My step by step companion planting guide for the best tomatoes of your life!

Interesting question, I do know that suckers do not sap energy from the plant. From experience, I've found its best to remove some, preferably the ones that grow low in the plants early development and are likely to drag along the ground. They are simply extra stems with the benefit of actually gaining more tomatoes per plant if you adequately provide plenty of nutrition, light and water. It's natures way of producing as many fruits as possible, therefore increasing chances of seed yield and securing its potential to pass on its genetics. My bias leans towards having masses of messy plants laden with beautiful fruit—something so satisfying in the chaos of suckers on a huge tomato plant. I say embrace it. If you are down for a bit of order and a smaller crop, then go for a determinate tomato plant.

Last year during the drought, I had more than a few customers contact me with problems about their setting flowers. Dad knew what was going on, but I didn't, he called it blossom drop. Heat and too much of it will have a detrimental effect on the blossoms. The male reproductive organs of tomato plants will dry under high temperatures. The pollen rendered sterile, say goodbye to fruit set. However, you will get another attempt with the next set of suckers coming through, hence a great reason to leave them alone. Research has shown that when temperatures rise above 32 degrees Celsius for several consecutive days, the male reproductive organs appearance changes and they produce less and less fertile pollen, leading to lower yields. The male organs shrivel up! And literally drop off, the flowers drop off, hence the name blossom drop.

Indeterminate tomato plants can get out of hand quickly with their suckers producing more suckers and so on. If you are in an area which has a limited amount of room then pruning suckers can be of benefit, making it easier to stake and to manage growth. Yes, removal of the sucker and having less of a giant mass of mess will improve air circulation and lower the risk of disease, particularly in areas that are hot and humid making conditions perfect for foliar diseases to thrive.

Determinate varieties of tomatoes only have a limited amount of flowers to offer. Their genetics are preset in each variety, having a determined height and width and finally setting their flowers at only the ends of the branches. Perfect for the tidy gardener, someone who has limited growing room. Remember that any removal of suckers is going to reduce your yield.

Most tomato plants will form flowers at the top of the plant that will most likely not have enough time to grow into a ripened tomato. You will save the plant from wasting energy and prevent it from getting top-heavy and toppling over in big storms. Simply select the height you would like the plant to grow or just match it to the height of your stake or cage. Use secateurs to make a clean cut, try not to let them become too tall as severe pruning will freak them out. Look for the flower cluster that you would like to be your final fruit set for that particular stem and then cut a quarter of an inch above it. You'll notice the laterals will start to go crazy. You will have to continually top them once you begin.

Using 6-inch suckers from your earliest plants is an excellent way to extend your growing season, it's free, and the timing usually works well if you live in an area that has a long growing season. You can snip these from your vines and place in a jar of water, leave on a shaded window sill until the roots develop. Simply pot up and plant out, pat yourself on the back, the pros do this all the time, it's called staggering, your yields are about to go through the roof. I usually plant these far away from the first crop. If one crop gets a disease, then I have my back up supply and a second chance for success. Yes, you can have more than one garden.

Suckers can provide extra cover or shade for young tomatoes developing, tomatoes don't need a lot of sunlight to ripen, but too much sunlight can cause sunscald. The preference is protection from the shade offered from masses of suckers. Many older varieties of tomatoes had brown shoulders, take a look at Black from Tula. This protected earlier types from sunscald, most of the varieties you find in supermarkets now are selectively bred for looks and the ability to travel well-staying firm and in my opinion tasteless.