I'm not really sure where the bottom of the string is tied in this type of tomato support, which I am using for the second year. Last year I tied to stem of the plant. This year, I tied the twine to a pole weighted down by a brick. Works well so far. Does anyone recommend another method?
My plants are tiny this year. :( Not enough sun. I won't grow tomatoes in these beds again - until a tree or two comes down.
10 comments:
There is no need to tie it to anything. If you wrap it around the plant as you have been doing and simply tie the bottom of the twine in a loose loop around the base of the stem, the plant itself becomes the anchor. As the plant is growing taller the twine will get progressively tighter. This is the way I have been doing it and have had no problems with wind damage. When younger the plant has more sway which I believe makes the stem even stronger, and when more mature the twine becomes much more taut and so the plant sways less.
I'm trying the string method too this year. My husband made me wood stakes with a hole in the top. I tied the string through the hole and then up to to the frame. So far it is working well, though as they are larger I'm finding a little more slack would have been good so that I can continue to wrap without having to bend the larger plants so much.
I'm using mostly 33" tomato cages for the bulk of my 92 tomatoes... and I have a few indeterminates growing against a trellis.
I heard some great advice for tying tomatoes. Tie the stem just below and just above each fruit truss. They need support just there.
My first tomatoes where June 30th for Bedford, MA and I opt for the Electrical Conduit and Vertical String Method.
Other methods listed here: http://www.mastergardeners.org/picks/tomato_staking.html
Thanks for the link with info on the electrical conduit method.
I suppose I could use the conduit in place of the pole to tie off my string at bottom. I can see that a few additional bands of conduit would also hold the vines upright better.
Thanks.
I just now read the first comment. This is the simplest! I did this last year with no problems. Then I started worrying that it was not good to do this.
I prefer to tie a bowline at the base of the plant. The loop on the bowline should be 1 inch larger than needed to allow the growth of the stem. Then in a circular motion wrap the line around the stem going all the way up while pinching off the suckers for the first three feet. This will allow the tomato plant to be properly supported for optimum growth.
Works great on the Electrical Conduit and Vertical String Method.
great! thanks.
Hi Kathy, the hardware store has little metal u-shaped thingies -- I think they are called tarp pegs and cost 10 cents! You can tie the string to them, then twirl the string right around the plant and poke in the ground. Works great for me!
Betsy
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