How do I keep my cherry tomato plants from becoming straggly?

I pinch back the new growths in between the limbs but after a couple of months it is too tall and not at all bushy...I was once told to pinch back the new growth, was I told the wrong thing?

How do I keep my cherry tomato plants from becoming straggly?
I've been raising veggies for 40 years. Indeterminate variety tomatoes do grow all over the place. It's their nature. Prune as you have been, cage the plants and don't worry about the scraggly appearance. As long as they are producing properly leave them alone. They are doing their job. If you want nice "pretty" plants, get determinate varieties. They make a lot of tomatoes all at once, then stop. Time, then, to take them up. Indeterminate varities keep making all year. They do, however, "slow down" in the heat of summer. That's when I give mine a good "haircut". They come back in the fall with a vengance. I also DO NOT use any type of commercially prepared fertilizer. Since I have a farm, I have mountains of chicken litter-- which I compost. Makes terrific fertilizer/mulch.
Reply:There are a few reason tomato plants become straggly. The first is overfertilization. It makes them grow too easily. Also, if they do not get enough sun they will start to reach for it. I would cut back on watering and fertilizing. Let them become more hardy and fight for survival a little more. You are probably doing too good of a job.
Reply:Well, yet again, tomato plants (and other vegetables) can become scraggly because of TOO MUCH light and NOT ENOUGH fertilization!





It's a delicate balance ... I would try making sure they do not dry out, keep the soil moist but not soaking. Fertilize only once a week or once every other week with Miracle Grow (safe and organic).





If you are growing them indoors until you can plant outside, only have the light source on for a maximum of ten hours per day.

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