GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

23-06-2005, 12:14 AM

in article , Dave at
wrote on 6/22/05 9:06 AM:

This year I planted my tomatoes in holes filled with mulch and as a
result I'm getting bigger plants than I am used to. The problem is
keeping them tied up. I need so much material to tie them that I have
started using twine rather than the traditonal cloth strips torn from
old sheets. Is twine the standard for those who don't use cages?

Thanks

The best method I have seen fo tomatoes os one that is used by most
hydroponic growers.

The support tomatoes from a wire or bar that is above the height of the
tomatoes. I am sure that a home gardener can adapt the method.

A synthtic cord of at least thirty feet length is wound upon a bracket or a
reel. This is hung from the main support. The cord is dropped down to the
level of the tomatoes. Plastic support clips are used that simultenously
clamp onto the cord and around the tomato stem. These clips can be unsnapped
for the next season.

Hydroponic growers usually have a maximum height they use both because of
greenhouse costs and the labor for tending the tomatoes. As the plant grows,
they unreel or unwind string. This drops the portion of stem from which
tomatoes have been harvested while providing access to the new growth and
new tomatoes. This way, they can get 30 feet of vine within a limited
height.

I put some screw eyes in the eaves of my house from which I hang tomatoes.
For another spot, I stretched a wire between two by four posts.

Unfortunately, I do not know what the official names for such items are, but
a Google search for tomato support or a similar term ought to get you to a
vendor. These items, even at boutique hydroponics stores, will cost less
than tomato cages.

Bill