M y parents operated nursing homes so when I was a kid I grew up with hundreds of extra grandparents, many of whom tended gardens all their lives. We had a large garden on premises for residents interested in keeping their green thumbs active. We started plants indoors in spring to bring a lively green contrast to the cold white snow just outside the windows. I remember Mrs. L., a lady who came from Eastern Europe whose accent gave poetic charm to her words. Every summer she would invest hundreds of hours in the garden. Tomato plants were her favorite. Daily during the growing season, Mrs. L would bend down to inspect each plant. She looked for young shoots growing from the middle of the “Y” from two branches. “Vee moost ket rit uv ta sukurz!” she would exclaim. At first I was not sure what she was saying but eventually figured out she was referring to little extra branches as “suckers.” She gave the tomato plants plenty of attention, and those tomato plants grew delicious tomatoes. Today when I see a tomato plant I can almost hear Mrs. L. talking about the suckers.

Because a healthy diet is connected to mental health I am interested in learning new and easier ways folks can consume fruits and vegetables and be more active, so I was happy this spring to discover Osma Acres Farm past Oscar on the Houghton Canal Road near Houghton, a local farm that grows and sells produce like tomatoes to the public. The farm also accepts Bridge cards and extends food credit to folks who wish to do chores at the farm, which is especially useful for folks on little income who receive supplemental nutrition assistance who want to include affordable fresh produce in their diet while getting some exercise. Farm manager Billy Lell and his wife Judy gave me a tour in late spring. I was delighted to see their young tomato plants growing in a new hoop house but I wondered why each had fewer leaves than tomato plants I knew about, so I asked Billy about his strategy. Billy explained it is good practice to remove the suckers, and then he told me another thing he does that I had not heard of doing to a tomato plant.

Billy not only removes the suckers, but as a young plant begins to blossom, Billy removes every bloomless branch except for two or three branches of leaves at the top of the plant. The pruned plants look rather bare without much foliage. He says getting rid of the extra non-fruitful branches lets more air circulate around the plant and more energy to be directed to fruit production. A few days ago Billy sent me an email with photos of the maturing plants, which he said are ready for first harvest. I looked at the photos of the plants, which now have thick stalks loaded with delicious, red, ripe tomatoes. The only leaves are those at the top of each plant. The non-blossoming branch pruning method is obviously effective, and I also see success using this technique with tomato plants at home.

Our health relies on good surroundings and how well we manage our lives. If we purposely live in a healthy situation we improve our chances to be healthy. Like Billy and Judy’s tomato plants, we do best with a good place to live, fresh air, clean water, and healthy nutrients. Like tomato plants our wellness depends on making good choices, and like Billy and Judy’s tomato plants it can help us to remove the unfruitful branches sapping our energy that add little or no value. The fruitless branches on a tomato plant are suckers or branches of foliage with no blossoms. Such branches for humans might be spending time around selfish or negative people, practicing unhealthy habits, or consuming television programs that do little else than stir people up. Unnecessary branches are essentially investments of time and effort with a poor rate of return. Taking action to remove those branches from our lives lets us direct our limited supply of resources to supporting values that matter most to us.

Use caution, though, before launching into serious branch-cutting. Remember that a healthy productive tomato plant keeps a few fruitless branches at the top. Also important is for people to prioritize things like play, fun, healthy eating, rest and relaxation, all of which can restore energy. The Upper Peninsula in summer is a wonderful place to find and eat local fruit and vegetables grown in a little garden or at local farms, and to be physically active and have fun.

Brian D Rendel, MA, LLP, LPC, NCC is a licensed professional counselor assigned to training and prevention at Copper Country Mental Health Institute in Houghton.