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Beyond Tomato Cages: Customer Tomato Support TechniquesWhen we asked people how they support their tomatoes, we learned that most people construct Tomato Cages out of the wire mesh used for reinforcing concrete. Also popular are store-bought tomato cages and stakes made from a variety of materials ... from bamboo to metal. Read what some of your fellow gardeners shared with us.
For staking up our tomatoes we use a section of picket fence, it works well. When the tomatoes start growing tall we use twine to tie them to the fence. It works for us!
Anything than the rather flimsy standard Tomato Cages that are so impossible to store neatly and safely out of season. My current favorites are heavy-duty circular cages ( same diameter all the way up) that collapse flat when not in use and tomato spirals. The cages were expensive (about $15 each) so we don't have many but they are an absolute joy.
I use square Tomato Cages. I love them because they fold flat and make for easy storage. They also do a great job of keeping the tomatoes upright and make for easy picking.
Believe it or not, I use metal stakes that rust! The rust from he metal provides minerals to the tomatoes. They love it!
I use two 4 x 8 foot lengths of vinyl covered fencing with 2" square holes. I suspend the wire horizontally and attach it to bamboo stakes. the beds are raised. The tomatoes grow up through the holes and make a canopy of tomatoes. the first length of wire is 3 feet high and the second in 6 feet high. Very effective. No staking is necessary.
I have been using Tomato Cages made from concrete reinforcing wire mesh that has about 5 inch openings and is about 4 feet high. I have been able to acquire it at no cost as leftovers from construction projects. I form the length of reinforcing mesh into a circle about 2 feet in diameter, join it together with heavy wire to make a cylinder. Works like charm and lasts for years. With this sturdy tomato cage you just plant your tomato, mulch, put the wire cage over the plant and forget the work and enjoy the picking. The wire mesh is sturdy and the holes big enough to easily get your hand through to pick. note: you must cut off the lower wire at the end of the cylinder so the points can be pushed into the soil.
To reinforce my tomatoes I use the heavy-duty concrete reinforcement wire. I bend it into 2 1/2 foot across circles and use wire to secure the ends together. Then I use wooden stakes hammered into the ground and wired to them to keep them upright. I have been using the same ones for 5 years now, they are the best!!
I use the foldable, square, wire cages that Burpee sells. I've seen others similar, but Burpee sells ones with the largest gauge wire. They are pricey, but I have used them for over six years and they haven't rusted.
Because I live in the northeast and our season isn't the longest, I use a two-stake method of supporting my tomatoes. One stake is for the main stem whish I tie up with cotton twine, and the second stake is for the sucker directly under the first set of flowers. This sucker will develop into another sturdy stem like the first one. The stakes are placed on opposite sides of the plant. Any other suckers should be pinched out. Because I limit the plant to only two stems many more fruit ripen and I'm not left with alot of green tomatoes at the end of the season.
We use 16' long cattle panels that are arched from one 42" wide raised bed to the next bed. They are either anchored with electric fence posts or steel fence posts (depending on the width of the panels) OR they are welded to permanent tubular steel frames to form 7' tall arches. The tomatoes are supported on the panels and tied as required to grow up and over the beds and the path between the beds. The ripening tomatoes hang down below the panel arches for easy picking from the path and the vines provide late summer shade and cooling for other crops like spinach, lettuce, and broccoli in the beds below.
I use concrete reinforcing wire mesh; 5ft tall 3ft diameter is about right for the heirloom tomatoes I plant. A smaller diameter would work for the smaller hybridized plant
I use old broken rake or hoe handles, even worn out broom handles. Pound them in the ground next to the growing tomato plant, then gently tie the plant to the stake with worn out bed linens torn in strips. These are soft and gentle for the plant.
I take thin plastic clothesline and tie knots in it about six inches apart and then string this up to an overhead support. As the plants grow I simply tie them to the line.(Knots prevent ties from slipping down)
I use traditional Tomato Cages. As the tomatoes out grow the cage, I use old torn pantyhose to suspend the tomato plants so they don't touch the ground.
I use two methods depending upon the growth of the plant. For many I will use simple staking. For monster plants I will take a length of chicken wire and wrap each end around a stake and place it near either one or two plants. The wire at the proper distance offers fine support and I can snip the wire to either create better access to the plant or to help the growth of the plant. So far so good.
I grow my tomatoes in cages 5' in diameter and 7' tall. I made them from 6" square reinforcing wire used in the construction of driveways. The wire comes in a roll 5' tall and 50' long. I would roll out seven feet and then roll the cages the other way.
I have typically used the round cages, with three or four "legs" that stick in the ground, supported by a stake driven into the ground through the top round hoop, but this year I am trying some collapsible three-sided cages which may be put around a growing tomato. I believe I am going to like them better than the round ones, as they appear to be more stable, without the need to add an additional support stake. We'll see.
I use 4 feet white cedar stakes.
I use 6-foot metal fence posts. Purchased at my local farm supply store.
We make our Tomato Cages out of concrete reinforcement wire. Much sturdier than regular tomato cages.
Bamboo stakes.
I use those circular hoop things with three or four 18" prongs that go into the ground. The hoops encircle the plant. I have 8 of them, most of which of I got at a garage sale.
Mine are all grown in containers, which makes supporting them more important. In the past I have used single stakes, 2 in a container with ropes strung between them like a trellis. This year, I switched to your Tomato Ladders, and so far all is looking great. I just keep pushing the errant growth inside the ladder. I'm hopeful that I won't be worrying about support when the fruit starts to set.
To stake my tomatoes, I buy 10 foot electrical conduit and cut it in half to make two five foot sections. Some of the conduit I have is on its 8th season.
I use cut down tree saplings from my clean-up jobs. Usually maples, cherry, and support/tie the tomatoes to these and use them for my pole beans as well.
To support my tomato plants I use old nylon stockings, cut into strips. They don't damage the stalk and they stretch as the plant grows.
We use 6x6 60-inch high concrete reinforcing wire cut into 48-inch lengths and coiled to make a cage. This is held upright in the wind by a five-foot steel post. Works well with peppers also using just half the height. Mom uses different lengths and heights for her flowers and plants also. Yours for better gardening.
I have tried many different ways to support my tomatoes and have always come back to 6 ft stakes sunk 1 ft into the soil with 1" strips of sheeting looped around the stake and tied tightly the looped around the stalk of the tomato and tied loosely (approximately 1 1/2" to 2" loop).
With cages made from discarded wooden pallets collected from various businesses.
I "house" them in "tomato skyscrapers" made from concrete mesh, and they are 6 feet high.
I use Tomato Cages and bamboo stacks with clips in combination. This seems to do the job quite effectively.
Nylons with 3 stakes around plant. Stems do not break or get damaged. A 4ft fan trellis which holds tomatoes upright and then droops through slots.
I use 5-ft cages to corral my tomatoes. The indeterminate varieties are so large that this is what I need. I've tried folding, etc and they all fell down. I am skeptical as to your claims for any other. Even though I live in Michigan, Zone 5/6, my plants do grow large. I am always looking for a new system.
I use the folding cages that stack on top of each other. They are the only thing I have found that is tall enough.
In the past I have had bad luck in with the standard thin wire tomato cages so readily available everywhere. I have needed to use grade stakes pounded in and tied to the cages to keep my tomatoes from toppling them as the summer progressed. This year I have the tomato ladders and I think a tree could fall on these and they'd still stand! The 14" of stakes going into the ground makes these very rigid. I am very impressed and looking forward to solid support for my tomatoes for the first time. I also purchased 2 of the beautiful wooden tomato cages to see how well they worked. But after seeing how pretty the tomato ladders are, I may just buy more of those.
I use a round teepee made of metal because it fits into the earthboxes where I grow my tomatoes.
Two pieces of long rebar with two 90-degree bends. Put them together to resemble a tent, push the ends into the ground and you have a very stout support. Also if you drape wire or twine over the "tent", you have a great bean or cucumber trellis.
I trellis all my tomatoes except to smallest, grape and cherry tomatoes. I looks a little like tomato vine walls in the garden.
I use a untreated 1 1/2"x1 1/2"x8'-0" long wood stake, then I wrap the seedling and stake w/a three sided wire cages. I use old panty hose to tie the center stock to the wood stake. This year I am using your red mulch and hoping for a bumper crop.
I now use a single wood pole as a stake tying the plant to the stake. Quit using cages because of the problems with reaching inside to get all of the tomatoes and cleaning out the dead greenery at the end of the year.
This year I purchased your spiral stakes. So far, with a little assistance, they are climbing beautifully. I am removing all suckers. Next to them I am using the traditional cages. It will be interesting to see how each produces. No tomatoes yet but anticipating a good crop.
This year I'm trying the spiral metal stakes. In previous years we have used cages - found it hard to harvest through them; wooden stakes - the ground here is extremely rocky and getting one of the stakes in deep enough was too much work. The metal stakes went in much easier, but I'll be curious to see if they are sturdy enough and tall enough.
I use your Square Tomato Cages that fits perfectly with your square planter . I have 6 plants in it & they are up to the top now. I will put my other one on top soon. I expect lots of tomatoes. Great invention. Wish I'd thought of it !!!
I make cages out of construction wire, five ft. tall, 2 1/2 ft. dia., with 4 in. spaces between the wires. These are big enough to accommodate a vigorous tomato plant all summer long; and the large spaces make it easy to pick the fruit and groom the plant.
I use a pyramidal series of 3 7' tall stakes tied at the top. on each leg grows a viney tomato, not a bushy type.
My husband, Rino, and I first double-dig a wide row and then run cattle panel supported by t-posts down the middle of the row. The tomatoes are then planted on either side of panel and tied. When tomatoes are ripe, they can be easily reached and they never touch the ground.
I use old fiberglass halibut fishing poles as the support brackets. Then I use fishing net (gill net) draped between the poles, or hanging from the ceiling joists in my greenhouse to tie up my plants. Since I live in a fishing community, these items are not hard to come by.
My tomatoes start out as small transplants supported by the inexpensive tomato rings sold just about everywhere. When they start to grow to about two feet tall we pound in six-foot heavy duty steel posts between plants so that each post will support two cages and two plants. The cages are made from rolls of tomato cage wire and are 4-1/2' tall and varied diameters (for easier storage). This system provides the necessary support for heavy crops and easy picking come harvest time. Here in Iowa it is not a good idea to pinch off the extra shoots as we need plenty of foliage to shade the tomatoes from the hot sun come July and August. Am sure looking forward to those delicious homegrown fruits!
I built my own Tomato Cages using 3/8-inch re/rod two years ago. Since then have built 6 more for friends. The cages measure 14 inches square and are 36 inches tall. Will hold up in the worst of weather.
I use thin bamboo stakes I purchased at my local True Value store. This will be my first time using them so I don't know if they will last beyond this season, but I hope they do. Granted, they were not expensive (24 stakes about 3 ft long for about $2.75) but I would prefer to recycle them than have to buy new every season.
I use both traditional cages, stakes, and homemade cages, depending on what type of tomato I'm growing. The homemade cages are made from construction wire with 4" openings so there's plenty of room to pick the tomatoes. These are 5 feet tall and particularly good for indeterminate tomato plants.
While I have a few metal tomato cages (years and years old), I frequently have more tomatoes (and lemon cucumbers and other such plants) in the garden that need support or restraint. Since I have bamboo growing along the south side of my yard (it makes a perfect privacy fence, saving me from seeing the neighboring rent-house yard and also provides home to a colony of Cardinals), I use the bamboo, cutting canes as needed, trimming the branches with pruning shears but leaving a bit of a stem at each section. Not smooth canes, you understand. This makes it easier to work with them. For climbing plants, I make a teepee; the plants use the stem-stubs for support. For tomatoes, I sink 4 to 6 poles around the area I designate for the plant, and, using the stem-stubs to help keep the coarse cotton string where I want it to be, make a "cage" by running the string around the poles. Works for me! Of course, it helps that the bamboo is right there in the yard just waiting for me to do something with it.
To stake tomatoes, I use bamboo poles (6'), or 1"x2"x10'wooden poles, or metal plant towers (small and large). Never underestimate how tall a tomato plant can get or you'll be sorry.
A gardening friend once showed me her Tomato Table, which is all I use now. This is a homemade frame of 2'" x 2" wood with four wooden legs made just larger than my tomato patch. (Mine is 4' x 7') The frame has holes drilled 4" - 5" apart evenly all the way around. After tying wire off in strips length wise, weave wire up and down width wise tying through holes. After planting, hammer table legs securely in the ground so that tabletop (wire weaving) is about 12" above ground. Tomatoes naturally grow through the tabletop and when they get to heavy they fall right on top of table leaving all of your tomatoes ready to harvest without rabbits, groundhogs or pets attacking the fruit. No staking, adjusting or worrying. And you can reuse your table every year.
I have placed 8' X 4" X 4" treated timbers two feet into the ground (cemented) at each end of my approximately 15' raised beds (two, parallel). Around each set of posts (from one end to the other) is tied four lengths of ¼" line which obviously is adjustable to any desired height. Around each line I've placed several loops created from the same ¼" line by cutting approximately 10" lengths and *carefully* melting the ends together *after* forming the loop around the main line. Thus I have created support for the plant(s) in all directions. An additional benefit is that the entire setup can be left on throughout the seasons, ready for the next planting. Lastly, I've stretched a drip-type hose from post to post to post to post (four tops), attached with small hose clamps. This makes for great controlled irrigation. I used to use "hogwire" fencing (varied spacing starting with narrow at the bottom to widest at the top) which creates, in my opinion, a perfect tomato cage. Unfortunately this product has become prohibitively expensive for this usage.
I user the large obelisk's that I purchased from you several years ago. They can hold the weight of the plants and they look great in the back yard.
After years of using wood stakes that sometimes never got to their destination, and metal cages that never worked well for me, I started using an 2 old metal sheep gates which fits perfectly in my raised beds. I use a few cedar posts to anchor it and then tie the tomatoes to it as they grow. I also tend to prune them so that they don't get out of control. I often grow a climbing flower like morning glories on either end for interest and it's great for cucumbers in a limited space.
I use cane poles. I grow cane as another landscape plant and cut them to length and pound 4 into the ground around each tomato plant, tie them together at the top with panty hose, they look like little TP's. Then tie up as tomato gets taller with old panty Hose. Bird's love to perch on top of teepees. When gardening season is over, I can just throw everything away and start fresh next year.
Our tomato cages are homemade. They are made from concrete reinforcement rod. They are about 4' tall I would say and are at least a foot and a half across. They are set over the tomato plant and then a steel post is driven in the ground beside them and wired to the cage. Because we live on a farm and can have all kinds of critters moving through the garden both 2 legged and 4 legged they have to be well supported. Before the end of the growing period they are out of the top of the cage. It makes it easy to reach in and pick the tomatoes and yet keeps them out of the reach of animals wishing a taste! This year we have added your waterers, which just arrived. Now we are ready for the bacon and tomato sandwiches!
I use sections of Giant Reed to support my 'maters. Giant Reed is a noxious, invasive plant here in Arizona, as well as in other areas. It is a bamboo that spreads like mad. Instead of just cutting it down, disposing of it, or burning it, we try to put it to use instead. We don't allow it to spread and are thinning it back and planting other native species instead. But, we use it for other things like fishing pole for grandkids, pea-poles, and tomato supports. I don't waste wood for poles and when they decompose, I just use them as mulch. The birds like to use them for observation points in the garden for bugs too.
I got sick and tired of looking for stakes every year for my tomatoes. The wooden ones rotted away. I had a brainstorm of an idea and it has been working for me. I purchased some PVC pipe 3/4 inch, 10-foot lengths. They were cut into 7-foot lengths. I also got some wooden dowels that fit exactly into these pipes. I pounded the dowels into the pipes, cemented caps on both ends, and I ended up with material that will never rot, will always be straight, and will look good forever. The first year I used them, there was a little problem. The ties I used would slip down because the pipes are so smooth. This was corrected the second year when I cut some PVC couplings in half and cemented them to the pipes at 8-inch intervals from the top to within 2 feet of the bottom. Now there was something to support the ties. It was a little pricey, but it is a permanent solution, and considering how long they will last, I believe it to be an excellent investment. Hope this helps somebody.
I drive a metal fence post in to the ground and attach 4 3.5 ft circular tubes of concrete reinforcing wire around it and put a tomato plant in the center of each of the tubes. then I wire them all together so when they are so full of tomatoes they don't fall or blow over. The poles are about 8 ft on center in a grid with squash, cantelope and watermelon interplanted.
I stake my tomatoes with plastic coated steel-coated rods five and six feet tall. I then use heavy-duty cages for additional support. I prune off the lower branches as the plants grow to keep the diseases down. I also mulch the roots. Most years this method works pretty well.
I drive a 6 foot metal pole every 3rd plant and do the California weave with grass string or nylon string. That is weaving between each plant then around the pole to the end of the row and then working back the opposite direction. You have to go back and tighten the supports before you tie it off at the end. I try to start when the plants are about 18 inches tall and then repeat every 10 to 12 inches until the tomatoes reach maximum height or top the poles. You have to be persistent or the tomatoes will get ahead of you in a hurry.
I use a homemade trellis of branches and twine propped against the house next to my kitchen backdoor. It looks beautiful and blends with the woodland which is our backyard.
I give them an allowance and a curfew and also support their babies.
Wow! What a perfect question for me! I'm growing 2 cherry tomato plants on an upstairs balcony patio. To not only hold them up, but to also keep them from spreading everywhere, I have planted them in a large pot and placed it on a wire topiary stand that is shaped like a cat meant for training shrubs to look like animals. It works perfectly and makes a wonderful decorative touch. Regina, Pasadena, MD I use wood lattice (the ones used for fences) to support my tomatoes (I stained them to match the fence around my back patio).
I use your bamboo poles. Not only do they look visually pleasing, but they are sturdy enough to hold the most vigorous tomato plants.
Gardener's Supply folding tomato cages! They are wonderful. They are sturdy, do not bend, fold flat for winter storage. What more can you ask for. Grand!
I stake my tomatoes to a chicken wire fence as they grow I keep holding them up with garden Velcro to the fence.
In our container garden, my yellow-pear tomatoes are supported by wire coathangers that have been twisted into spirals -- works perfectly!
I use a lattice made of metal fence posts with bamboo lashed across them. The Lattice provides many points to tie the plants.
I moonlight as a bartender.
I've trellised tomatoes for years, especially since I plant mainly heirloom varieties that can grow to 8' or more in a season. I've used vertical cedar trellis panels spanned across my 4' wide raised beds, "tomato towers" constructed of cedar that were two feet on each side to support 4 plants, and currently have trellises on my south house wall, supporting two tomato vines on each 4' panel. I get the extra benefit of heat radiated back from the brick siding and some protection from early frost.
I send money once a month, due to a short growing season.
Bamboo grows "wild" in my yard. (It came from a neighbor's yard - who years ago planted it to grow his own fishing poles -and has run underground throughout our neighborhood - sort of like kudzu.) I cut the bamboo when it gets to be about 6 feet tall and dry it for at least 1 season - to assure it won't "root" in my container gardens and use it to make tripods and support my tomatoes by tying them to the bamboo tripods with old panty hose legs, or old knee-hi's.
I inherited a stand of bamboo that has to be cut down every year, so I use bamboo for many purposes. I fashion a box-like bamboo frame using 8 pieces 3ft in length square bashed (with string, old nylon pantyhose or other material) to 12 2ft long pieces. Size your box frame to fit your specific needs. The box can sit on top of, or an inch or so into, the soil. Another option is to create a teepee from 8 or so pieces of bamboo bound together about 3 inches from the top and then 2 or 3 rings of string at intervals below. Bamboo makes a neat trellis for roses or numerous other plants Hope these suggestions of helpful.
I support my tomatoes by telling them how beautiful they are. Ha! I know that's not the type of answer you're looking for. I use bamboo and hemp twine. In my 4' x 6' raised beds, I set out twelve tomato plants one foot in from each side, and one foot apart in the row, so that essentially there is an inner 3' x 5' grid of plants. I know that this is closer than recommended spacing, but with the richness of my soil, and the fact that I prune each plant to two main upright vines, it works fine. I then put four beefy 8' bamboo poles (obtained at the Outlet) in line with the long rows, and sink them in so that there is about six and a half feet of pole remaining. At the top, I lash a rectangular frame of smaller bamboo poles so that there is a horizontal pole over each line of the plant grid. >From those horizontal poles, I then take a long string of heavy hemp twine (of course purchased from Gardener's), and tie a loose loop around the bottom of each stem and then an adjustable two-and-a-half hitch knot at the top. This way, there is plenty of room for the stem to get fat, and at the top I can easily adjust for tension and support. As the vines grow, I spiral the stem around the vertical twine. I believe Shep Ogden described this system in one of his books. The result is fewer tomatoes that caging or allowing them to run, but bigger and cleaner fruit. Since I grow two plants each of 16 varieties of indeterminates in raised beds, I need maximum vertical space, and this works well. The bamboo is reusable, and even the hemp will last two or three seasons. After the frost, it's easy to take the whole system apart and store it for next year.
I am growing tomato plants on my balcony, so I had planned to just tie them to the balcony fencing with twine. However, to my surprise, my tomato plants are now over four feet tall and I have to find something taller to tie them to!
Sometimes I resort to regular wire tomato cages, but as long as I have time I prefer something different. I pare down and sharpen the ends of the branches that have fallen from trees during storms and use those to hold up my plants, be they tomatoes or dahlias. Living in the suburbs we don't really have a way of disposing of the sticks--so I learned to use the green twist tie-type ties that come in the handy cutting-dispenser and the sticks in our yard to fashion my own tomato tripods. That way I'm eliminating two problems at once. The rest of the sticks are used to line the bottom of my compost pile, or make holders for my soda can whirly-birds.
My vegetable garden is grown to produce food not to "look pretty". To support tomatoes post are set in the ground every 4 feet or so and 3 rows of wire (top, middle, bottom) are run. Each end of the row is secured to the ground with a pipe stake. As the tomatoes grow they are tied to the wire. The top wire is about 5' from the ground and the plants are trimmed to keep them within a couple of inches just beyond the top wire row.
I have a web of interlocking bamboo slats suspended between bamboo poles, after the season I return it to the jungle to decompose.
I use used cattle panels. I bend the ends (about 2 feet) down to make a " U " shape and place the panels horizontally with the ends resting on the ground. You can buy new ones but many are available at farm sales. They come in 4 or 5 foot wide by l6 foot long. They are galvanized and last for years. I plant two rows of tomatoes under the panels and tie my plants to the panel. On 16-foot panels you may have to support the panel in the middle with stakes. I let he tomatoes grow up through the panels and then lay over on the panel where they will then hang back down making them easy to pick. If you mulch your tomatoes and water with drip irrigation you will only have to tie them up once. I sucker them until they grow through the panels and then leave all suckers grow. I mulch with alfalfa baled hay which I get from farmers when it gets rained on at a cheep price.
I set my tomato plant close to my chain link fence and tie them to the fence with old nylon hose. Do not set them near a fence by the house or any structure that has exterminated for insects. Sherrie Poplar Grove, IL What do I use to support my tomatoes? TTSG = Tomato Therapy Support Group. In TTSG tomatoes learn to hold their heads up proudly and high, to ripen early and show their true colors, to search deeply within themselves and let their best flavor come forth. No more downcast vines groveling in the mud . . . ok ok . . . seriously. I found most store-bought tomato cages are too short for my indeterminate vines and other fencing can be too expensive so we bought fencing stakes and weave string around them to make a whole row of tomato supports. Last year I used garden twine and it wasn't strong enough to last the entire season - nylon twine works much better. We also use plastic mulch under the tomato plants. The stakes and string create a box so the tomato plants can grow up the several rows of string on either side. Additional ties may be necessary to help hold and train the vines and we try to keep the suckers pinched off. I grew the heirloom variety "mortgage lifter" last year and had some real beauts with some tomatoes larger than my hand! There were a few with some odd shapes to them and a variety of sizes but over all I was very pleased with this variety.
Alder branches. I trim my many alder trees each spring and stick three branches around the edges of the large pots in which I grow tomatoes on my seaside deck. I weave side branches from the three main branches around to the sides. I pull the tops of the branches over into an arch and wrap the pliable ends around and around other branches. I let the branch shapes guide me as I twist together branches into a sturdy structure. I end up with unique alder tomato "cages". These supports work for peas, beans, nasturtiums, cucumbers and just about everything. In the fall, I pull the alder cages and break them up for kindling.
An 8' Arched Trellis (Assembled Dimensions: 8'H, 4'9"W,x 15"D) This Arch will handled two tomato plants. In the inside area of the arch you can place (2) ladders with a plant in each ladder cage. It may seem like it is repetitive but you have a number of places that you can anchor your plants to as well as being able to keep them up off of the ground. You have a place from the top of the arch to tie twine to. In essence it makes for an attractive T-Pee and the outside of the trellis can be used to support something else in your garden. Since tomatoes and peppers like each other I have peppers on each side of my trellis.
Alimony from my ex-husband(heh heh heh) -- plus your tomato supports, of course.
I let them support each other
I live on the top of a small knoll and my garden is subject to almost constant "breezes" with gusts up to 30 mph! For years I worked with metal stakes that I drove into the soil in the spring and tied my tomatoes to. The ties slipped the tomatoes heeled over and by August, it looked like a high wind had hurled all my plants to the ground. But that all changed when we got an acre of our yard fenced and the dog pen was up for grabs. The sections of the kennel were 5 feet long and 3 feet high. My husband and I used the metal stakes to hold the sections up and tied them together with plastic wire ties. For the most part, it was heaven! The only downer was the wind periodically turned the tomatoes tied onto the fence sections into sails! When my garden expanded a couple of years ago, we kept our eye on the local paper and picked up a chain link kennel for very little money. These sections were 5 feet high and 6 feet long and were anchored to the post and rail fence at the back of my garden. This year, Pat (my husband) solved the sailing tomato problem. He went to the local feed store and bought three fence sections that are 8 feet high and 10 feet long (still lightweight enough for me to move) and used them to create a freestanding tee. He then linked 6 sections of fence perpendicular to the large "T". The wind could probably hit 50mph and the fence sections would not move. Next year, all we have to do is flip the structure and plant, again!
By hanging your tomato plant upside down. Drill or cut a hole large enough for the roots in a container you can hang. (Bottom center) Put tomato plant from roots through hole in bottom of pot so tomato leaves are hanging out bottom. Fill with soil to hold roots in pot. The large opening at top of container is great for watering & don't have to support stems or branches because the tomato plant just hangs there. And there's always moisture to the tips of the vine. Tried it for the first time last year (2001) & had fantastic results.
I use a method I observed my father using when I was a child. I believe he saw it first in Germany. I space my plants 4 ft. apart due to high humidity we have in the south that seems to support more fungal diseases. Then I drive 6-ft. steel t-post in-between each tomato plant in the row. Using garden twine or thin nylon twine I tie off on the first post and string to the next post wrapping the twine around each post several times as I go. I do this along the row on each side of the plant. As the plants grow I continue to run string along the posts about every 6 inches or so. Here in the Deep South my tomato plants grow very bushy, from 4 to 6 ft in width and anywhere from 8 to 12 ft high or more if I keep extending the poles and tying them up. String up the plants makes picking a breeze, especially if you grow large fruit varieties. Another neat thing about this system is it is easy to tuck the side growing branches back in behind the string. At the end of the season you can save the string and reuse it. The steel t-posts last for years and years. No more struggling to pick through wire cages either.
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