• Everything other than hot peppers. Questions, discussion, and grow logs. Cannabis grow pics are only allowed when posted from a legal juridstiction.

Will Black Krim/Black Cherry tomatoes grow fine without a cage?

yep- you will particularly need to get the krim off the ground- proximity to the ground just makes it easier for it to get blight/fungus/etc and heirlooms are already very susceptible to those types of problems.
 
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.
 
Black Cherry is my favorite cherry tomato. I've always, except last year, had vigorous growth that has overrun even the big cages. I've experienced very dense growth with it that required frequent pruning and have learned to stick to one main vine and limit the branching.
 
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
 
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.
 
Will Black Krim/Black Cherry tomatoes grow fine without a cage?
 
Click to expand...
 
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 resistant proof heirloom try Matt's Wild Cherry. They make tons of penny diameter cherry tomatoes and are very resistant in my experience. People seem to think theyre pretty sweet.
 
All you need is a good stake and wire ties.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20130728_134039_525.jpg
    IMG_20130728_134039_525.jpg
    87.5 KB · Views: 105
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top