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Tomato Supports

Pepperfreak

Pepperfreak

I was curious what others are doing to support their tomato plants.

In the previous years, I have only staked them. However after reading some interesting articles, I'm thinking about making cages out of 'pig' wire. It seems like this way of doing things might offer the ability to grow more plants in a limited space.
 
I think it depends on what you plan on doing. If you are going to prune them heavily a stake works just fine. If you are just going to let them go wild I would say go with your above idea. For my sister I used this http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors-F...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
I made two cylinders with like a 20" diameter and stacked them on top of each other to make it 6' tall. Then I supported it with two 6' stakes. Worked great, and all she had to do is tuck the branches in.
 
I have always "caged" them as you called it. I use a ring of 4 feet tall, "2x4" wire, AKA dog wire.

Depending on the type of mater you are growing, the diameter can be 2' - 3'.
 
I use the florida weave as well, but don't prune at all. I use 6' t-posts and run a string every 6 inches to add as much support as I can, and I have to go back and tuck the branches in, but haven't had a plant fall yet. I would love to make cages from CRW one day, but storage in the off season is a problem when talking about 60 cages.

jacob
 
I had 2 different types of cages last year, thick and thin. I wish I would have had the thick for all my plants cause the wind damaged the thin wired plants. Try to find something 1/4" in diameter as well and about 3-4 foot tall, with staking about 12" deep.
 
Jacob, can you tell me if the florida weave would work for peas and other vine type plants? Also, if you like the florida weave, why would you want to change to cages?
 
Pepperfreak said:
Jacob, can you tell me if the florida weave would work for peas and other vine type plants? Also, if you like the florida weave, why would you want to change to cages?
Click to expand...

I have never tried the florida weave on other vine crops, but it might work for cukes, melons as long as you support the fruits as well. The problem with that is the vines can get very long. A good solid trellis would probably be better. Peas on the other hand only get about 6 feet tall and are not as heavy even if you do plants them every 2 inches like I do. The florida weave might help hold them vertical better than the net trellis that they sell at lowes or home depot. You gave me an idea on that. I might try that out and see if it does work better.

I do like the forida weave for tomatoes as it fits my budget and space requirements in the off season and works better than staking the individual plants, but the cages give the same benefit of support without the weekly maintenance tightening strings and running new strings. It adds up when you have a lot of plants.

It will cost me about $200 to get enough CRW to build the cages I need. They sell it at lowes/home depot for about $98 for a 5' tall, 150' long roll the last I saw. It is enough to make about 30 18" diameter cages. Maybe next year though. I have already spent enough on my peppers this year.:lol:

jacob
 
Thanks for the expanded explanation. I guess I'm left with a decision on either making the cages or using the florida weave. It's probably going to boil down to how much funds I have at the time of my plant out.
 
Disclaimer: Don't try this at home unless you know what you are doing!

Mark off a space 26" wide by however long your garden is. Transplant your maters no more than 18" apart (15" will work) but put two two rows in the 26" space, preferably offsetting them. Use stakes on both sides, about every four feet, and as the plants grow, run string around the stakes, making a big circle of rope. Keep adding another row of string to the stakes every 8-10" as the plants grow, being sure to tuck the leaves inside the string. If you really want to, put some stakes between the two rows and run string along them, though this is not necessary. Trim the bottom stems, once they show the least bit of yellow.

Unconventional? Yes! But look at what AJ and others are doing with peppers and other plants in a 5-gallon container. Those containers take up less room than the 13"x9" planting in dirt will.

Of course, you have to have good soil for this to work.

YMWV!

Mike
 
Unfortunately for me, I don't have good soil. Just rock hard red clay I have been trying to make usable.

jacob
 
wordwiz said:
Disclaimer: Don't try this at home unless you know what you are doing!

Mark off a space 26" wide by however long your garden is. Transplant your maters no more than 18" apart (15" will work) but put two two rows in the 26" space, preferably offsetting them. Use stakes on both sides, about every four feet, and as the plants grow, run string around the stakes, making a big circle of rope. Keep adding another row of string to the stakes every 8-10" as the plants grow, being sure to tuck the leaves inside the string. If you really want to, put some stakes between the two rows and run string along them, though this is not necessary. Trim the bottom stems, once they show the least bit of yellow.

Unconventional? Yes! But look at what AJ and others are doing with peppers and other plants in a 5-gallon container. Those containers take up less room than the 13"x9" planting in dirt will.

Of course, you have to have good soil for this to work.

YMWV!

Mike
Click to expand...

WOW...

Mike to think that my Tomato bed is 16 feet X 4 feet wide. So, I guess I can cram a bunch of tomatoe plants in there. BTW, last year I think I had 15 plants in there.
 
wordwiz said:
Disclaimer: Don't try this at home unless you know what you are doing!

Mark off a space 26" wide by however long your garden is. Transplant your maters no more than 18" apart (15" will work) but put two two rows in the 26" space, preferably offsetting them. Use stakes on both sides, about every four feet, and as the plants grow, run string around the stakes, making a big circle of rope. Keep adding another row of string to the stakes every 8-10" as the plants grow, being sure to tuck the leaves inside the string. If you really want to, put some stakes between the two rows and run string along them, though this is not necessary. Trim the bottom stems, once they show the least bit of yellow.

Unconventional? Yes! But look at what AJ and others are doing with peppers and other plants in a 5-gallon container. Those containers take up less room than the 13"x9" planting in dirt will.

Of course, you have to have good soil for this to work.

YMWV!

Mike
Click to expand...

Last time I grew tomatoes I tied them up the same way. I cut a small notch in one corner of the stakes where the string was tied on so the weight of the plants doesn't just pull the string down the stake. Was much easier than staking each plant individually, I had about 20 plants that year.
 
Pepperfreak said:
WOW...

Mike to think that my Tomato bed is 16 feet X 4 feet wide. So, I guess I can cram a bunch of tomatoe plants in there. BTW, last year I think I had 15 plants in there.
Click to expand...

PF, again, I'm not suggesting you should do this but ask yourself - how many 7-gallon pots can you fit in 64 sq. ft.?

Mike
 
I plant my tomatos on 16" centers because that is the diameter of my cages...and the width of my raised bed...the raised bed is about 50 feet long
 
Ciao all-

This is what I do..easier to just show you a photo. This is the main tomato bed, 12x18'. There are 6 rows of 6 tomato plants placed 2 ft apart with 3 ft pathways between rows. The stakes are cedar 2"x2"x8' and sunk 1 ft into the ground. I don't prune at all except for roughly 1 ft of leaves at the bottom of each plant so they don't touch the ground. This prevents splash-back when watering and minimizes potential of soil-borne disease spreading onto the plants. I don't compost my tomato plants at all as another measure against spreading any possible disease. After the ground has been tilled, soaker hoses are snaked around each row and the tomatoes transplanted into their permanent spots, so the hose rests between the plant and the stake, then straw mulch is placed on top to a depth of roughly 4". I use simple cotton garden twine to tie the plants to the stakes at roughly every 18" and I re-use the twine until it kind of falls apart. Sometimes I use small pieces of velcro to secure the young transplants to the stake when they're very small. Once they're about 3 ft tall, I replace the velcro with twine at the very bottom. I put plant tags at the very top of each stake in very large font so I can see them with my lousy eyes without glasses. The tags are created on the computer on regular xerox paper and then laminated and cut using a paper cutter. Then I secure them onto each stake with a staple gun.

MainTomatoBed073109.jpg
 
If you are going to make cages, Just be sure the holes are big enough to put your arm in to pick the maters. I usually use CRW cages, I find extra CRW at construction sites around ATL. They almost always have left over that they are gonna toss out. But, Last year I did a row of chain link fence Staked at each end, Planted maters on both sides of the fence and kept the bushes tied up to the fence as they grew.
 
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