Yes, you should remove the bottom leaves, but only up to the first cluster of fruit or flowers. Pruning the bottom 12 to 18 inches of foliage keeps leaves from touching the soil, which prevents soil-borne fungal diseases like blight from splashing up during rain.
The only pruning I'd recommended would be to remove the very lowest leaves to give a stretch of clear stem at the bottom of the plant to reduce splashback and the risk of disease. And honestly, that is it. So if you still don't like the idea of pruning, bush tomatoes could be for you!
To help improve airflow and cut down on the chance of disease, remove the leaves along the bottom 12 inches of the stems of indeterminate tomato plants.
The advantage in removing the lower leaves is that the plants energies go into producing fruit rather than a lot of foliage. Also the lower leaves tend to get powdery mildew so it is good to remove them to stop disease spreading.
Toward the end of the season, the plant shouldn't have masses of leaves on it. Be bold, cut some off. At the peak of the growing season, I remove lots of leaves each week when checking the tomatoes. The image shows a trug full, and I may cut this amount off, towards the end of the growing season, every week to 10 days.
If you're growing tomatoes, here's a handy tip: sprinkling a little baking soda into your plant's soil can help you grow sweeter tomatoes. Baking soda helps reduce acidity, resulting in a tastier crop!
To Prune or Not To Prune
For example, it would be fair to cut 2 leaves from each branch of a tomato plant with 18 branches that have 6 leaves each, leaving the plant with 4 leaves per branch. This will guarantee that the plant doesn't get too crowded or bushy and has enough leaves to keep on producing fruits.
If you've been watering too much you might notice these signs:
Fruit bushes such as currants and gooseberries will benefit from thinning out, while perennials that lack decorative seed heads should be cut back to the ground. Autumn is also the time to prune tender plants such as lavender and rosemary, which won't withstand pruning in winter.
You can trim tomato plants, but keep in mind if you are in a hot climate, make sure you leave enough leaves for shade, otherwise you will sun-scald your tomatoes. You should always cut off suckers when they grow out.
For many, it's best to avoid pruning in the fall because it can stimulate new growth that will be damaged by cold. On the other hand, there are a few plants to prune in October, especially if you want to keep your garden looking gorgeous right through to spring.
Encouraging the last few to ripen
The simplest is to bring them into a warm room and place them in a paper bag with a ripe banana or apple. Both release ethylene gas, which encourages ripening. Keep the bag loosely closed, check daily, and you'll often find the tomatoes take on full colour within a week.
To grow the strongest tomato plant possible, prune side stems below the first fruit cluster. 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.
5 Tomato Pruning Mistakes You Might Be Making (& What to Do...
Tomato plants fruit from June until the first frosts, thriving in the warm, light conditions of summer. However, the ripening process slows down as the days become shorter, so fruit that develops from September may not ripen before the first frosts arrive. Tomatoes ripen most quickly in a warm, light environment.
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.
When the soil and/or roots have sufficiently dried out, fertilize the water-damaged tomatoes with a balanced NPK fertilizer such as 10-10-10. Leaves can be treated with foliar spray but avoid treating foliage with severe wilt. Depending on the amount of damage, the plant should recover in one to two weeks.
infectious diseases
Early Blight and Septoria Leaf Spot. Perhaps the most common disease symptom homeowners mention is “My tomato plants are turning brown, starting with the bottom leaves and working toward the top of the plant.” This description fits the symptoms of two diseases: early blight and Septoria leaf spot.
The best approach is to mulch under the tomato plant. Leave the lower leaves on the plant. If you tend to have disease problems you can remove a leaf or two after the first fruit is set. If you don't have disease problems, leave the leaves on for a while longer.
Coffee grounds have about 2% nitrogen and various amounts of potassium and phosphorus. All of these nutrients can be beneficial for tomato plants and other acidic plants, in moderation. Coffee grounds can also act as a natural pesticide due to their caffeine content.
11 Worst Plants to Plant with Tomatoes
More space, better soil, more/better fertilizer, and more sun are the keys to larger fruit. I actually like the tennis ball sized tomatoes, I find the bigger they get, the more woody the core of the tomato turns out. You've also got a higher risk if some animal ruins a big one vs. a bunch of smaller ones.
Give Plenty of Sun. Sunlight fuels sugar production. Tomatoes need at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sun each day to develop a rich, sweet taste. Plants grown in shade or partial sun often produce fruit that looks good but tastes bland.
But for flavor, many gardeners find that tomatoes grown with organic fertilizers—like compost, worm castings, and dry organic blends—tend to taste better. You can start fertilizing once the seedlings have a few true leaves, then continue regularly depending on the product (weekly for liquids, every 2–3 weeks for dry).