Next spring I will be starting a Paul Robeson tomato (black beefsteak,
climber), but...

....it will be in a 14" terracotta pot, not directly in the ground.

This gives me a headache knowing how to stake it. This year at least,
I can't put the Paul Robeson in the ground and I can't put trellis
wires on the wall. It *has* to be in the container. Apparently it can
grow up to six feet (or more in warmer climates). It is fairly cold
here in Scotland, so I am not too worried about it becoming a monster.
Also, this will be my first staked tomato so I have no prior
experience of tall tomatoes.

So - how do I stake it? I'd guess the obvious choices would include...
i) a single stake right next to the pot, lean the first vine over a
bit and stake as normal - would it sag?

ii) make a tall tripod of three stakes lashed at the top, each stake
fixed into the ground below the level for the pot but long enough to
give some decent headroom for growing - would need about 7-foot
stakes?

Please can you offer some advice. Because it's in a container, I can't
use something like a Veggie Cage (from www.tomato-cages.com).

Thanks.

Hi, This season I used just branches from a few poplar trees we cut down.
It worked great.
Plant the stake when you plant your tomatoes cause later you don't want to
cut off any root by doing this. and stake as you would normally do. every so
often you will need to restake the plant higher. No need to tripod them My
tomatoes plants were about 5-6 feet tall. I used the tomato cages for the
cucumbers although I needed something larger.

--
Lynn
Flattery is soft soap, and soft soap is ninety percent lye

"HelixStalwart" wrote in message
...
Next spring I will be starting a Paul Robeson tomato (black beefsteak,
climber), but...

...it will be in a 14" terracotta pot, not directly in the ground.

This gives me a headache knowing how to stake it. This year at least,
I can't put the Paul Robeson in the ground and I can't put trellis
wires on the wall. It *has* to be in the container. Apparently it can
grow up to six feet (or more in warmer climates). It is fairly cold
here in Scotland, so I am not too worried about it becoming a monster.
Also, this will be my first staked tomato so I have no prior
experience of tall tomatoes.

So - how do I stake it? I'd guess the obvious choices would include...
i) a single stake right next to the pot, lean the first vine over a
bit and stake as normal - would it sag?

ii) make a tall tripod of three stakes lashed at the top, each stake
fixed into the ground below the level for the pot but long enough to
give some decent headroom for growing - would need about 7-foot
stakes?

Please can you offer some advice. Because it's in a container, I can't
use something like a Veggie Cage (from www.tomato-cages.com).

Thanks.

In article ,
HelixStalwart wrote:

Next spring I will be starting a Paul Robeson tomato (black beefsteak,
climber), but...

...it will be in a 14" terracotta pot, not directly in the ground.

This gives me a headache knowing how to stake it. This year at least,
I can't put the Paul Robeson in the ground and I can't put trellis
wires on the wall. It *has* to be in the container. Apparently it can
grow up to six feet (or more in warmer climates). It is fairly cold
here in Scotland, so I am not too worried about it becoming a monster.
Also, this will be my first staked tomato so I have no prior
experience of tall tomatoes.

So - how do I stake it? I'd guess the obvious choices would include...
i) a single stake right next to the pot, lean the first vine over a
bit and stake as normal - would it sag?

ii) make a tall tripod of three stakes lashed at the top, each stake
fixed into the ground below the level for the pot but long enough to
give some decent headroom for growing - would need about 7-foot
stakes?

Please can you offer some advice. Because it's in a container, I can't
use something like a Veggie Cage (from www.tomato-cages.com).

Thanks.

I used cages last winter for pots.
I just tied them to a side stake in the ground to stabilize them.

Worked for me! :-)

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson

I would build a cage out of fence wire with large holes to allow you to
reach in and pick the tomatoes. You can make it 16 inches around so it
would fit over your pot, and 4, 5, or 6 feet tall. I used the 4 ft tall one
and they came out the top, but not enough to be a problem. Go to a store
that will sell it by the foot rather than by the roll.

Dwayne

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" wrote in message
...
In article ,
HelixStalwart wrote:

Next spring I will be starting a Paul Robeson tomato (black beefsteak,
climber), but...

...it will be in a 14" terracotta pot, not directly in the ground.

This gives me a headache knowing how to stake it. This year at least,
I can't put the Paul Robeson in the ground and I can't put trellis
wires on the wall. It *has* to be in the container. Apparently it can
grow up to six feet (or more in warmer climates). It is fairly cold
here in Scotland, so I am not too worried about it becoming a monster.
Also, this will be my first staked tomato so I have no prior
experience of tall tomatoes.

So - how do I stake it? I'd guess the obvious choices would include...
i) a single stake right next to the pot, lean the first vine over a
bit and stake as normal - would it sag?

ii) make a tall tripod of three stakes lashed at the top, each stake
fixed into the ground below the level for the pot but long enough to
give some decent headroom for growing - would need about 7-foot
stakes?

Please can you offer some advice. Because it's in a container, I can't
use something like a Veggie Cage (from www.tomato-cages.com).

Thanks.

I used cages last winter for pots.
I just tied them to a side stake in the ground to stabilize them.

Worked for me! :-)

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack
Nicholson

I grew them in 25 qt pots with fence wire wrapped around the pots. Twisted
the wire below the rim with pliers until it was tight then twisted a row of
wire above the rim some so the wire couldnt fall down to the ground. this
worked great. The fence even made good handles for moving them around. Some
training of the plant as it grows and your in business. Mr. Stripey stood
about 7 or 8 feet tall and drank 2 gallons of water on hot days, but they
were good.
Or you could always cut a hole out of the bottom of a 5 gal bucket. About 4
to 6 inches diameter. Lay the bucket on its side and fill about half full
with potting mix. Insert Tomato plant thru hole with the top sticking out
the bottom. Put several layers of newspaper around the base of the plant in
the bottom of the bucket to keep dirt from gettinh thru the hole. Fill the
bucket as good as you can while its on its side. then carefully hang it up
and finish filling with your potting mix. Now your plant is hanging from the
bottom of thr bucket. Plant some carrots or something.(I like leaf lettuce)
in the top just because you can. Your plant will not need any support it
will grow from the bottom of the bucket without any problems.

Roger In Indy
"Dwayne" wrote in message
...
I would build a cage out of fence wire with large holes to allow you to
reach in and pick the tomatoes. You can make it 16 inches around so it
would fit over your pot, and 4, 5, or 6 feet tall. I used the 4 ft tall
one and they came out the top, but not enough to be a problem. Go to a
store that will sell it by the foot rather than by the roll.

Dwayne

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" wrote in message
...
In article ,
HelixStalwart wrote:

Next spring I will be starting a Paul Robeson tomato (black beefsteak,
climber), but...

...it will be in a 14" terracotta pot, not directly in the ground.

This gives me a headache knowing how to stake it. This year at least,
I can't put the Paul Robeson in the ground and I can't put trellis
wires on the wall. It *has* to be in the container. Apparently it can
grow up to six feet (or more in warmer climates). It is fairly cold
here in Scotland, so I am not too worried about it becoming a monster.
Also, this will be my first staked tomato so I have no prior
experience of tall tomatoes.

So - how do I stake it? I'd guess the obvious choices would include...
i) a single stake right next to the pot, lean the first vine over a
bit and stake as normal - would it sag?

ii) make a tall tripod of three stakes lashed at the top, each stake
fixed into the ground below the level for the pot but long enough to
give some decent headroom for growing - would need about 7-foot
stakes?

Please can you offer some advice. Because it's in a container, I can't
use something like a Veggie Cage (from www.tomato-cages.com).

Thanks.

I used cages last winter for pots.
I just tied them to a side stake in the ground to stabilize them.

Worked for me! :-)

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack
Nicholson

For tomato, you need a pot that's at least 5 gallons (3.8 liters). Drill
holes in the bottom for drainage.

Once the plant is established, I'd stick a 54" (137 cm) cage in the bucket.
These cages are narrow and should fit nicely inside the container.

Since you expect the plant to reach 6', the cage alone won't contain it, so
you'll need to construct a tee-pee over it. I use 2-3" oak or maple
sapplings about 10' in length, but you could get away with slightly shorter
ones.


"HelixStalwart" wrote in message
...
Next spring I will be starting a Paul Robeson tomato (black beefsteak,
climber), but...

...it will be in a 14" terracotta pot, not directly in the ground.

This gives me a headache knowing how to stake it. This year at least,
I can't put the Paul Robeson in the ground and I can't put trellis
wires on the wall. It *has* to be in the container. Apparently it can
grow up to six feet (or more in warmer climates). It is fairly cold
here in Scotland, so I am not too worried about it becoming a monster.
Also, this will be my first staked tomato so I have no prior
experience of tall tomatoes.

So - how do I stake it? I'd guess the obvious choices would include...
i) a single stake right next to the pot, lean the first vine over a
bit and stake as normal - would it sag?

ii) make a tall tripod of three stakes lashed at the top, each stake
fixed into the ground below the level for the pot but long enough to
give some decent headroom for growing - would need about 7-foot
stakes?

Please can you offer some advice. Because it's in a container, I can't
use something like a Veggie Cage (from www.tomato-cages.com).

Thanks.

I used concrete reinforcing bar this year. A tripod of them would be
sturdy, everlasting and tall enough. Don't know if you can get it over
there though.

John!





HelixStalwart wrote:
Next spring I will be starting a Paul Robeson tomato (black beefsteak,
climber), but...

...it will be in a 14" terracotta pot, not directly in the ground.

This gives me a headache knowing how to stake it. This year at least,
I can't put the Paul Robeson in the ground and I can't put trellis
wires on the wall. It *has* to be in the container. Apparently it can
grow up to six feet (or more in warmer climates). It is fairly cold
here in Scotland, so I am not too worried about it becoming a monster.
Also, this will be my first staked tomato so I have no prior
experience of tall tomatoes.

So - how do I stake it? I'd guess the obvious choices would include...
i) a single stake right next to the pot, lean the first vine over a
bit and stake as normal - would it sag?

ii) make a tall tripod of three stakes lashed at the top, each stake
fixed into the ground below the level for the pot but long enough to
give some decent headroom for growing - would need about 7-foot
stakes?

Please can you offer some advice. Because it's in a container, I can't
use something like a Veggie Cage (from www.tomato-cages.com).

Thanks.

In article ,
"TQ" ToweringQs AT adelphia.net wrote:

For tomato, you need a pot that's at least 5 gallons (3.8 liters). Drill
holes in the bottom for drainage.

Uh, 5 gallons would be closer to 20 liters... ;-)

I used some 3 gallon pots last winter and they worked ok, but only
because the root system grew out of the holes and into the ground. G
That stabilized the pot too!

5 gallon would be better, I agree.


Once the plant is established, I'd stick a 54" (137 cm) cage in the bucket.
These cages are narrow and should fit nicely inside the container.

Since you expect the plant to reach 6', the cage alone won't contain it, so
you'll need to construct a tee-pee over it. I use 2-3" oak or maple
sapplings about 10' in length, but you could get away with slightly shorter
ones.

That will work, but I find it easier to contruct a circular cage around
the pot out of 6 ft. farm fencing wire. The 2" x 4" mesh makes it so I
can pick tomatoes thru the wire if I need to.

Cheers!



"HelixStalwart" wrote in message
...
Next spring I will be starting a Paul Robeson tomato (black beefsteak,
climber), but...

...it will be in a 14" terracotta pot, not directly in the ground.

This gives me a headache knowing how to stake it. This year at least,
I can't put the Paul Robeson in the ground and I can't put trellis
wires on the wall. It *has* to be in the container. Apparently it can
grow up to six feet (or more in warmer climates). It is fairly cold
here in Scotland, so I am not too worried about it becoming a monster.
Also, this will be my first staked tomato so I have no prior
experience of tall tomatoes.

So - how do I stake it? I'd guess the obvious choices would include...
i) a single stake right next to the pot, lean the first vine over a
bit and stake as normal - would it sag?

ii) make a tall tripod of three stakes lashed at the top, each stake
fixed into the ground below the level for the pot but long enough to
give some decent headroom for growing - would need about 7-foot
stakes?

Please can you offer some advice. Because it's in a container, I can't
use something like a Veggie Cage (from www.tomato-cages.com).

Thanks.


--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"TQ" ToweringQs AT adelphia.net wrote:

For tomato, you need a pot that's at least 5 gallons (3.8 liters).
Drill
holes in the bottom for drainage.

Uh, 5 gallons would be closer to 20 liters... ;-)


You're right. That's what I get for using an I-Net site to convert units.

In article ,
"TQ" ToweringQs AT adelphia.net wrote:

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"TQ" ToweringQs AT adelphia.net wrote:

For tomato, you need a pot that's at least 5 gallons (3.8 liters).
Drill
holes in the bottom for drainage.

Uh, 5 gallons would be closer to 20 liters... ;-)


You're right. That's what I get for using an I-Net site to convert units.



It's ok! You had it partially right, but it's 3.8 liters PER gallon.
All you had to do was multiply that x5.

I just cheat tho'. A liter is close to a quart so I don't worry about
the small difference. 4 liters is one Imperial gallon.

I just wish the US would switch over to metrics and have done with it!
Since I work in a lab, we use metrics there.

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson