Don't pick too many leaves from a plant at one time.It scares the plant and it does not like that. Far better is to prune 2 to 3 leaves regularly (like once a week).
Once a week, prune about a third of the plant's leaves, starting at the bottom of the plant and working your way up to the top. You can certainly prune less than a third of the leaves, but never do more--that's the golden rule of pruning a tomato (and any other plant).
In today's 2 minute garden tip, I discuss a common pruning mistake that destroys tomato plants. A common mistake growing tomatoes is removing tomato leaves to ripen tomatoes faster. This is a big mistake! Not only does it harm the plant, but it will slow tomato ripening and can damage the fruits. Stop doing this! I.
Removing the side-shoots is simple – every time you water, check the plant for any shoots sprouting just above each leaf, from the joint between the leaf and the stem. Pinch these out or snap them off.
Do all tomatoes have to be pinched out? The simple answer is no. With large-fruited tomato varieties such as ox-heart and beef tomatoes, however, the side shoots should be removed. Even with medium-sized indeterminate tomatoes, we recommend only leaving a maximum of two to three shoots, including the main shoot.
Tomato plants naturally tend to produce lots of leaves and relatively fewer fruits. However, balancing leaf and fruit production by pruning tomato plants is easy. Not only will trimming off excess foliage lead to more tomatoes per plant, but the fruit produced will be larger and of higher quality.
Prune off about a third of the leaves (and flowers, if any are present) at the top of the plant, removing the newest, smallest leaves. This will stimulate the plant to branch out lower on the stem, and eventually to produce flowers and fruit throughout its height.
Water correctly: Do not overwater. The first week tomato plants are in the ground, they need water every day, but back off watering after the first week, slowly weaning the plants down to 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week.
Indeterminate tomatoes can have from one to many stems, although four is the most I'd recommend. The fewer the stems, the fewer but larger the fruits, and the less room the plant needs in the garden.
Remove all leafy suckers beneath the first fruit cluster so they won't slow the development of the fruit. Suckers are the little shoots that form in the spot (called an axil) where the leaf stem attaches to the main growing stem. In northern regions, many gardeners go further, removing all suckers as they appear.
Tomato plants are annuals, meaning they only live for one growing season. However, with proper care, they can produce fruit for several months. Tomato plants need full sun and well-drained soil to thrive. Water them regularly, especially during dry spells, and fertilize them every few weeks.
Remove leaves
The plant will focus more energy on growing the tomatoes if you remove some of the leaves too. I remove all of the leaves up to the first tomato bunch on the main stem. When the plant grows, I cut even more leaves.
Make sure you remove more of the lower leaves but also remove some leaves growing higher on the plant, so that it stays open and airy. If you leave 6 to 7 adult leaves per plant, that will be fine.
A rule of thumb I once read in a houseplant book suggested cutting off no more than a third of a plant's leaves. If you cut off more, you have a good chance of killing it.
A good compromise is to remove all suckers that grow below the first flower cluster. This helps keep the main supporting stem strong, but it doesn't remove upper suckers that will eventually produce flowers and fruit.
Insufficient sunlight
Without proper sunlight, the tomato plant will have leggy and spindly growth and little or no fruits. To produce tomatoes the plant requires energy which they receive from sunlight. Therefore, place your plant where it will receive enough sunlight to produce juicy and plumpy tomatoes.
As a tomato plant matures, its lower leaves begin to yellow. Pinch or prune yellowed leaves to prevent disease, improve the tomato plant's appearance, and help the plant keep its energy focused on fruit production. Don't over prune in hot climates.
Then it's crucial to know how many leaves should be cut off the plant. While too many cuts might restrict development and deplete the plant's energy reserves, too few can result in a poor yield.
Blood Meal (Nitrogen)
Nitrogen is definitely necessary for tomato plants so I add this every year. To supply the nitrogen the plant needs, in each planting hole I add 2 tablespoons of blood meal and mix it with the soil.