How to Maximize Your Vining Tomato Harvest in the Fall

From the time you see a new tomato flower form until it is ready to eat, most varieties of vining tomato take at least 30 days.

We are now 30 days away from our projected first frost date here in Michigan, zone 6b. Knowing that it takes at least 30 days to harvest any new tomatoes, the trick to maximizing what is left of my tomato harvest is to prune off any new growth or flowers.

By pruning your tomato plant this way you are telling the plant what to do, and where to invest its energy. Now is the time to tell the plant “hey, stop getting bigger or making new flowers! I just want you to use your energy to grow delicious fruit with what you already have”.

Doing this will help the plant direct its available energy into creating beautiful red fruits for you to pick before the frost hits!