Indeterminate varieties of tomatoes grow quickly, often doubling their size every 12 to 15 days during the first few months. Unlike determinate varieties, they will continue to grow for as long as conditions are favorable, so proper pruning throughout the growing season is necessary to maintain an efficient, disease-free crop. Regardless of your support method, pruning indeterminate tomato varieties will promote healthy, vigorous growth.
Begin tomato pruning when the plant is small; starting early will limit the amount of pruning required over the course of the plant's life. Because indeterminate varieties grow extremely fast, pruning will need to be done at least once a week for the first month. Remove any necessary stems when they are very small to limit the size of the wounds, preventing disease. All stems touching the ground should be removed, as well as suckers -- non-fruit bearing stems that grow in the crevice between a leaf and the main stem. Use your thumb and forefinger to pinch off small suckers as they appear.
Of the support techniques listed, caging requires the least amount of pruning, making it a good method for busy gardeners or those with many plants. This method is also the most forgiving. If pruning doesn't occur as needed, the surrounding cage will support extra stems. Prune caged tomatoes as a young plant to five main fruit-bearing branches. Make sure those branches are well supported off the ground by turning them back within the cage as they grow. Suckers can be more difficult to see in a caged plant, so take the time to move existing branches to pinch them off.
This method requires the harshest pruning while providing earlier fruits. Trellised plants may produce fewer tomatoes, but the fruit will be larger because the plant is able to focus more energy on them. As a young plant, prune these tomatoes to one main stem, removing suckers as they develop. Because plants are pruned to grow vertically, they take up less space, making this a good option for small space gardening.
Limit fruit-producing branches to two or three for the stake support method, tying them to the stake with soft cloth as the plant grows. Removing suckers is very important with this method because no support exists for additional branches, and extra growth could potentially weigh down and damage the plant.
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