How To Prune & Stake San Marzano Tomatoes (indeterminate)

If you're like me then gardening isn't really about the harvest because I'm more interested in the process of growing & tending to the plants ✂️🌱 I don't eat tomatoes other than in salsa 🌮 or spaghetti sauce 🍝 but I love managing the plants for some reason. The daily pruning is just as therapeutic for you as it is the plants. Pruning can be done with your hands or with pruners & will help with a few things - removing old or dead plant material to prevent disease or fungus or pest issues 🦠🍄🐌🐛 directing more energy from vegetative growth into flower/fruit production 🌼🍅 and keeps the nutrients flowing towards productive parts of the plant rather than suckers or offshoots 🌱🌱🌱 Staking your tomato plants is another important part of growing tomatoes. In my garden I am using bamboo stakes and the Max Tapener HTR2 machine but you can use almost any kind of stake and tying material 👔 Keep in mind that only Indeterminate tomatoes need pruned & staked - determinate tomatoes like Roma will prefer a cage & NO pruning 🍅🍅🍅

[ShootingUtah]

My San marzanos went crazy last year. It was my first year growing them and they completely overtook and broke through the cages I put around them. I thought I was pruning enough but obviously not. The sauce my wife made with them was WELL WORTH IT! Amazing actually. Nice video!

[flamingdragon]

Great video man, very good look at what suckers are thanks

[sillyalena]

Your awesome! Thank you, I didn't know what I was getting into when I planted my lil baby plant... Holy Moly! She's a beast now and my first gardening adventure?! 😂 This helped so much!

[rodrigofajardo]

Hola amigo saludos desde Colombia 🇨🇴 estoy enamorado de los tomates 🍅 San Marzano después de un viaje que hice a España 🇪🇸, aquí el clima es tropical quiero saber en USA dónde puedo comprar buenas semillas para traerlas para acá y poder seguir sus consejos 😊les dejo este mensaje en español porque mi inglés es muy limitado, todos los comentarios los he traducido y los he leído ¡Bendiciones para todos!

[joannetanner]

Where did you purchase your Max take apparatus?

[brettyokum]

What size grow bags are these? I have some 10 gallon ones & I'm wondering if they'll be big enough

[brianshort]

Can you share some more information about your staking method? Are you using just one bamboo stake per plant? Is that strong enough to support all the fruit and weight of the plant once it grows up and out?

[jenniferspencer]

Thanks....Now I know how to prune my San Marzanos...

[-jd]

What time of year should San Mariano’s be pruned? If pruned too early, or late, will that affect the production?

[DomalainDiLorenzo]

Hi, please let me know what fertilizer you are using on your San Marzano, and if you have found that they are determinate or not. thank you so much

[salifdieme]

Hello. I would like to know if we can grow the san marzano tomato during the rainy season. thank you very much

[joguertin]

So I can tell which are the main stems...but how do I differentiate between a branch amd a sucker? This is where I die. To you, an experienced gardener a branch is obvious, to me, I have a deer in the headlights look

[erice]

My San Marzano's have 3 main branches. Other than that I remove any suckers. They are currently 7 feet tall. My question is, should I take out the 3rd main stem?

[davemeeks]

I have 7 deer and a dozen ground hogs working to prune my tomato plants everyday but even they need my help as well.

[theresaherron]

What are those pails you have them in? I have garden boxes that are 4’ x 8’ and I can’t seem to get the plants growing so well.

[mapachas]

Do I still cut off a sucker that has grown a lot?

[ImTellingYallItsSabotage]

Great video! What size are your stakes? The link in your description wasn’t working for me. Thank you!

[jeanlaikan]

Hi G4G, do you propagate your tomato plants from cut suckers. From your experience which produces better plants? From seeds or from pruned suckers.
One thing I am sure is it is faster from suckers

[svbeezy]

I just planted my San Maranzo a couple months ago and I'm a major newbie. Had no idea to do this and I got so heavy and thick it snapped all the stems. Was super sad

[winterhughe]

So basically... I put my SM in cages.. your basic mater cage. Do i need to remove that?