the day of tomato questions!!!

[the1honeycomb]

I have about 30-40 tomato plants, some in raised beds and some in the new garden in the ground! I have some in cages,( the ones that are trying to get away), some of them staked, keeping room to walk between the rows, and now all the ones in the raised bed have decided to escape their captor and are making a break for it in all directions!!!
The plants in cages are about 6 ft tall!!! the have a few tomatoes on the but nothing like the one that have already escaped! the skated up ones are not near as tall and I've pruned then and mulched them.
It seems the more I have done for them the taller they grow but less will into work.??? any ideas?

 

[digitS']

@the1honeycomb , it sounds like you have done what you needed to do, where you needed to do it.

I have read that if you want the most pounds of fruit from your tomato plants, you will allow them to sprawl. However, there will be more culls. If you want the largest fruit, you will stake and prune.

I have learned that sprawling plants are less likely to have sunburned fruit however, the slugs find things on the ground much too easily in my garden! I've caged what seems to be their favorite varieties - the yellow beefsteaks. Unfortunately, I will have to stake the cages. The wind will blow everything over, otherwise. I've put in as many as 3 stakes on some cages in the past. Kinda ridiculous!

Most plants are sprawling again this year.

Steve

 

[Smart Red]

I don't use cages since most of my tomato varieties are heirloom indeterminates. I stake each plant to an 8 ft. rod. once the plant reaches the top, I can prune or add an extension to the original rod. I also keep most of the leaves below the first fruit off the plant and nip the growth between stem and leaf cluster so the plants seam better behaved.

 

[ChickenMomma91]

Mine is in a container and has only one tomato on it

 

[baymule]

I use tomato cages, stakes, lots of hay twine, T-posts and they still grow every which way.

 

[the1honeycomb]

Well then it sounds like I have done what all y'all have done so it should work out! I have mint and basil in with the plants that are on the ground so hopefully the slugs will be slowed down a little bit! lots of mulch and I will make sure to start trimming the lower leaves! Thanks to each of you!!!

 

[so lucky]

The slugs were really bad on mine last year, due to the amount of rain we got. I had tried the florida weave, but obviously something went wrong, as they ended up on the ground anyway.