What to Do With Tomato Plants After the Final Harvest

After the final harvest, remove tomato vines, fallen fruit, and diseased debris rather than leaving everything until spring. Clean supports and note where tomatoes grew before putting the garden to bed. J.J. Gouin/Shutterstock

That last tomato may be off the vine, but your tomato season isn’t quite finished. What you do with those tired, brown plants now can affect disease pressure, garden cleanup, and even where you should plant next year’s crop. Simply leaving old vines sprawled across the bed until spring may allow infected plant debris to remain exactly where you don’t want it. A few smart steps for tomato plant cleanup can also turn healthy material into compost and save reusable cages and stakes for another season. Before you yank everything out and walk away, take a closer look at what you’re actually removing.

Harvest Every Usable Tomato Before a Killing Freeze