Will Black Krim/Black Cherry tomatoes grow fine without a cage?
- Thread starter DasBhut
- Start date
No tomatoes need cages, etc. - being vines, they are often happiest and most productive doing what they are best at: crawling along the ground and re-rooting where they touch damp soil, constantly replacing old growth with new growth via suckers. However, as was mentioned, on the ground they are more susceptible to rotting, insect damage, and various other ailments. Add to that the fact that few of us have enough space to really let them sprawl (a large indeterminate can cover 100 square feet or more), so we resort to caging, staking, trellising to keep them manageable, off the dirt, and growing up rather than out. Just keep in mind though.....you're fighting their natural tendency.
Both of the varieties you mentioned, black cherry in particular, whose vines will top 10 or 12 feet in a long growing season, will be better suited to garden growing with some support, and don't underestimate how much support it will take - no 18" tomato cage is going to hold up a full-sized black krim. If you're going to use cages you need at least the 5 foot, heavy gauge ones. Another alternative is to set a few heavy stakes well into the ground around the plants and then tie the main stems to them to keep the bulk of the plant and fruit off the ground. If you lay down hay underneath it you can protect the fruit from some of the issues they'll have if left on bare ground and minimize some of that re-rooting action that will turn your plant into a monster.
The best solution I've found, although it is time-intensive, is to grow them up strings to a trellis 6 feet or so off the ground, then back down the other side once they top it. If you snip all suckers after they produce a few sets of branches to terminate the growing tips the plant will devote its energy to growing the main stem upwards. Once they get 5 or 6 feet tall stop pruning and let them bush-out - otherwise you'll be asking them to survive and produce fruit late in the season without any new growth and healthy young leaves to supply them with energy.
Both of the varieties you mentioned, black cherry in particular, whose vines will top 10 or 12 feet in a long growing season, will be better suited to garden growing with some support, and don't underestimate how much support it will take - no 18" tomato cage is going to hold up a full-sized black krim. If you're going to use cages you need at least the 5 foot, heavy gauge ones. Another alternative is to set a few heavy stakes well into the ground around the plants and then tie the main stems to them to keep the bulk of the plant and fruit off the ground. If you lay down hay underneath it you can protect the fruit from some of the issues they'll have if left on bare ground and minimize some of that re-rooting action that will turn your plant into a monster.
The best solution I've found, although it is time-intensive, is to grow them up strings to a trellis 6 feet or so off the ground, then back down the other side once they top it. If you snip all suckers after they produce a few sets of branches to terminate the growing tips the plant will devote its energy to growing the main stem upwards. Once they get 5 or 6 feet tall stop pruning and let them bush-out - otherwise you'll be asking them to survive and produce fruit late in the season without any new growth and healthy young leaves to supply them with energy.
Concrete reinforcing wire works well. The 4 inch squares make it easy to get any tomato out.
Black Krim and Black Cherry are some of my favorities.
+1 Concrete reinforcing wire, my favorite for cages.
+1 Concrete reinforcing wire, my favorite for cages.
I grew some black krim last season from gurneys, they all were 7 to 8 ft. tall. Staked them with cut in half 2x4's & lots of string for tying. A cage would've been much more suitable.
Enjoy the krim's, they are tasty ones
Nick
Enjoy the krim's, they are tasty ones
Nick
I will be trying the "florida weave" for the first time this year, have only used store bought cages in the past
http://www.gardendesk.com/2007/07/how-do-you-support-your-tomato-plants.html
http://www.gardendesk.com/2007/07/how-do-you-support-your-tomato-plants.html
I grew sungold and sweet baby girl cherry's last year. I used stakes and wire ties. Worked great. Plants were about 7-8' tall by the end of the year.
Yes.
Despite what everyone else has said I have grown heirlooms without cages or any kind of support. There are a lot of tomato growers who dont cage or support their plants and it works fine.
You just need more space between plants because they will take up more area and they will need more air flow.
If you want a disease
