How To Prune Your Tomato Plant For Good Air Flow

How To Prune Your Tomato Plant For Good Air Flow

You might wonder why an earth a tomato plant needs to be pruned so that it has a good air flow around it. I mean it does sound a bit weird, doesn't it? Well, there is a very good reason and it is this. Tomato plants grow an abundant amount of leaves is fertilized correctly, but unfortunately the problem that arises that is that when the leaves get wet they do not dry very fast and it is then that fungal diseases takes a hold.

You might wonder what I mean by that, but fungal diseases find it difficult to get established if the leaves are kept dry. The simple fact is that a tomato plant needs to be in a position and trimmed back so that it has good air flow so that the leaves do not stay moist throughout the day and then develop fungal diseases.

So here are some tips to make sure that you reduce the likelihood of disease on your tomato plants:

plant the plants wide enough apart so that when they are fully grown they are not intertwining with each other - anything from 12 inches for the dwarf plants to 3 feet for the large indeterminate varieties

make sure that the lower leaves are trimmed back enough so that they are not touching the ground and a) getting disease from the ground and b) staying away from the moisture in the ground so that they do not rot

if you have a plant that is very compact (usually the smaller tomato varieties) where the leaves form a thick, dense mass, prune the tomato leaves out so that air can get between them

if your plant has a lot of leaves it can be pruned back to allow the air flow but always make sure that the tomatoes themselves are covered so that they do not get sunburnt - in this case you may like to just cut half a leaf branch and leave some of the leaves as this works well too

do not water the tomato plants from above, wetting the leaves, use a low sprinkler or better still a drip feed hose

Some very keen gardeners who live in damp conditions actually put a very gentle fan on their plants or even heat lamps so that the leaves dry out early in the day.

If the tomato plants are on a patio do make sure that if the air is very damp they do get some breeze to dry the leaves off early in the morning by having the pot placed in a position to do this. In saying that, patio potted tomato plants do need to be getting at least 6 hours of sunlight a day anyway.

POST COMMENT

Talk Dirty without a Single Word - Actions Speak Louder than Words Why Hiking in the Western Alps of Italy is so Popular Branches of Chemical Industry Hematite preparation concentrate in Mongolia The Magick in our Lives Getting Over a Married Man Paul McCartney Tickets at low price How to Talk Dirty - Breaking the Ice with Your Partner White Persian Melon Tea Eureka Alpenlite 2XT 2 Person Tent Ethical Lapses: The BP Oil Spill Using Tarot as a means for Divination What Does it Mean to Be Frugal?