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Boulder, CO

For those of you who prune their plants, which is probably most of you, do you do simple pruning or Missouri pruning? (Missouri pruning is where you allow the suckers to grow a couple of leaves before nipping of the growing tips.) I use Missouri pruning, because it creates a bushier, healthier looking plant. But that may not translate into bigger tomatoes. I wonder if anybody has tried both methods, and determined if there's a significant difference either way?

9/11/2015 12:08:58 AM

Wixom MI.

I never heard it called missouri pruning, but that was the method i did this year and i felt that it took away from the tomato over helping it. I let my suckers grow until they reached their first bloom set only to see if i could get a nicer mega bloom and then pruned them back but then i found that the inner leaves would turn yellow and drop off and made the plant more likely to get blight.my bigest tomatoes came from plant that i pruned off most of the suckers.next year i plan to prune off all the suckers for better air flow and prespray for blight right from the start and keep those lower leaves healthy.

9/11/2015 10:09:40 AM

I prune up to 1 foot from the ground. I try to catch all suckers once a week and take those out. I usually pick one day, so I won't forget to do it. Yes, air+sunlight are really important and cuts down many virus formations. Hope this helps?

9/11/2015 12:52:16 PM

Central NY

This year I picked all mine off ..well, most...before they were four inches tall..i call it slammer pruning...i MADE them behave...fruit size was pretty decent compared to past couple years...

9/11/2015 5:49:07 PM