🍅 How to Prune Tomatoes to Reduce Disease Pressure

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I was out pruning my tomatoes the other day and wanted to share the why & how I do this to reduce disease pressure on my plants.

When pruning, I remove leaves that are touching the soil or hanging low enough to get hit by soil splashing up from the rain. (6–12 inches up)

𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 & 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥

Why do I do this?

𝗦𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘀

Diseases like Early Blight and Bacterial Leaf Spot actually live in the soil; if the leaves of your plant are frequently in contact with the soil, the chances of them getting a disease increase.

𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄

Pruning lower leaves opens up airflow at the base of the plant. Giving mold, mildew, and bacteria far less opportunity to take hold.

⚠️ 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆. 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲. 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁.

When you make a cut, you're creating an open wound. If your shears just touched a diseased leaf on the plant next to it, you're delivering disease directly into a fresh cut.

My go-to method for sanitizing: spritz your sheers with 70% isopropyl alcohol using a spray bottle between each plant.

Bonus tip: Try to prune when leaves are dry. Wet conditions make it even easier for disease to spread.

🍅 So, did you know this? Do you do this?

P.S. Want more info on tomato pruning? We covered the why & how of when to prune (and when NOT to prune) in last week's workshop! Find the recording & recap notes here: #Pruning Tomatoes + May 22nd, 2026 Q&A

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