Cherry tomatoes... should I prune the inner branches?

[leyequois]

I have watched a fair amount of videos, and saw several recommending that, for close by plants, there should be enough air flow between them, and to cut the branches in between the 2 to avoid illness

I have been pruning the suckers, and I know it is overwatered(Yellow leaves on bottom, it has been a harsh raining season) and I am going to put a small roof and a drop-down tarp to cover them when it rains, that will be done in the next couple of days.

So the biggest question is that, should I just prune all the branches that are in between both plants, or, considering it is fairly windy most of the year, should I just leave them as is?

 

[Meadowlark]

Are your plants determinate or indeterminate? If determinate, pruning is not generally advised. Determinate tomatoes grow to a fixed size and produce all at once and pruning can significantly reduce production.

For indeterminates, personally I only prune the suckers after the plant has grown 4-5 ft. and I want to manage/control its size. I have "Texas" sun and tend to favor the protection that those limbs offer to fruit.

Good spacing will eliminate any crowding problems and it looks like yours are in containers so easily accomplished. The container showing looks a bit small to me...and I think the plants would benefit from a larger one.

 

[leyequois]

Are your plants determinate or indeterminate? If determinate, pruning is not generally advised. Determinate tomatoes grow to a fixed size and produce all at once and pruning can significantly reduce production.

For indeterminates, personally I only prune the suckers after the plant has grown 4-5 ft. and I want to manage/control its size. I have "Texas" sun and tend to favor the protection that those limbs offer to fruit.

Good spacing will eliminate any crowding problems and it looks like yours are in containers so easily accomplished. The container showing looks a bit small to me...and I think the plants would benefit from a larger one.

I was told in another post here that I could put 2 plants in the same pot and they'd give less fruit each but more overall, so I put 2 per planter, and the planters are 45L planters, the largest I could find

 

[gardenstart]

I was told in another post here that I could put 2 plants in the same pot and they'd give less fruit each but more overall, so I put 2 per planter, and the planters are 45L planters, the largest I could find

You might be referring to a post of mine where I think I mentioned that about 2 plants per hole / pot. My experience shows that it does work, and I do get more cherry tomatoes this way.

Also, by leaving the second sucker to form another stem (but removing all the others) I usually get one more fruit truss off of it. Although it takes a bit more careful stem and foliage management (ie. tying the stem to another stake, usually, or at least the same stake).

I'd leave those leaves if they are indeterminate. Only thing I'd say is the pot looks maybe a bit small, whether it's for one tomato plant or two. Or fill it with more soil, closer to the top to give the roots more room, mind you it's a bit late now the plants have grown that big. But maybe next time.

And, it looks like you might have leaf miners. I've never had to deal with them, but here's some info.

 

[Meadowlark]

Only thing I'd say is the pot looks maybe a bit small, whether it's for one tomato plant or two.

Way too small for two and very marginal for one, IMO.

Two in that size will yield less than one, plus run a much higher risk of diseases and pests...just my opinion.

 

[gardenstart]

Way too small for two and very marginal for one, IMO.

Two in that size will yield less than one, plus run a much higher risk of diseases and pests...just my opinion.

I understand. My reasoning in my other post was based upon what someone told me about starting tomato seeds. They said that they like to grow together in pairs from seed. I didn't know if it was true, but since then I've tried it over two seasons now, and when they grow from seed, very close together, as she said, and take up the space of one plant, they do grow more like one plant. The yield has been higher, even if one plant produces a bit less, between the two there are more tomatoes. And, this year we left the second sucker, producing a second stem on each plant, and we got even more tomatoes (two more fruit trusses per plant). Overall, it was a success for us. Then again, these are in half-whiskey barrels with three "holes" of two plants each, not in the ground. It was an improvement over our crop from last year, but who knows, I might have screwed up other aspects of growing them! Anyway, it was just an idea that I tried out, not "fact" on how to grow tomatoes. It was a successful experiment in our little setup, but, yes, I do agree that, in general, having just one plant in a pot that size is wise, despite my suggestion. I would experiment, though.