I have grown tomatoes in my yard 4-5 years and every year my tomato plants get 6 to 7 feet tall and are totally unmanageable. They

Question

get so tall they fall over the cages and break. I see tomato plants in other gardens that are 2 to 3 feet and are producing. Do I need to prune them or can you tell me what is causing this. Thank you

Answer 1

Tomatoes with the largest fruit are the biggest plants. I’ve seen a few cages tall enough for them but the basic tomato cage is inadequate, as you say. Many who grow the large beefsteak tomatoes support them with tall stakes and loosely tie the main stem to the stake. But there are tasty varieties that grow much smaller all the way down to cherry and grape tomatoes. As for pruning; this is done to lessen growth from the leaf axils and not to control height. It is optional for indeterminant type tomatoes but should not be done to determinant tomatoes – the kind that ripen all at once. So when shopping for tomato plants, chose one that has medium, or smaller, sized fruit.