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Support pole/stick or plant prop? Crutch or Not?

WalkGood

WalkGood

I’d like to hear others opinions … I read recommendations in different threads that one should insert a stick or bamboo pole next to your plant in order to tie it up. I’m assuming this is to protect it from wind, heavy rain and/or hail as a support. This morning I even saw pictures of little 3 or 4" plants tied to a identification tag ...

Now I’m no expert, that’s why I came here to THP to learn more … I’ve been growing peppers for over 17 years and have never done this. Have I ever lost a few babies, of course I have. But it’s always been my belief that if I allow a plants to grow without a crutch their stalk and roots become a stronger support system. This year we had a lot of heavy storms, even near miss hurricanes and loads of thick rain and IIRC I only lost 2 or 3 babies. All my large plants made it thru all this and IMO are stronger for it. I probably could have saved the few babies I lost if I had brought them in but I wasn't around at the time.

Now I could be wrong, but I believe my plants have a very strong lower support system because I don’t give them a crutch. Sure they bend back and forth some with the wind and rain, but my larger plants are strong as a mules :D So what is your opinion and why? And am I wrong in my beliefs/opinion?

BTW I can understand this procedure for a commercial venture as you want to lose as little as possible or its cash up in smoke, for me peppers are for my family & friends :) but that said, I've lost very little ... now losing to bugs and pests are another thing ...
 
2 years ago I put in a bamboo pole for each plant and ended up tying very few. This year I put in a few for select plants that were having issues. My Jimmy Nardellos on the other hand always get a bamboo pole because they get top heavy when fruiting.
 
i use 2.5' tomato and pepper cages once they get a certain height so the wind can't snap the main stem(my garden is in the south east corner of a 20 acre field and it creates a funnel and swirling effect since there's a tree line of willow oaks) not a single plant broke from the 90mph sustained winds from the derecho that came through. the gusts were so high that my weather station read 239mph in error. sometimes i'll weave the branches up in a walkway but that's about it.
I grew a Hot Lemon plant this year and it was like a weeping willow pepper tree... it was 6' standing up but it bent over the tops of the cage and touched the ground because it was so heavy with peppers. i tried tying it to a green garden pole because it was taking up a huge part of my walkway and it dropped tons of green pods and leaves; definitely didn't like that too much. I think i'm just going to stick to the cages. they've also helped serve as a place for morning glories and viny weeds to grow instead of up my peppers and possibly damaging them before i can spot and remove 'em
 
I grew in 5 gal buckets and used 1"x2" furring strips ripped to 1"x1" x 32" long.
I secured the pepper plants with loose loops of butcher twine.[if needed]
This helped giving more plant support while moving buckets.
Bucket mobility was an advantage in protection from hail storms and in giving more shade during
the brutal heat of this summer.
My Manzanos and the Lemon Drops definitely needed the support, some Bhuts benefited
being very tall when the late canopy was full of pods.
The Trinidads grew very thick trunks not needing stakes.
 
It is easier to do it early rather than late. I am more concerned with supporting the side branches of c.chinense, not the main stem. Most of my main stems get as round as a roll of quarters. Later in the year when the upper branches get loaded up with pods,it is nice to be able to tie off to something.
 
it's whatever suits how you grow, i mean i tied my tomatoes to the fence and wove them together so they'd support each other, some ended up getting 12-15'long
 
Pr0digal_son said:
It is easier to do it early rather than late. I am more concerned with supporting the side branches of c.chinense, not the main stem. Most of my main stems get as round as a roll of quarters. Later in the year when the upper branches get loaded up with pods,it is nice to be able to tie off to something.
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Good point, I have had some upper branches droop too much, although none have broken off yet. I might give this a try on my largest plant, it's been living long time now and even though it looks great it couldn't hurt to help the upper branches.

Yumyumyellow said:
it's whatever suits how you grow, i mean i tied my tomatoes to the fence and wove them together so they'd support each other, some ended up getting 12-15'long
Click to expand...
I too will tie my tomatoes to a fence, although they're not large enough yet, thanks for the reminder ...

Edit: Thanks all for replies :)
 
With the exception of the smaller ornamental plants, I stake all the other pepper plants. As Brian said with the top heavy producing plants there needs to be support to prevent the branches from cracking. Here in Chicago the spring winds can be brutal even with the young plants. I have alot of smaller laterial growing plants under 4ft such as the Scotch Bonnets and certain Hab varieties. Although those plants grow shrublike I like to support the loaded down laterial branches, even if its from a stake from an adjacent plant. The plants at some point begin to interweave and support each other. On the other hand, the India and Trinidad plants can become pretty tall 6/7 ft. Tying up the branches not only keeps the garden looking organized but also helps the sunlight penetrate into the lower canopy of the plant. Some folks let the plants sprawl but letting the leaves or fruit drag in the dirt can cause viral and bacterial problems. Stake'em if you have'em...
 
PIC 1 said:
With the exception of the smaller ornamental plants, I stake all the other pepper plants. As Brian said with the top heavy producing plants there needs to be support to prevent the branches from cracking. Here in Chicago the spring winds can be brutal even with the young plants. I have alot of smaller laterial growing plants under 4ft such as the Scotch Bonnets and certain Hab varieties. Although those plants grow shrublike I like to support the loaded down laterial branches, even if its from a stake from an adjacent plant. The plants at some point begin to interweave and support each other. On the other hand, the India and Trinidad plants can become pretty tall 6/7 ft. Tying up the branches not only keeps the garden looking organized but also helps the sunlight penetrate into the lower canopy of the plant. Some folks let the plants sprawl but letting the leaves or fruit drag in the dirt can cause viral and bacterial problems. Stake'em if you have'em...
Click to expand...

Again, thanks for another reply, I don't see what it would hurt for me to try it out and I will. Although no one specifically answered my question if not using one allows the plant to gain root and stalk strength as that's just been my assumption/observation seeing my plants. My larger ones can have a stalk as thick as a broom stick or more, lol.
 
I've used bamboo skewers to add support around some of my plants for the wind. Nothing is tied and they don't provide direct support, the plants have a bit of freedom to move.... The plants I've done it with have thicker woodier looking stems than those that didn't need them, but those that didn't need them have more side growth lower on the stem....

If it matters, both scotch bonnet plants I have need this support, still.... It's almost like they have very little root structure support but poking around just below the surface in the pot shows more roots than my other plants....
 
rhm3769 said:
... If it matters, both scotch bonnet plants I have need this support, still.... It's almost like they have very little root structure support but poking around just below the surface in the pot shows more roots than my other plants....
Click to expand...
Interesting, mine have really thick roots both on the surface and down below. Their support structure seems really good to me and that's why I haven't tried this in the past. But like always, a little experimentation doesn't hurt :)
 
Walkgood... my 7 pots, morugas and butcht's all have finger thick extremely woody stalks that are probably a minimum of 8-10" tall (the thick woody part that is.. get your minds out of the gutter guys lol). Anyway, I've had them tied to stakes since the seedlings were planted. I did it as a safety net due to high winds & pummeling rains as well as 3 little boys whose ball throwing aim isn't so good yet). The stake supports didnt seem to inhibit anything re the plants' growth and development..
I had several lower laterally growing branches that cracked or split under the weight of pods and stress of movement... Fortunately, i was able o tie them off/up to prevent further damage and to allow the pods to safely ripen. Good luck.
 
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