Later on in the season I do prune back larger branches that are not fruiting. This encourages the fruits to ripen quicker that are left on the plant. This is especially good to do about a month and a half before frost is expected. We don’t take off to much during the growing season due to the very hot temps and high UV that burns the tomatoes. We just use the extra growth as a protector… The down side to not opening up for light and air flow is that the tomatoes don’t ripen as fast and the heirlooms that get dark color on their shoulders (like ‘Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge), don’t if shaded to much. Also, I would definitely recommend encouraging air flow in humid climates. Here in Southern Utah, we are very very dry!

Posted by Ali on September 17, 2015