5 Ways of Supporting Your Tomato Plants - SeedMoney (2024)

FAQs

5 Ways of Supporting Your Tomato Plants - SeedMoney? ›

A trellis is simply a support system for your tomato plants to keep them off the ground and promote good air circulation. Trellising is important because it supports strong stems, prevents disease issues, and allows for easier access to fruit.

A trellis is simply a support system for your tomato plants to keep them off the ground and promote good air circulation. Trellising is important because it supports strong stems, prevents disease issues, and allows for easier access to fruit.

In theory, bush tomatoes do not need support, but heavy fruits can weigh plants down onto the ground, increasing the chances of diseases and slug damage. The simplest way to support them is with garden stakes hammered into to the ground. Tie plants to the stakes.

The short answer to this question is yes. Nearly all tomato plants are going to need some type of support. The type of support though that you provide is a matter of personal preference. It also depends on the overall growth pattern of the plant.

More Sun Equals More Fruit

Aim for plants to get seven hours of sun a day. Give your plants room to grow, too. Plant seedlings 30 to 48 inches apart, with rows set 48 inches apart. Leaving space between tomato plants will let light into the lower portions of the mature plants, improve air flow and help prevent disease.

A single stake is a simple, low-cost method for keeping plants upright in small spaces. The best method for how to stake tomatoes this way is to use a 5-foot-tall sturdy wood or metal stake for determinate tomatoes and an 8-foot-tall stake for indeterminate tomatoes.

Double staking works well for supporting tomatoes that are heavy, like heirlooms. For this method, place two stakes on opposite sides of the plant. Then, tie the twine or jute around the plant stem and each of the two stakes. Continue tying as your tomatoes grow.

We tie lengths of soft garden twine from the bar and train the tomato plants to climb them. When a plant is 18 inches tall, we tie the bottom of a string to its stem and then twist the main stem around the string as it grows. If necessary, we use small plastic tomato clips to hold the stem and the string together.

The same properties that make milk good for a human, such as the calcium and B vitamins, are what benefits plants. The calcium helps the plants grow, as well as prevent blossom end rot, which can be caused by a calcium deficiency. This condition is common in tomato, peppers, and squash plants.

To install cages, center the cage around the plant and press down firmly to set the tines into the soil as deeply as possible. For larger cages, stakes may be driven into the ground and tied to the cage to add stability.

How to support tomato plants with string? ›

Proper stringing consists of tying the twine to an end stake, passing the string along one side of the plants, and looping the twine around each stake. When you reach the end of a row continue the same process on the other side of the row. The string must be kept very tight throughout the stringing process.

Fashion three stakes into a basic tripod for extra stability in windy regions. Then train a tomato plant on the upwind stake. The weight of the plant will anchor the trellis to the ground. If you're feeling fancy, tuteurs made of wood, bamboo, or bent twigs look add to the look of an ornamental kitchen garden.

Tomatoes planted from May onwards should ideally be given some kind of support as soon as they are planted. This also prevents damage to the roots and shoots, which could easily occur if the plant is given a tomato cage or trellis at a later date.

Unless you have a bush variety of tomato plant, then your plants will grow quite tall so it's a good idea to add some bamboo canes (or long sticks) for support. The plant halo has 3 slots to put canes which should be pushed into the grow bag and then tied together at the top.

A better choice is to stake your tomatoes. There are stakes available as long as 10 feet. They come in different materials like wood, bamboo, plastic and metal.

Use tape. You can purchase Velcro or otherwise self-gripping garden tape. The advantage of garden tape is that you can tie up your whole tomato plant all at once. Unless “compostable” is stated on the package, assume that the tape is not biodegradable.

From our experience, the two most effective tomato trellising techniques are using sturdy, square cages and using twine weaved between plants. We use both techniques in our garden, but for different situations. Using cages to trellis tomatoes is a great technique for several different situations.