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This is the whole plant picture, I planted it outdoor in-ground. It receives full afternoon sun (1 pm - 7 pm). We have a very mild climate in CA and don't have any storms or high winds. The summer is pretty dry here and my garden is probably 3 months old. How often should I water young plants? I have roses, chrysanthemums, daisies, and geraniums.

I use tap water to water them. As for the fertilizer, I use 1 scoop of all-purpose fertilizer per gallon and pour 1 cup of the solution into the ground every week.

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I water my tomato plants 10 minutes in the morning and afternoon with a 2 gallon-per-hour drip irrigation every day, and Miracle all-purpose fertilizer once a week as an addition.

When they are small they had fruits, but I removed all of them to make them grow taller. After 2 months, they are still small, short, and looking weirdly bumpy. I try to save them by cutting the lower leaf off.

What should I do now to save them?

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    Can you show us a picture of the whole plant, too? Is this outdoors in the ground, outdoors in a container, indoors in a container, in a greenhouse in the ground, in a greenhouse in a container, or what? How much light does it have? Do you use soft water? How much fertilizer are you using per application (and are you fertilizing in the ground or via foliar spray)?
    – Brōtsyorfuzthrāx
    Commented Jul 22, 2021 at 0:45
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    Have you had any storms or high winds recently? The odds are good that you're fertilizing/watering too much, but I want to wait on your answers to my questions before I say so. Either way, I'd recommend that you stop fertilizing and unless you're in an unusual situation, or the plant is tiny and the soil dries out quickly, I'd recommend reducing watering frequency, too (every day is normally a lot for mature plants).
    – Brōtsyorfuzthrāx
    Commented Jul 22, 2021 at 2:06

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I would be more worried about the leaf curl than the bulge/bump at the petioles (the leafstalk, ie part of the leaf that connects to the stem) of pruned leaves. The stem is also very curved (bad). I can't see the growth tip in the first photo at the top--it almost looks like someone stuck a leaf in the ground, instead of a photo of a plant.

The label says you have a Better Bush and if that's the case, I would advise against pruning.

Before pruning tomatoes, you should always check whether you have a determinate or indeterminate tomato and the cultivar's growth habit. Determinate tomatoes will only grow a specific number of leaves and branches before it stops growing any more. Indeterminate tomatoes do not have a set number and will keep growing constantly.

Indeterminates must be pruned or else they go wild. Determinates should be limited in pruning, especially when they're still short.

Better Bush is a compact (2-4 ft), bushy determinate variety. Pruning it will make it grow slower and put out less fruit. Pruning all the fruit/flowers means you won't get any more! The plant is not expected to grow anymore after fruit starts forming. No growth means no more leaf nodes... so there's no spot for flower stalks to grow out.

As for how to salvage this, unfortunately you might not be able to. In the past, I have been able to force a second flush of flowers from my bushy determinate tomatoes by decreasing watering and then carefully adding a bit of high phosphorus fertilizer. But it's not guaranteed and tricky to get right.

If you're in California, you have enough time to get another plant from the nursery and still get a harvest. In the future, look up the cultivar name online and check recommendations before pruning tomatoes (especially flowers and fruit).

Hope this helps and good luck!

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