Growing
Removing Tomato Suckers Is a Trade, Not a Free Upgrade
Aggressively suckering an indeterminate tomato produces bigger fruit sooner, at the direct cost of the leaf cover that prevents sunscald.
Suckers are the shoots that emerge at the joint between the main stem and a branch. Left alone, they grow into full stems of their own, multiplying the plant's total fruit count but spreading the same root system's resources across more, smaller tomatoes that ripen later. Removing them concentrates growth into fewer stems, producing larger fruit sooner — the classic trade for indeterminate varieties grown on stakes or in a small space.
The cost is canopy. Fewer stems means less leaf cover shading the developing fruit, and tomatoes exposed to intense afternoon sun without shade are prone to sunscald — pale, papery patches on the shoulder facing the sun. In hot climates, many growers prune to two or three stems rather than one, trading some size for enough leaf cover to protect the crop.
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