On 8 Sep 2003 08:11:50 -0700, (James)
wrote:

I grew a few tomatoes without stake or cage this year. Seems like
it's a better method. You get a lot more tomatoes because the stems
root themselves on the ground and multi-stems also increases the
number of fruits.

So is the one stem on a stake method just a waste of time?

No.

It's appropriate when you want to save space, or if you have
trouble with tomatoes rotting on the ground, or being eaten
by slugs, or contracting various diseases because they've
been lying on the ground.

I haven't used this method myself, I've always used cages.

But we will - hopefully - be building a hoophouse soon and
I'll definitely stake and prune the tomatoes that I grow in
the hoophouse, for space-conserving reasons.

Pat
--
"Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of
supply and demand. It is the privilege of human beings to
live under the laws of justice and mercy." - Wendell Berry