Techniques for Supporting Tomato Plants
Most gardeners use some sort of support system for their tomatoes. There are advantages to caging, staking, or trellising tomatoes, but there are many gardeners who simply allow the plants to run free.
When a tomato plant is grown with support it is easier to work around the plant for pruning, watering, spraying and harvesting. Additionally, supported plants do not come into contact with soil rot organisms and some soil borne diseases.
Caging Tomatoes
Advantages:
- Cages are easy to use. Plants can be left to grow supported by the cages without the need for ties.
- Good quality cages are reusable for many seasons.
- Sunscald is often avoided with caged tomatoes because the plants are allowed to grow enough foliage to help with the problem.
Disadvantages:
- There is an initial expense of purchasing tomato cages. Many manufacturers sell short, lightweight and inexpensive cages, but these should be avoided. Purchase cages which are tall (about six feet) and made of sturdy material.
- Cages will require that you either sink them into the ground about a foot or lash them to stakes buried the same depth.
- Tomato cages can be bulky and difficult to store if space is limited.
- Plants in cages can grow quite a bit of foliage, which in northern climates can retard the ability to set fruit. Northern gardeners will want to prune back plant foliage which can be difficult with cages.
Staking Tomatoes
Advantages:
- In limited space gardens staking is a good option. You can set plants as close as twelve inches part when staking.
- Staking keeps vines and fruit off the ground so there is less rotting.
- Staking promotes earlier harvest of larger fruit. To accomplish this staked tomatoes require the pruning attentions of the gardener in order to force more plant energy in ripening tomatoes.
- Staking makes maintaining the plants and keeping an eye on insects easier.
Disadvantages:
- Tomatoes are more prone to cracking, water stress, blossom end rot and sunscald because they are more exposed.
- Generally overall yields from staked plants are the lowest of all the methods of support.
- Staked plants require vigilance with training as they grow. The setup, pruning and training of staked tomatoes may be the most time conconsuming of all the methods.
Trellising
Advantages:
- Like staking tomato plants, trellising offers upright plants for easier to pick harvests.
- Plants may be grown close together.
- Allows for two or three main stems to be grown.
- Fruits ripen a bit earlier than those grown as free running.
Disadvantages:
- Trellising can be hard work, sometimes comparable to staking tomatoes, especially for large numbers of plants.
- Often plants will require training along the wires or string and may require additional bracing.
- When plants are growing vigorously they may require maintenance twice a week or more to keep them trained to the trellis.
Free Running
Advantages:
- There is little work involved with free running tomato plants.
- Yields are generally higher with free running tomatoes.
- Foliage works to naturally cool the soil, protect the fruit from sunscald and conserve moisture.
Disadvantages:
- Free running tomatoes require the greatest amount of space per plant - up to a square yard per plant.
- Some stems on the ground may set out roots, making it difficult to harvest tomatoes as lifting branches can become difficult.
- Wet, humid weather can encourage rot as well as problems with snails and slugs
Each system has it's advantages and disadvantages and nobody has found the perfect solution though gardeners try year after year.
