Food-Gardening Lessons From A Wartime Victory Garden

Visit the Gro Shop! merch hat Shop Merch

Can Tomato and Watermelon Vines Be Pruned?

“I have a small plot and planted two tomato plants and several watermelon plants. As they grow I’m realizing my plot is quickly running out of space. Can tomato plants be trimmed back? Will watermelon plants take over my yard? How do I trim them back or space them out wide enough?” Question from George of Hagerstown, Maryland

Answer: Both plants can be pruned (please watch the video below about how to prune cherry tomatoes). Both indeterminate (vining) tomatoes and long-vined watermelons will completely take over a garden space in no time. Here are some solutions for managing these gregarious plants this summer and in the future.

Space-Saving Solutions for Tomatoes

  1. Choose determinate, or bush tomatoes. They stay small. The only downside is that they do not produce fruit for as long as indeterminate (vining) tomatoes. If you want more fruit, you have other options.
  2. Cage indeterminate tomatoes with tall, strong, robust cages. I recommend Titan tomato cages or any of comparable size and quality. This way, the vines will grow upright and be easier to prune.
  3. Prune indeterminate tomatoes. Please watch the video below to learn how.

Space-Saving Solutions for Watermelon

  1. Choose short-vine watermelons, such as ‘Cal Sweet Bush‘, a 2019 AAS award winner that has excellent melons and vines that do not take over.
  2. Train melons on a trellis. Small-fruited types, like ‘Little Baby Flower‘, a personal favorite, are the best for trellising.
  3. Trim back select watermelon vine branches that have outgrown their area. Keep in mind, some will need to reach a long length to properly fruit.

Watch the video below for more watermelon-growing tips.

I hope that these tips help! You may also consider enlarging your vegetable garden. Please click on this link to learn how to start a thriving vegetable garden from the start.

Happy gardening!

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

About JESSIE KEITH

Plants are the lens Jessie views the world through because they’re all-sustaining. (“They feed, clothe, house and heal us. They produce the air we breathe and even make us smell pretty.”) She’s a garden writer and photographer with degrees in both horticulture and plant biology from Purdue and Michigan State Universities. Her degrees were bolstered by internships at Longwood Gardens and the American Horticultural Society. She has since worked for many horticultural institutions and companies and now manages communications for Sun Gro Horticulture, the parent company of Black Gold. Her joy is sharing all things green and lovely with her two daughters.

Leave a Reply

Content Disclaimer:

This site may contain content (including images and articles) as well as advice, opinions and statements presented by third parties. Sun Gro does not review these materials for accuracy or reliability and does not endorse the advice, opinions, or statements that may be contained in them. Sun Gro also does not review the materials to determine if they infringe the copyright or other rights of others. These materials are available only for informational purposes and are presented “as is” without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including without limitation warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. Reliance upon any such opinion, advice, statement or other information is at your own risk. In no event shall Sun Gro Horticulture Distribution, Inc. or any of its affiliates be liable to you for any inaccuracy, error, omission, fact, infringement and the like, resulting from your use of these materials, regardless of cause, or for any damages resulting there from.