Arrrgh TOMATOES!!!!

[blue fire]

Ok, so at the begining of the season I thought that my BB tomato plants did not need a cage well now these BB tomato plants are HUGE and snaping at the limbs, because of the weight of the tomatoes!! Any way I can support them without damaging them?

 

[coopy]

Yes, you can get you some wooden tomato stakes and tie them up. I just tied a couple of mine up because they had gotten so large. Becareful when you handle them. Put the stake in the back of the plant where it is leaning or laying down it makes it easier to tie up. The plant will lay against the stake.
good luck

 

[blue fire]

Could you by some chance show or describe to me how you secure the tomato plant? :bouquet

 

[coopy]

I can take a picture of it tomarrow. It is too late to do so tonight.
How many plants do you have? If only a few you can use a trellis as long as you get it in the ground good so it will support the plants.
I took a piece of wood that is probably 1 inch thick by 3 inches wide, about 2 to 3 foot tall. Cut the bottom of the stick into a point. That way it will go into the ground easier. If you don't have a wooden stake do you have any metal poles or posts you can stick in the ground? Anything that you can hammer into the ground that will be able to support the weight of the plant will work.
You stick it behind the plant. Hammer the stake into the ground. You can tie the vein up with some old nylon hose, string or binder twine. I used binder twine.

 

[OaklandCityFarmer]

A pretty quick and easy way is to use PVC pipe. It also doubles as a water and fertilizer tube. Take a 1 inch PVC pipe, drill a bunch of holes at one end and stick it in the ground near your tomato (about 6-8 inches from the base and 2 feet deep) Then at about 10-12 inch intervals drill a hole through both sides of the pipe. Run a piece of twine through both holes and tie your tomatoes to them.

If you water and fertilize directly into the pipe this will ensure it goes right to the roots. If the stake is really tall you can add a 'T' fitting at shoulder length to make it easier.

You can also do this it a wood stake and nails. Just replace the holes going up the pole with small nails to secure the plant to the stake.

 

[coopy]

Thanks Oakland you gave me some ideas on the pvc pipe. Never thought about that. Learn something new everyday.
I just love this site. Great people here.

 

[bluey]

If you don't mind them laying, just liberally apply a good 6 inch layer of hay around the base of the plants as mulch. It keeps the weeds down and keeps the tomatoes off the ground until you can harvest them.

We've been doing it this way for years and it works like a charm in a garden too large to stake up all of the plants. It also save a ton of weeding time.

 

[patandchickens]

yes, laying them down on a thick mulch is certainly the easiest approach, assuming you have the space. You may lose a couple tomatoes to rot here and there, but Oh Well, you are not likely to be short of tomatoes

I am trellising some of my tomatoes in the way that I saw at Longwood Gardens when I was down in PA a couple weeks ago - they had honkin' big stout stakes at each end of a row of tomatoes, and a loop of thick soft twine slightly-loosely strung between 'em at intervals (like, 2' high, 3' high, etc). To attach the tomatoes, they would just twist the two strings together a couple times and then poke the top of the tomato branch up between one of the twists, if that makes sense. I'm trying it with t-posts and old baler twine It is extremely easy and might be an option for you if your plants are roughly in a line and not *too* sprawly.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[aquarose]

What Patandchickens described is how my father used to do his tomatoes. It was pretty orderly, for tomatoes.

 

[blurose]

I use a very labor-intensive caging method for my toms. When I plant them, I affix a long piece of noclimb horse fencing diagonally from the garden fence, down over and across the garden bed and attach it to the front at ground level. As my toms grow, they grow up through the fencing and across over the top of it. Of course, this doesn't help in your situation I guess. Sorry.

If you are at all interested, here is a pic.
I know its hard to see here but look along the chainlink privacy fence straight in front of your eyes. I also do my pickling cucs this way. They are on the left side of the pic. I find that trellising them up off of the ground yields me more cucs and makes them easier for this creeky old body to pick em. I am disabled and don't always move about so well. I also did my crooknecked and pattypan squash the same way this year. It also means I can grow more stuff in a smaller space.