Single-Stem Tomato Pruning & Staking

This is the classic way to grow staked indeterminate tomatoes: remove the side-shoots ("suckers") that form where a leaf meets the main stem, training each plant to a single central stem (or two) tied to a stake or string.

An unpruned indeterminate tomato becomes a dense bush that hides fruit and traps humid, still air where disease thrives. Pruning to one or two stems opens the plant up to sun and airflow, channels energy into fewer but larger fruit, and makes the plant easy to support and harvest.

Once plants are established, find the suckers — small shoots in the "V" between the main stem and a leaf branch. Pinch or snap them out while they're small, wiggling side to side and removing with your thumb. Keep the main growing tip and one or two chosen stems; remove the rest. Tie the stem(s) loosely to a tall stake or string every foot or so as the plant grows. Remove suckers below the first flower cluster especially — they're the least productive.

Use this for indeterminate (vining) varieties, not determinate (bush) types, which set their whole crop at once and shouldn't be heavily pruned. Prune on a dry morning so cuts heal quickly. Removing the lowest leaves as the plant grows further reduces soil-splash disease.