"Remove All Leaves Up To The First Flower Cluster"

[Setec Astronomy]

Looking for some guidance on the thread title. I'm fairly new at this and this is my first year doing pruning. I realize there aren't really standardized definitions for this stuff and there are some parallel threads of mine and others regarding disease pressure and pruning related to that.

I pruned all my indeterminate tomatoes to dual leader. I removed all branches (suckers and leaf) below where the first flower cluster came out of the first stem. Was that the way I was supposed to do it? Because the second stem has a "first flower cluster" much further up, was I supposed to remove the leaves below the first flower cluster on that stem also?

There were plenty of leaves that hung down past the first flower cluster, but started higher up on the plant--but I interpreted that because those stems started above the first flower cluster, I should leave them, was that right?

On my determinates and semi-determinates, I didn't really prune them, I did remove some lower leaves, but not a lot. Was I supposed to remove to the first flower cluster on those, too? On each stem?

[Paulf]

My opinion: remove the bottom leaves that contact the soil for pathogen control. Then the more green you remove will decrease photosynthesis, the energy production of a plant. Removing blossoms are the removal of a potential fruit. As you can tell, I am in the "no prune" camp. I do remove any diseased parts to slow the spread, but nothing else.

[Setec Astronomy]

This year I used plastic mulch so I didn't technically have anything touching the soil, but I did initially remove leaves that were touching the plastic mulch. To your point, and I guess contradicting myself in the first post, on varieties where the first flower cluster was way up on the plant, I did leave many of the lower leaves that were well above the "ground" (I'm growing in planters) but below the first flower cluster, because they looked healthy and I thought they were of benefit to the plant. I'm just rethinking some of this because of all the blight problems I'm having.

[Labradors]

It's so hard to remove healthy leaves, but I've been keeping on top of it this season because when I leave them, it becomes a major chore later on. I have noticed that removing the lower leaves not only allows a lot of ventilation at the bottom of the plant, but it also makes it easier to see those first tomatoes .

I too use plastic mulch, so it's not so terribly important to remove lower leaves for the splash-back reason, but another thing about doing it frequently is that it gives me a chance to really inspect each plant for signs of fungal disease.

Linda

[MissS]

This is a subject that "it all depends". I remove all of the leaves that touch the soil to prevent disease, always. Then, if the plants are spaced 3' apart I just cage them and let them be. However, if I have crowded my plants, which I have done this year, I only allow 2-3 main stems and remove all of the leaves below the first flower cluster. As fruits ripen, I then remove the growth below the tomatoes that were harvested. This is to allow more air space and air flow through the plants to help cut down on fungal problems. Sometime even a plant that I did not plan on pruning gets so thick that I have to remove some on the growth on the inside of the plant to allow more air circulation.

[bower]

I often leave my lower leaves until or unless they show some blight or senescence. MissS has it right, it depends on your environment, how much disease is about, how crowded are the plants, can they be watered without a lot of splashback, how humid is it in the lower canopy. It definitely helps in a damp situation, to prune for aeration. Lower leaves are getting less light and are less useful or necessary to the plant so it's an easy decision.

I have never removed lower leaves from a second leader unless they are in trouble. But if you need aeration then why not, it's a safe place to prune away excess foliage.
It is said that the leaf immediately above a fruit cluster feeds the growth of those fruit directly. Those leaves also play a role in shading the blossoms on a hot day, which is important for set, so I try to keep those.

[Japetus]

When removing the bottom leaves that touch the ground, could one instead of cutting the whole stem with leaves, cut the leaf in half?

[MissS]

When removing the bottom leaves that touch the ground, could one instead of cutting the whole stem with leaves, cut the leaf in half?

Yes you could.

[Nan6b]

Yes. That is done on Bonsai sometimes in order to not shock the plant.

[FarmerShawn]

I've just finished my first pruning of my thousand or so plants. I grow two stems, and the second stem is the first sucker below the first flower cluster. I leave one or two leaves below that, and prune off everything below that. Some varieties have long, droopy leaves, and on those I'll either cut the bottoms of the leaves off if they are healthy, or cut the whole leaf off up to the second stem. I'll only cut leaves off further up the plant If they show signs of disease.

[brownrexx]

I cut off the bottom leaves so that my stems are bare about 12" up from the bottom. I do this for fungus prevention and air flow.

Be careful not to remove leaves that are shading the fruits or you can have sun scald.

[Setec Astronomy]

Be careful not to remove leaves that are shading the fruits or you can have sun scald.

Or birds pecking them.

[slugworth]

I lost one to a bird today
Pecked it right off the plant.
1 week away from full ripe.