Pruning & Trellising

Pruning is a gardening practise where one selectively removes parts of a plant – usually the branches, buds, or roots. It's done to improve air circulation, train a plant to grow a certain way, improve the yield and quality of vegetables and herbs, or remove dead or damaged sections.
 

Before pruning

Immediately after pruning

3-Weeks after pruning

Pruning methods vary depending on the vegetable or herb being pruned. Hence, I have set out the specific pruning methods of the vegetables and herbs I planted in the vegetable and herb sections. My experience indicates that pruning vegetables and herbs is an essential component of the art of growing vegetables and herbs in a small home garden.

Generally, vegetable and herb pruning is somewhat controversial. Some gardeners believe that selectively snipping tomato, squash, pepper, and cucumber plants increase yields and make the vegetables bigger and tastier. Others argue pruning vegetable plants is a waste of time. For this reason, I have included some of the documented research results and ideas on aspects of pruning in relevant sections. 

However, the proof of the pudding is in the eating! 

My goal is to continue experimenting and trying different methods to find what works best in my small garden, particularly yield size, taste and appearance.