But don’t water daily or keep them constantly wet.
Thanks so much, I’ll keep them maintained and not overpruned hopefully they’ll fruit very well this season
They look alright, just a bit stretched/leggy. Usually that means they want more sun, and they’ll probably need support pretty soon. Nothing about them screams disaster to me, just not super compact growth. Also I’m pretty sure Texas law says every tomato plant over 2 feet tall becomes agricultural infrastructure.