As summer turns to fall, gardeners face the difficult decision of when to remove their tomato plants. Tomato plants are like pets – they require time, care and attachment forms. Deciding when to pull them up can be an emotional experience. However, knowing the right time ensures you get the most out of your plants while preparing properly for next year’s crop. Here is a guide on identifying when it’s time to pull up those tomato plants:
Watch For Signs of Slowing Production
The most obvious indicator is when your tomato plants slow down fruit production or stop entirely. During peak growing season, healthy tomato plants can churn out new tomatoes every week. When this drops to every few weeks or less, the plant is winding down. Indeterminate varieties that grow all season are most likely to slow gradually, while determinate tomatoes that fruit over a short period may simply stop altogether. Pay attention to production levels – when you aren’t harvesting as many new tomatoes, the plant is telling you its work for this year is ending.
Monitor Plant Foliage and Stems
The leaves and stems will start deteriorating as well, becoming dried out and shriveled up. The plant loses its lush green vibrancy. Its energy reserves have shifted from new growth to fruit production. Leaves may turn yellow or brown and drop off. Lower leaves and branches are affected first. The stems look scraggly and woody rather than fresh and flexible. These visible signs indicate the plant is nearing the end of its life cycle.
First Frost Marks the Definite End
While production and foliage give clues as to a plant’s stage, the first frost of the season is the definitive marker. Tomato plants are extremely susceptible to frost damage. Once temperatures dip below freezing, the above ground plant tissue dies rapidly Some gardeners allow the frost to fully dry out and kill the plants before pulling them up. Others prefer clearing out plants before a hard freeze can penetrate the soil. But whenever that first frost hits, you know tomato picking time is over
Fruit Loses Flavor and Rots Easily
The last tomatoes of the season are usually not as good; they are smaller, have less flavor, and are more likely to go bad. This makes sense since the plant gets weaker and the weather gets cooler and wetter, which are not good for fruit ripening. But it’s another reminder that the tomato plant is fading. Fruits that are nearing the end of their season should be picked and eaten quickly before they go bad. Their taste just isn’t up to summer’s sweet juicy standard.
Watch the Calendar Too
The dates of frost and the end of tomato season can help you figure out when it’s time to pull up, even though each year is different. Frost usually happens between early October and early November, but it can happen 30 to 60 days earlier. From September on, look for the above signs and get ready to clean up. If you planted early types, keep an eye on the calendar as August gets closer. Later season plants may go into November in some climates. As a guide, know when your first frosts usually happen and how long plants last.
Tips for Pulling Up Spent Tomato Plants
Once it’s clear tomato production is over, use these tips for removing spent plants:
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Pull up all dead plants, fallen and rotting fruit, vines and debris to remove disease and pests
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For staked plants, remove stakes and cages before taking up plants to avoid soil contact
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Discard diseased plants away from garden to avoid spreading pathogens
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Healthy plants can go into compost, diseased plants should be burned or trashed
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Turn over soil lightly to expose pests and disrupt disease
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Mark where tomatoes grew to rotate crops next year
Transition to Cover Crops
When you pull out tomato plants, you can plant cover crops in their place. These will boost your soil over winter. Try fast-growing types like radishes, rye grass, and legumes. Come spring, turn these low-maintenance covers into nourishing green manure. This clean transition keeps productivity going in your garden.
Knowing when to remove tired tomato plants is a skill learned over seasons of growing. Pay close attention each year to the signs above so you can maximize tomato harvests while properly closing out the growing season. With practice, you’ll get better at timing the perfect window to pull plants up. That makes room for winter gardening or covers to restore your soil and rotate crops for a healthier next tomato season.
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FAQ
When to remove a tomato plant?
You will know when your tomato plants are done for the season. They’ll stop producing new foliage and fruit and will begin to look peaked. You can pull the entire plant out, roots and all, or cut them at the base and allow the roots to decompose.
When should I pull my tomatoes off?
Your earliest indicator for most varieties is a slight change of color, or “blushing. ” In red tomatoes, the fruits often turn to a lighter green and then show blushes of pink. Once you notice that slight change in color, that’s your cue to test the next indicator, which is the squeeze test.
How to remove tomato plants at the end of season?
Remove all but the top leaves of the tomato plant and bury it as far as possible with just the top leaves on top. Leave some stem above ground too. Tomatoes root all along stem. Sprinkle on slow release fertilizer and water well. You need a spot with at least 6 hours of sun. Only water when the moisture meter says dry!.
Should you pull all end of season Tomatoes?
When the growing season is waning, time is running out for crops like tomatoes that are still producing. Some of the tomato plants’ fruit is almost ripe, but most of it is still green. Should you get rid of all the tomatoes that are past their prime? If so, what should you do? Many of them are still not ripe.
Should you pull out tomato plants in September?
by Mark Levisay If you are not already asking yourself whether to pull out the tomato plants, then you will be later this month. Rolling into September, the days grow shorter, temperatures decrease (hopefully!) and the fungal tomato diseases really take off.
Should you remove dead tomato plants?
Yes. Pull them up as soon as they die. While you’re at it, remove dead leaves, diseased leaves, fallen fruit, mummified fruit, and additional debris. By clearing out your dead tomato plants you remove pathogens at the same time … and you minimize future problems in the garden. Q. What’s a good way to remove tomato plants from the garden?.
How do you remove a tomato plant from a garden?
Cut the steps off of tomato plants that are caged or staked about 10 to 12 inches above the soil line. Lift out the cage or stake and set it to the side, outside of the garden. This way, fewer pest larvae and microscopic pathogens that are left on the plants will fall onto your soil. Then pull or dig the plant out of the garden and discard it.
When do Tomatoes stop ripening?
Tomatoes cease to thrive when temperatures hit about 50 F (10 C), and the plants will not survive when they get below 35 F (2 C). To hasten outdoor ripening, cut off any blooms or small fruit. This will be a signal to the plant to put all its energy into ripening the rest of the fruit.
How do you care for tomatoes in winter?
Keep your room temperature to a minimum of 70 degrees. Remember: tomatoes like heat. Fertilize and water the plants on a regular schedule. You can also enjoy this season’s plants during the winter when you take tomato cuttings. Root them in water, plant them, and transplant to a larger container when they’re ready.