Growing Tomatoes

Need help with Overgrown, Unmanageable tomato plants? Follow along as we prune an entire hoop house of tomatoes. Read more about growing, pruning, and trellising tomatoes with the lower and lean method at Bootstrap Farmer today!

Here we will walk you through how to prune and trellis to get the most from your plants. Each of the articles in this series has an accompanying video to let you see the process in action. With Nick from Bootstrap Farmer we start off this four part series by walking you through how to identify and prune the parts of indeterminate tomato plants. 

The lower and lean method of trellising indeterminate tomatoes in a hoop house has many advantages. Ease of working conditions and maximum fruit production are the key features of this style of tomato growing. When done properly pruning along with lowering and leaning will increase productivity and keep your plants healthier.

In this article we cover selecting the proper wire cable diameter based on the number of plants you will be growing and show our best practices for anchoring cables to your hoop house. Trellising indeterminate tomatoes allows vines to grow vertically which aids in cooling the vine and healthy fruit sets. It also allows the farmer to efficiently maintain and harvest crops for a full growing season while keeping the house’s pest and disease pressure to a minimum. 

Interested in starting your tomatoes from seed this season? Read about the best techniques that will yield the juiciest tomatoes and healthiest plants!