Tomato Plants Too Close

Question

Can tomato plants planted too close? Some do not produce. Would thinning be beneficial for the bigger tomatoes?

Answer 1

It depends on what you mean by too close. The tomato plants, if planted very close could block the light the plants get, which would reduce the blooming. Tomatoes planted too close are also more susceptible to fungus due to decreased airflow, and sickened plants have a harder time producing. The plants also compete more for resources, so that can make it difficult as well. But, overall, they can produce, they just may not produce as well as they could.

Tomato sucker pruning has been shown to produce larger tomatoes, but the actual weight of the tomato production stays the same whether you prune or not. In other words, pruning results in fewer but larger tomatoes, while not pruning produces more but smaller tomatoes.