If you found this video helpful, please "Like" and share to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching 😊TIMESTAMPS for convenience: 0:00 Why Supporting Tomatoes And Growing Vertical Is Necessary 1:16 How I Built My Raised Bed Garden To Trellis Tomatoes 1:46 3 Reasons Why This Is The Best Tomato Trellis 5:00 How To Prune Tomatoes For String Trellising 7:56 Pruning Tomatoes Tutorial 8:54 How To Install A Tomato Hook 9:39 How To Clip The Tomato To The String 10:52 How To Grow Tomatoes To An UNLIMITED HEIGHT! 12:46 Second String Trellising And Pruning Example 13:30 Final String Trellising Results 14:29 Adventures With Dale
This is by far the best tomato growing educational video I have seen. Thank you for your clear instructions and staying on task. Good luck on your crop this year!
Your teaching style is so clear and you enunciate your words so it’s really easy to understand you. So appreciative to be subscribed to this channel full of amazing info.
YES! I started doing this last year after watching a channel from Canada who grows tomatoes in a huge greenhouse. I love, love, love those clips! She also showed how to prune the plants for airflow and better production and move the trellises. I used this method and now will always use string and clips! It's brilliant because you can easily move the clips to redirect the weight as branches and fruit grow, shifting the support. We get very strong wind gusts here, too, but I just put a windbreaker up. All my tomatoes are strung under a structure I made with mesh to protect from hail, so I just attached a shade cloth I would drop and secure at either end to break the wind. It works for me in my conditions.
This is exactly what I do. I move the plants and add/remove string as necessary. It only takes seconds to adjust. Often, the wind itself "finds" the ideal places for the tomato hooks. They arrive at the perfect tension on their own.
Please create a video showing the method of growing the taller/longer tomato plants by extending the string and ?curling up? the plant. Thx!! Great channel. Excellent videos.
Thank you for the thorough demonstration and explanation of using these tomato hooks with nylon twine (& the useful tips and info, like what to do if you run out of height, coiling the bottom of a tall growing tomato plant, and the fact that commercial growers use that technique too). It's all of the extra info and tips (like the wind factor, and how many main stems/branches you found is best, laying them down and covering them for protection during damaging winds, etc.,) that really helps a ton! I love thorough details like that. 👍😊
We also get high winds, sometimes for a few days in a row, here in northern Colorado. I will be trying this string method for my indeterminate tomatoes this year. Thanks for an excellent video.
Found your channel googling info about avocados. You are the best of every gardening channel I've come across. I see what you're explaining in a way I can easily understand, ty!
This method will require a substantial change from the way I currently steak my tomatoes using steaks, tomato clips and elastic string. But you make sound rationale for the benefits of doing it this way. Once again, you nailed it. When you mentioned the Highwinds that you had experienced, and because of the way I had trellised tomatoes, I was blown away with the simplicity of simply unhooking a tomato plant and laying it on the ground with cover during the storm. Fantastic!
Using this method, your tomatoes are safe with 100mph winds if you just lay them down and toss a blanket over them. It's a revelation here since we get more tropical activity than anywhere in the US. If you need an easy trellis, check out my previous video at 2:55 = ua-cam.com/video/gxrAz8bWMXM/v-deo.html I give an example layout and it may fit well into your plan. You can simply use U-posts (because they're pre-drilled) and threaded eye bolts installed in the pre-drilled holes with a couple nuts on each side to create an aerial cable path, or you can buy T-posts, pound a PVC conduit tee on top and thread the steel cable through there.
Last summer, I trialed this string method for half of my tomatoes and a cattle panel trellis for the other half. This string method won hands down and I'll never use any other method again. It was so easy to wrap the stems around the string as the plants grew (I didn't have the clips but will eventually get some) and you're correct, the plants just sway in the wind with no ill effect. Love your suggestion about laying the plants on the ground and covering them to protect from frost to extend the season. I would never have thought of that. Thank you!
It's incredible, and a fraction of the price of cattle panels. For the cost of a single cattle panel, I can buy 20 double tomato hooks and 200 clips. If you get hurricanes like we do, or severe storms, you can also lay the plants down for that, too. In theory, you could lay your plants down on the ground 2 weeks before first frost in the fall, put a low tunnel around them and grow them for another month+ if they're in good shape. It's great season extension, and usually once it cools off, tomato diseases die down.
You’re a really good teacher. You explain and demonstrate your ideas really well. I’m actually growing on a string trellis for the first time this year thanks to you and a couple other youtubers showing how well it works. I made mine with T-posts, PVC tees and some metal conduit but I may build a wooden frame like yours eventually because yours looks really nice. We don’t get hurricane level wind here but we get some 40-50mph windstorms on occasion so I’m really interested to see how this new trellis handles it. I hadn’t even considered that I could just unhook the plants and lay them down if it gets too windy. Solid tip, thank you!
I've tested this up to 30-40 mph winds with good results. We got grazed by a tropical storm last year that gave us persistent ~30mph winds with higher gusts and I left everything exposed. Over 40, I'm not sure. Taking them down is extremely easy, and doing that protected them from the 80-90mph winds we got from our direct hit last year. Zero damage.
OMG! I have been eyeing that trellis when you film more recent videos. I just ran accross this! I feel like I can do this. I screen shot the supplies....I am off to get them. Was wondering how to handle my sweet potato vines. This may work. Many thanks!
@@TheMillennialGardener oh my goodness, I can't imagine what it must be like. I pray you have a hurricane free season. Thank you in advance !! Such an amazing amazing teacher
I learn something new from this channel all the time. This whole time I've been staking the bottom of the screen to the ground to keep it more rigid. I guess it's better to not do that so it allows more sway with the wind?
I just created my string trellis system and you have helped me so much! I was wondering if I did just one stem would I get a lot of tomatoes? Otherwise I will go for two stems. Your videos are incredible and I am a teacher, and you are the best teacher ever! Thank you soooo much!
Super great info. I made a metal Tee post/wire cable trellis support this Fall for next year and have the hooks and clips too. I like when you don't wear your sunglasses too, I pay better attention for some reason. 👍💕🍅 Thanks for the info, you're such a relatable guy that translates into being a good teacher-appreciate it.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks. I can't not wear sunglasses. It makes it impossible to film, because you can't look into the camera. It's too bright, here.
I feel stupid for not thinking out such a simple method for tomatoes. I have spine issues which comes with a litany of mobility challenges. This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks
I really wish the string trellis was an option for me but my tomato stems outgrow the tomato clips within a month of being transplanted. Most of my stems grow to be about an inch and a half thick so I do the 8 foot bamboo stake method. I use a similar twine but I don’t wrap it around the stem. I tie it onto the pole, loop it around the far end of the stem and then tie the other end onto the stake
It would be great to see more mature plants reaching the top & how you reroute & spread the plant for continued growth. Looks like you space your plants 3’ apart?? Outstanding video thanks!
Pollination ceases in my climate around June 15th. Late season tomatoes don't produce here for that reason, so videos are filmed in the spring while they're still fertile. They are spaced 2' apart.
Wow another amazing super great video info and analysis from absolutely the best channel on UA-cam. I'm going to try this I use cages and the alway want to fall over. Thank you and keep up the good work and remember dale is the star of the show and your not half bad yourself
Thank you! I really appreciate it. I have another video on trellising tomatoes if you are looking for an easier, cheaper setup. You can make your own trellis with just U-posts and a steel cable. You don't need the big posts like me. ua-cam.com/video/gxrAz8bWMXM/v-deo.html
I love this video!! Thank you very much for sharing😊 I have a quick question: will the clips placed early in the growth of the tomato prevent the plant from being able to get past the clip? How will the lower limbs get past the clip? Do you just move the clip? Thank you again so much 😊
Oh wow that's crazy. I didn't know any of this. I used to let them grow wild and yes, you're right, they get sick and attacked. So helpful. Hello from CA.
If you're in CA, you'll see massive increases in productivity and health growing them vertically since your summers are dry and disease pressure is lower in places with dry summers. They'll do extremely well for you as long as you fertilize them adequately. If you need some help with fertilizing, check out my recent video here: ua-cam.com/video/SyXPQCJmRzk/v-deo.html
Thank you so much. Yes, I live in CA. thank you for sending the link in will look into it. I'm trying to learn as much as I can to grow my own veggies and fruits!
Glad to hear it. It is a little work to set it up initially, but it's so worth it and then it's there forever for you to use. The results speak for themselves.
Exceptionally good video. After trying every support method known to man I also went with string trellises and hooks. You’re totally right, it’s just so easy!
Glad to hear you arrived at the same conclusion. It's truly revolutionary. It made such an impact on me that I built my entire garden to accommodate this method. It's so far above and beyond any other method, and it's a life-saver because I can protect my plants for the eventual hurricane threat. With you and your Santa Ana winds, I imagine they can destroy your entire crop, but if you lower them to the ground in preparation, they should survive.
@@TheMillennialGardener I really like the concept of lowering the vines to the ground. Santa Ana winds start in September, right around the time I have the best and biggest tomatoes. I’ve lost so many over the years the string method is a Godsend. I hope the tomatoes and other crops get going a bit. We have “May Grey” weather where the marine layer comes inland following low pressure around the four corners. Cloud cover and high temps of 60F Max. Nothing is really growing that well yet. Thanks for the tip on the exotic citrus. We’re in a HLB disease quarantine area but I can still score a few citrus outside the area. Also looking for a citrus Hytrix for a container and thanks for that video. I always learn something from your videos, Aces in my book!
QUESTION: So I'm consider some similar type system like you did. Couple questions 1. I typically use jute. Will that hold for a season? I prefer to just cut the jute in the fall and let it break down in the ground rather than pulling all the twine down for the winter. 2. I might use conduit in the ground then connectors across the top. Will conduit last in the soil? Thanks!
I wish I would have watched this video before the season. I pruned my plants down to 1 main stem and the tomato sizes were incredible, but I grew all heirloom and only got about 6 tomatoes per plant. I think a second main stem would have increased production a lot. I tried the electric toothbrush trick and I don't thing it did anything. Maybe one out of 4 or 5 flowers became fruit
I love this concept and want to try it but am wondering when using this method, how do you rotate the location of your tomato plants the following year to avoid disease?
For field growing, *generally* commercial growers grow determinate varieties. They fruit more quickly, they're more disease resistant, and you can plant multiple crops in a season than indeterminate tomatoes. Because indeterminate tomatoes take so long to ripen and only produce a few tomatoes at a time, they are generally reserved for commercial greenhouse operations since in greenhouses, you grow vertically. If you are going to grow outdoors in a field, I would strongly recommend growing determinate types like Celebrity, Bella Rosa and other "perfect-shaped," highly disease resistant determinates. However, you need a nice, hot summer to grow them, because they need some warmth to ripen. If you live in a place with cool summers, other varieties would be better suited. For greenhouse growing indeterminates, you'd want a different route. Maybe something like Big Beef, off the top of my head.
@@TheMillennialGardener this is the most satisfying answer I ever had on youtube. You give so much attention to my answer. I feel so special 😭😭 Thank you.
@@TheMillennialGardener wait what about bell peppers. I wanna grow them commercially and with very highly yields. Should I also grow determanite bell peppers that are short or the indeterminate tall vine ones. Also cucumbers. Which one should I grow. For commercial purposes I mean
@@TheMillennialGardener also should I leave only two stems for determinate tomatoes. Like in you taught me in your other videos. Or should I leave them since they don't grow very tall
Great video thank you so very much just one thing that wasn't too clear for me, my tomatoes also get 8 ft when I use my cages I didn't quite understand how to align the tomato plant after it gets to the top of your trellis and then bring it back down. If you could explain that a little more I would sure appreciate it thank you so much!
Thanks for a clear and definitive video! My question, concern would be that the clips appear to be a hard type of plastic. Wouldn't you risk, in higher wind conditions, the clips abrading or cutting into the stalk, or even breaking the branch right above it as they blow around within the confines of the clips? I'm going to try these anyway but wondered if you've experienced any such damage.
The clips can rub on occasion, but the "damage" is so light I wouldn't even call it "damage." What happens is, when the clips do rub, the tomato immediately callouses over that spot and the callouses are so firm, future rubbing does not cause any damage at all. Tomatoes callous over very quickly, so these clips work very, very well. I will say that using the twine itself to wrap around the stems causes A LOT more rubbing by comparison, so I'd recommend avoiding that. The clips keep damage to an absolute minimum.
Love the idea of how the growth isn't limited. Last year we ended up just cutting down the tomato after it got over 10 ft because I just didn't have a higher trellis. But wouldn't the stem snap and break if you were to lower it?
My first year with string but learn not to break the main stem if it's the only growing tip. I'm finding string system are slow compared to the cement panels but for a few plants it's way ahead of the cone shaped tomatoe cages
Your trellising system shouldn't affect the growth rate. The problem with cages is they cluster the vines so the vines tend to "shade out" each other and also promote disease due to the poor airflow. If you're seeing slowed growth, you may want to space the tomato hooks further apart so they shade each other less and provide more airflow. That is likely the problem.
I would love to make something like this but I've been told not to grow the same vegetable in the same spot year after year. How are you able to have success?
What type of mulch are you using, and what other plants are you growing? Garlic and basil. Finally do you have issues with cutworms using this method of trellis? Thank you
Is pruning recommended for determinate tomatoes such as Roma’s? I’ve always heard that you never remove suckers from them. For the last 5 years I’ve always let them grow but I’m wondering if they would produce better if I did prune
I was going to do this but decided on a cattle panel behind them - still pruning to one (to 2) stem though and I LOVE those clips! Next year going to have hubby instal those 4x4 (or 6x6) posts for the line. Love that you can hang baskets on there too! I’m not sure if you’ve done a video on this but since this is a permanent structure do you keep them in the same beds or do you rotate with like pole beans etc or use cover crops to rejuvenate the soil? Is that enough for soil borne pathogens? Thanks hun! Your videos are so great!
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoy the videos. I originally considered cattle panels, but I didn't have a way of getting them home from Tractor Supply without renting a UHaul, so I went this route and I think it's more versatile. The reason why I built beds around the entire perimeter of the garden is because it is much longer than the number of tomatoes that I grow, so I can rotate them more effectively and allow some beds to rest. I believe the "pathogens" thing is more of a myth, though. It's a problem in commercial mono-cropping due to lousy land management practices and the effects of clustering enormous numbers of the same plant together with no diversity (which never happens in nature), but there is no mono-cropping in a backyard garden. Backyard gardens aren't large enough to form mono-culture, so even if you row everything orderly, it's more like poly-culture. I don't religiously rotate my crops each season. All I do is make sure I allow my beds to rest. Once a bed is done, I like to dump a bag of compost and a whole ton of kitchen scraps and tarp it for a couple months to refeed the soil. That's all that needs to be done for a tiny garden like mine, in my opinion.
Pots are a little different than in-ground beds. Pots need to be constantly fed with fertilizer because there isn't enough nutrients in the soil. You'll exhaust 100% of the nutrients in a container in a matter of a couple weeks, so you need a religious fertilizing schedule to keep the plants healthy and productive. I would be more likely to rotate soil in a pot than my garden beds. My garden beds have a lot of diversity, but pots won't, so you need to be stricter when container gardening.
@@TheMillennialGardener awesome, cuz that’s all I do as well - but without resting- but each year I’ve pretty much built more and more beds. I’m done now, I think, lol. This year I built a permanent 4x20 bed though with the trellis (tractor supply is close and we have a truck). I only really have one dead season, summer, where literally very little will grow (I’m not an okra eater lol) just peppers and eggplant- which I have interplanted in the tomato bed (and in two other beds). In my zone 9 summer is the only ‘rest’ time but tomatoes here usually just slow down production (if they don’t become diseased).
The plastic clip is a very nice idea and works well but after using them for one season I found that the plastic gets sun rotted and breaks very easy. To me, it's not worth the extra expense. Tying the twine and wrapping it around the tomato plant may be a little more labor intensive but saves money in the long run.
One more quick question we get pretty good wind where we live here in Oklahoma could you connect the twine to something more stable in the ground than just the tomato any ideas on that thank you again.
They are pre-packaged double tomato hooks. They come pre-spooled with 30 feet of nylon string. You want to use nylon string, because it is a synthetic fiber. Natural fibers like cotton swell when wet and shrink when they dry, and the UV rays from the sun rots them quickly. The nylon stays the same length wet or dry, and after 3 years, there is no fraying or damage from UV rays. I have them linked in my Amazon Storefront in the video description. They're sold by the dozen and pretty inexpensive.
@the millennial gardener how do you use those clips to support the tomatoes themselves? Often my tomatoes get so large that they break the vine that is growing them
Thank you! If you're talking about the perpendicular rows of 3 plants in between indeterminate tomato, those were garlic. I've found inter-planting garlic with tomatoes is very effective at keeping pests away. Something about the odor of the bulbs makes a fantastic repellent!
I've been following the lower and lean technique with my indeterminate cherry tomato plants. I see lots of conflicting information on how to prune cherry tomatoes. Currently, I let 1 to 3 leaders grow and then string trellis each. Others say to use cattle panels to really let them grow wild. Not sure what would be best?
I let my cherry tomatoes bush out pretty heavily. I find 4-5 double tomato hooks is enough to control them. Because cherry tomato vines are so much lighter than beefsteak and slicing types, I can clip multiple vines to a single double tomato hook. This will encourage disease more by limiting airflow, but these cherry tomatoes I'm growing are almost invincible to disease (Super Sweet 100VF and Sungold), so I don't worry about disease with these varieties much. If you really struggle with disease - which I can't imagine it being any worse than my area unless you're in South Florida or South Louisiana - you can trim the leaders to only one or two. The nice thing about this method is you can tailor it to as many leaders as you wish.
Another thought.... instead of using the plastic clips, why not anchor the string down low and spiraling around the stalk, eliminating the need for the clips altogether?
I’ve tried this, but the problem is the strings rub against the stems and cause a lot of rubbing damage. Also, I cannot anchor the strings because when we get bad wind storms, I detach the tomatoes and lower them. They need to freely hang for best results. Anchoring them will cause rigidity, which increases wind damage. Allowing them to sway alleviates wind pressure.
@@TheMillennialGardener Thanks, appreciate the input. Maybe this method would suffice in a high tunnel since there wouldn't (shouldn't) be any wind issues. Have you seen any damage from the plastic clips?
How heavy do you think 8 tomatos would get if you prune allllll the leaves back 10 leaf stems...im using 6.5 ft tposts and doing 2 rows of 4... im worried the pvc pipe i was planning to use won't be enough and may bend...
I'm not a big fan of removing leaves unless they are diseased or really low to the ground. The leaves are the "solar panels" of the plant. The more leaves you remove, the less solar energy your plant will be able to absorb. That means less growth, less fruit and smaller ripening times. I try to leave the leaf stems and only remove excess suckers beyond the 2-3 main stems I prefer. For the overhead trellising system, I would recommend using 1/8" braided stainless steel cable like the airplane cable in my Amazon Storefront. It can support hundreds of pounds. I think PVC pipe would bleach crack in the sun after a couple months with that weight on it. If you must use pipe, I would use EMT conduit instead since it'll last practically forever.
Every single part I used is linked in my Amazon Storefront in the video description under the category "Trellising Supplies." If you click the Amazon link in the video description, it's all there.
I have a full how-to on how to build it here: ua-cam.com/video/gxrAz8bWMXM/v-deo.html The parts are linked in my Amazon Storefront in the video description.
Good video. I'm staking on bamboo right now and seeing stem damage at many points where the stem/leaf rests on the bamboo stake. Do you get stem damage from these clips too? Does stem damage matter much?
Yes, you will get a small amount of rubbing at first where the clips go on. However, the plants heal over quickly and develop a callous at those locations, so it becomes a non-issue. I wouldn't worry about it at all. The bamboo stakes will struggle once the plants get to be about 4 feet tall and laden with fruit, in my experience. They're good for peppers, but they're not strong enough for tomatoes.
Right now, they're on their second season in my blistering sun. I would say 95% of them survived the first season. A few would crack. However, keep in mind they're only about $10 for 150-200 of them, so they're very inexpensive to replace.
![How To Pruning Espalier Fig Trees First Year [COMPLETE GUIDE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/gvY8PCnWgjM/mqdefault.jpg)
![How To Pruning Espalier Fig Trees First Year [COMPLETE GUIDE]](/img/tr.png)
If you found this video helpful, please "Like" and share to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching 😊TIMESTAMPS for convenience:
0:00 Why Supporting Tomatoes And Growing Vertical Is Necessary
1:16 How I Built My Raised Bed Garden To Trellis Tomatoes
1:46 3 Reasons Why This Is The Best Tomato Trellis
5:00 How To Prune Tomatoes For String Trellising
7:56 Pruning Tomatoes Tutorial
8:54 How To Install A Tomato Hook
9:39 How To Clip The Tomato To The String
10:52 How To Grow Tomatoes To An UNLIMITED HEIGHT!
12:46 Second String Trellising And Pruning Example
13:30 Final String Trellising Results
14:29 Adventures With Dale
Is this still the best way you've found?
I like this method the best. It seems like this allows the stem of the tomato to grow more freely than wrapping it in string as it gets larger
This was really good, not a bunch of small talk, just good info.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
This is by far the best tomato growing educational video I have seen. Thank you for your clear instructions and staying on task. Good luck on your crop this year!
I'm so happy to hear that! Glad you enjoyed it!
Your teaching style is so clear and you enunciate your words so it’s really easy to understand you. So appreciative to be subscribed to this channel full of amazing info.
I really appreciate that. Thank you for watching.
my first video listening to him and i totally agree with you,
MG, you've got a terrific channel. Your explanations and demonstrations are always clear!
Thank you very much! I'm glad it's worth watching. Thanks for watching!
This is genius 😍 Thank you so much for a crash course on how to grow and support tomato plants. It is entertaining to watch your video , as always.
I'm glad it was helpful. Thanks for watching! I appreciate it.
I almost always want to enjoy the spectacle of something growing on the trellis together with guidance to "how to make or construct a trellis."
Watching vining crops grow up something is really cool. Thanks for watching!
My tomatoes grow so much fruit, I couldn't even give it all away.
This is the best demonstration i have ever seen in tomatoes tying. Very useful information
Thank you! I'm glad it was helpful!
YES! I started doing this last year after watching a channel from Canada who grows tomatoes in a huge greenhouse. I love, love, love those clips! She also showed how to prune the plants for airflow and better production and move the trellises. I used this method and now will always use string and clips! It's brilliant because you can easily move the clips to redirect the weight as branches and fruit grow, shifting the support.
We get very strong wind gusts here, too, but I just put a windbreaker up. All my tomatoes are strung under a structure I made with mesh to protect from hail, so I just attached a shade cloth I would drop and secure at either end to break the wind. It works for me in my conditions.
This is exactly what I do. I move the plants and add/remove string as necessary. It only takes seconds to adjust. Often, the wind itself "finds" the ideal places for the tomato hooks. They arrive at the perfect tension on their own.
@@TheMillennialGardener Do the hooks work for other vine crops?
THE most informative yet easiest to understand video on trellising that I’ve seen. Thanks so much-definitely going to try this!
Please create a video showing the method of growing the taller/longer tomato plants by extending the string and ?curling up? the plant. Thx!! Great channel. Excellent videos.
I actually have a video on that here: ua-cam.com/video/G08MDkN8UTQ/v-deo.html
best example of this technique on youtube !!
thank you for this, now i know i can always come back to you for a clear instructions while i learn for my garden
Thank you for the thorough demonstration and explanation of using these tomato hooks with nylon twine (& the useful tips and info, like what to do if you run out of height, coiling the bottom of a tall growing tomato plant, and the fact that commercial growers use that technique too). It's all of the extra info and tips (like the wind factor, and how many main stems/branches you found is best, laying them down and covering them for protection during damaging winds, etc.,) that really helps a ton! I love thorough details like that. 👍😊
Thank you for this video. I love how easy your teaching is. You're clear and concise. Happy gardening from zone 9b SW Florida 😊
We also get high winds, sometimes for a few days in a row, here in northern Colorado. I will be trying this string method for my indeterminate tomatoes this year. Thanks for an excellent video.
Found your channel googling info about avocados. You are the best of every gardening channel I've come across. I see what you're explaining in a way I can easily understand, ty!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for watching my videos. I appreciate it.
This method will require a substantial change from the way I currently steak my tomatoes using steaks, tomato clips and elastic string. But you make sound rationale for the benefits of doing it this way. Once again, you nailed it. When you mentioned the Highwinds that you had experienced, and because of the way I had trellised tomatoes, I was blown away with the simplicity of simply unhooking a tomato plant and laying it on the ground with cover during the storm. Fantastic!
Using this method, your tomatoes are safe with 100mph winds if you just lay them down and toss a blanket over them. It's a revelation here since we get more tropical activity than anywhere in the US. If you need an easy trellis, check out my previous video at 2:55 = ua-cam.com/video/gxrAz8bWMXM/v-deo.html
I give an example layout and it may fit well into your plan. You can simply use U-posts (because they're pre-drilled) and threaded eye bolts installed in the pre-drilled holes with a couple nuts on each side to create an aerial cable path, or you can buy T-posts, pound a PVC conduit tee on top and thread the steel cable through there.
Excellent information! (I like the dog, too!)
Thank you! Dale is the best!
LOVE DALE!
Just finished installing a very similar trellis im Zone 3 Maine! Love it!
Thank you very much , with love from Namibia.
You’re welcome! Thank you for watching!
Such a nice clear explanation. Thank you so much!
You're very welcome! Thanks for watching!
Hey ...everyone Moniee-Mon , is listening thanks for the info vedios keep doing what'cha do best God bless ya!.
Thanks for watching!
Tank you about your sharing this video to us.
This was great man! I was considering trying this technique this year. You may have just convinced me!
You should! It is worth it. It's revolutionary. Thanks for watching!
We got the clips and twine, but did not know about the hooks. Thank you for sharing that info. So very helpful. Judi
Glad it was helpful! thank you for watching!
Last summer, I trialed this string method for half of my tomatoes and a cattle panel trellis for the other half. This string method won hands down and I'll never use any other method again. It was so easy to wrap the stems around the string as the plants grew (I didn't have the clips but will eventually get some) and you're correct, the plants just sway in the wind with no ill effect. Love your suggestion about laying the plants on the ground and covering them to protect from frost to extend the season. I would never have thought of that. Thank you!
It's incredible, and a fraction of the price of cattle panels. For the cost of a single cattle panel, I can buy 20 double tomato hooks and 200 clips. If you get hurricanes like we do, or severe storms, you can also lay the plants down for that, too. In theory, you could lay your plants down on the ground 2 weeks before first frost in the fall, put a low tunnel around them and grow them for another month+ if they're in good shape. It's great season extension, and usually once it cools off, tomato diseases die down.
This was right on time for me ❤ Thanks
You’re a really good teacher. You explain and demonstrate your ideas really well.
I’m actually growing on a string trellis for the first time this year thanks to you and a couple other youtubers showing how well it works. I made mine with T-posts, PVC tees and some metal conduit but I may build a wooden frame like yours eventually because yours looks really nice.
We don’t get hurricane level wind here but we get some 40-50mph windstorms on occasion so I’m really interested to see how this new trellis handles it. I hadn’t even considered that I could just unhook the plants and lay them down if it gets too windy. Solid tip, thank you!
I've tested this up to 30-40 mph winds with good results. We got grazed by a tropical storm last year that gave us persistent ~30mph winds with higher gusts and I left everything exposed. Over 40, I'm not sure. Taking them down is extremely easy, and doing that protected them from the 80-90mph winds we got from our direct hit last year. Zero damage.
@@TheMillennialGardener Can you provide any insight on how susceptible the main stem is to snapping when you lay them down?
Just ordered clips and hooks!! This makes everything easier! Thanks!!
You're going to really enjoy it. Thanks for watching!
Definitely trying this technique, hopefully in a few more weeks up here in the north east. Thanks bro...
It's the best. You won't regret it. Thanks for watching!
OMG! I have been eyeing that trellis when you film more recent videos. I just ran accross this! I feel like I can do this. I screen shot the supplies....I am off to get them. Was wondering how to handle my sweet potato vines. This may work. Many thanks!
You are awesome..please show us how you allow the tomatoes to keep growing by laying them on the ground..
Assuming I'm fortunate enough that the tomatoes survive that long (cross your fingers for no hurricanes), I will try and do so.
@@TheMillennialGardener oh my goodness, I can't imagine what it must be like. I pray you have a hurricane free season. Thank you in advance !! Such an amazing amazing teacher
I cannot find the link for your store. Can you help?
Really great, instructive video. Thank you!
Thank you so much for your video, it was a very educative
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
Brilliant. Thank you.
You're welcome!
Hey! You described supporting the plants when they get taller but keeping them on the same line. Do you have a video showing this?
I learn something new from this channel all the time. This whole time I've been staking the bottom of the screen to the ground to keep it more rigid. I guess it's better to not do that so it allows more sway with the wind?
I just created my string trellis system and you have helped me so much! I was wondering if I did just one stem would I get a lot of tomatoes? Otherwise I will go for two stems. Your videos are incredible and I am a teacher, and you are the best teacher ever! Thank you soooo much!
You just convinced me to do mine this way! Excellent video, clear & simple! You’re a great teacher! Thank you!
Excellent! I'm glad I could convince you. You won't regret it. Thanks for watching and I appreciate the kind words.
Super great info. I made a metal Tee post/wire cable trellis support this Fall for next year and have the hooks and clips too. I like when you don't wear your sunglasses too, I pay better attention for some reason. 👍💕🍅 Thanks for the info, you're such a relatable guy that translates into being a good teacher-appreciate it.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks. I can't not wear sunglasses. It makes it impossible to film, because you can't look into the camera. It's too bright, here.
I’m definitely trying this
I feel stupid for not thinking out such a simple method for tomatoes. I have spine issues which comes with a litany of mobility challenges. This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks
I really wish the string trellis was an option for me but my tomato stems outgrow the tomato clips within a month of being transplanted. Most of my stems grow to be about an inch and a half thick so I do the 8 foot bamboo stake method. I use a similar twine but I don’t wrap it around the stem. I tie it onto the pole, loop it around the far end of the stem and then tie the other end onto the stake
thank you. this is super easier than working with aluminum supports
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
It would be great to see more mature plants reaching the top & how you reroute & spread the plant for continued growth. Looks like you space your plants 3’ apart?? Outstanding video thanks!
Pollination ceases in my climate around June 15th. Late season tomatoes don't produce here for that reason, so videos are filmed in the spring while they're still fertile. They are spaced 2' apart.
Wow another amazing super great video info and analysis from absolutely the best channel on UA-cam. I'm going to try this I use cages and the alway want to fall over. Thank you and keep up the good work and remember dale is the star of the show and your not half bad yourself
Thank you! I really appreciate it. I have another video on trellising tomatoes if you are looking for an easier, cheaper setup. You can make your own trellis with just U-posts and a steel cable. You don't need the big posts like me. ua-cam.com/video/gxrAz8bWMXM/v-deo.html
Helpful good idea. thanks
You're welcome!
Great Job 👍 👌
I love this video!! Thank you very much for sharing😊
I have a quick question: will the clips placed early in the growth of the tomato prevent the plant from being able to get past the clip? How will the lower limbs get past the clip?
Do you just move the clip?
Thank you again so much 😊
Oh wow that's crazy. I didn't know any of this. I used to let them grow wild and yes, you're right, they get sick and attacked. So helpful. Hello from CA.
If you're in CA, you'll see massive increases in productivity and health growing them vertically since your summers are dry and disease pressure is lower in places with dry summers. They'll do extremely well for you as long as you fertilize them adequately. If you need some help with fertilizing, check out my recent video here: ua-cam.com/video/SyXPQCJmRzk/v-deo.html
Thank you so much. Yes, I live in CA. thank you for sending the link in will look into it. I'm trying to learn as much as I can to grow my own veggies and fruits!
Amazing ty
I am using this system the. Best.
Glad to hear it. It is a little work to set it up initially, but it's so worth it and then it's there forever for you to use. The results speak for themselves.
I love your videos.
Thank you!
Exceptionally good video. After trying every support method known to man I also went with string trellises and hooks. You’re totally right, it’s just so easy!
Glad to hear you arrived at the same conclusion. It's truly revolutionary. It made such an impact on me that I built my entire garden to accommodate this method. It's so far above and beyond any other method, and it's a life-saver because I can protect my plants for the eventual hurricane threat. With you and your Santa Ana winds, I imagine they can destroy your entire crop, but if you lower them to the ground in preparation, they should survive.
@@TheMillennialGardener I really like the concept of lowering the vines to the ground. Santa Ana winds start in September, right around the time I have the best and biggest tomatoes. I’ve lost so many over the years the string method is a Godsend. I hope the tomatoes and other crops get going a bit. We have “May Grey” weather where the marine layer comes inland following low pressure around the four corners. Cloud cover and high temps of 60F Max. Nothing is really growing that well yet. Thanks for the tip on the exotic citrus. We’re in a HLB disease quarantine area but I can still score a few citrus outside the area. Also looking for a citrus Hytrix for a container and thanks for that video. I always learn something from your videos, Aces in my book!
Thank you
QUESTION:
So I'm consider some similar type system like you did.
Couple questions
1. I typically use jute. Will that hold for a season? I prefer to just cut the jute in the fall and let it break down in the ground rather than pulling all the twine down for the winter.
2. I might use conduit in the ground then connectors across the top. Will conduit last in the soil?
Thanks!
I wish I would have watched this video before the season. I pruned my plants down to 1 main stem and the tomato sizes were incredible, but I grew all heirloom and only got about 6 tomatoes per plant. I think a second main stem would have increased production a lot.
I tried the electric toothbrush trick and I don't thing it did anything. Maybe one out of 4 or 5 flowers became fruit
great video, very clearly explained, thank you.
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
Great advice ty
I love this concept and want to try it but am wondering when using this method, how do you rotate the location of your tomato plants the following year to avoid disease?
do a video on making commercial one main stem tomato
For field growing, *generally* commercial growers grow determinate varieties. They fruit more quickly, they're more disease resistant, and you can plant multiple crops in a season than indeterminate tomatoes. Because indeterminate tomatoes take so long to ripen and only produce a few tomatoes at a time, they are generally reserved for commercial greenhouse operations since in greenhouses, you grow vertically. If you are going to grow outdoors in a field, I would strongly recommend growing determinate types like Celebrity, Bella Rosa and other "perfect-shaped," highly disease resistant determinates. However, you need a nice, hot summer to grow them, because they need some warmth to ripen. If you live in a place with cool summers, other varieties would be better suited. For greenhouse growing indeterminates, you'd want a different route. Maybe something like Big Beef, off the top of my head.
@@TheMillennialGardener this is the most satisfying answer I ever had on youtube. You give so much attention to my answer.
I feel so special 😭😭
Thank you.
@@TheMillennialGardener wait what about bell peppers. I wanna grow them commercially and with very highly yields.
Should I also grow determanite bell peppers that are short or the indeterminate tall vine ones.
Also cucumbers. Which one should I grow. For commercial purposes I mean
@@TheMillennialGardener also should I leave only two stems for determinate tomatoes. Like in you taught me in your other videos. Or should I leave them since they don't grow very tall
Excellent tips!
Thanks for watching!
Great video thank you so very much just one thing that wasn't too clear for me, my tomatoes also get 8 ft when I use my cages I didn't quite understand how to align the tomato plant after it gets to the top of your trellis and then bring it back down. If you could explain that a little more I would sure appreciate it thank you so much!
Yes, I agree. I was confused too. We would love some further explanation.
Thanks for a clear and definitive video! My question, concern would be that the clips appear to be a hard type of plastic. Wouldn't you risk, in higher wind conditions, the clips abrading or cutting into the stalk, or even breaking the branch right above it as they blow around within the confines of the clips? I'm going to try these anyway but wondered if you've experienced any such damage.
The clips can rub on occasion, but the "damage" is so light I wouldn't even call it "damage." What happens is, when the clips do rub, the tomato immediately callouses over that spot and the callouses are so firm, future rubbing does not cause any damage at all. Tomatoes callous over very quickly, so these clips work very, very well. I will say that using the twine itself to wrap around the stems causes A LOT more rubbing by comparison, so I'd recommend avoiding that. The clips keep damage to an absolute minimum.
Thank you very much
Thanks for watching!
Awesome awesome awesome tips! Thanks so much!!!
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
Love the idea of how the growth isn't limited. Last year we ended up just cutting down the tomato after it got over 10 ft because I just didn't have a higher trellis. But wouldn't the stem snap and break if you were to lower it?
Thank you great advice ❤️😊🏡😺🐶
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
I have a 4’ garden bed with 3 rows of tomatoes. Can I use one top wire ? Or should I have a separate top wire for each row of tomatoes? Thanks !
Excellent video ~ Liked and subscribed 👍🏻
Thank you for subscribing! I appreciate it!
Great video!
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching!
Great video
Thanks for watching!
My first year with string but learn not to break the main stem if it's the only growing tip.
I'm finding string system are slow compared to the cement panels but for a few plants it's way ahead of the cone shaped tomatoe cages
Your trellising system shouldn't affect the growth rate. The problem with cages is they cluster the vines so the vines tend to "shade out" each other and also promote disease due to the poor airflow. If you're seeing slowed growth, you may want to space the tomato hooks further apart so they shade each other less and provide more airflow. That is likely the problem.
We have Box Turtles. They love the low hanging fruit.
Hopefully they aren't speed eaters! 😂 I wouldn't mind sharing with a turtle here or there.
Do you just clip the bottom end of the twine to the tomato 🍅 plant?
I would love to make something like this but I've been told not to grow the same vegetable in the same spot year after year. How are you able to have success?
Does the clip bag say what the clips are made of? Also, how many seasons do they get through?
funny how none of the most popular tv gardening shows never bother to show useful stuff like this.
I like covering things most don’t cover. Thanks for watching!
What type of mulch are you using, and what other plants are you growing? Garlic and basil. Finally do you have issues with cutworms using this method of trellis? Thank you
Is pruning recommended for determinate tomatoes such as Roma’s? I’ve always heard that you never remove suckers from them. For the last 5 years I’ve always let them grow but I’m wondering if they would produce better if I did prune
String string trellis, sincerely our farmer 🇮🇩
Thanks for watching!
I was going to do this but decided on a cattle panel behind them - still pruning to one (to 2) stem though and I LOVE those clips! Next year going to have hubby instal those 4x4 (or 6x6) posts for the line. Love that you can hang baskets on there too!
I’m not sure if you’ve done a video on this but since this is a permanent structure do you keep them in the same beds or do you rotate with like pole beans etc or use cover crops to rejuvenate the soil? Is that enough for soil borne pathogens?
Thanks hun! Your videos are so great!
Ya I’d like to know that too! Right now I am growing in pots and using new soil each time while I rejuvenate the old soil before using again.
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoy the videos. I originally considered cattle panels, but I didn't have a way of getting them home from Tractor Supply without renting a UHaul, so I went this route and I think it's more versatile. The reason why I built beds around the entire perimeter of the garden is because it is much longer than the number of tomatoes that I grow, so I can rotate them more effectively and allow some beds to rest.
I believe the "pathogens" thing is more of a myth, though. It's a problem in commercial mono-cropping due to lousy land management practices and the effects of clustering enormous numbers of the same plant together with no diversity (which never happens in nature), but there is no mono-cropping in a backyard garden. Backyard gardens aren't large enough to form mono-culture, so even if you row everything orderly, it's more like poly-culture. I don't religiously rotate my crops each season. All I do is make sure I allow my beds to rest. Once a bed is done, I like to dump a bag of compost and a whole ton of kitchen scraps and tarp it for a couple months to refeed the soil. That's all that needs to be done for a tiny garden like mine, in my opinion.
Pots are a little different than in-ground beds. Pots need to be constantly fed with fertilizer because there isn't enough nutrients in the soil. You'll exhaust 100% of the nutrients in a container in a matter of a couple weeks, so you need a religious fertilizing schedule to keep the plants healthy and productive. I would be more likely to rotate soil in a pot than my garden beds. My garden beds have a lot of diversity, but pots won't, so you need to be stricter when container gardening.
@@TheMillennialGardener Good info to know!
@@TheMillennialGardener awesome, cuz that’s all I do as well - but without resting- but each year I’ve pretty much built more and more beds. I’m done now, I think, lol.
This year I built a permanent 4x20 bed though with the trellis (tractor supply is close and we have a truck). I only really have one dead season, summer, where literally very little will grow (I’m not an okra eater lol) just peppers and eggplant- which I have interplanted in the tomato bed (and in two other beds). In my zone 9 summer is the only ‘rest’ time but tomatoes here usually just slow down production (if they don’t become diseased).
As the plant grows do you move the clips up or just add more clips?
The plastic clip is a very nice idea and works well but after using them for one season I found that the plastic gets sun rotted and breaks very easy. To me, it's not worth the extra expense. Tying the twine and wrapping it around the tomato plant may be a little more labor intensive but saves money in the long run.
One more quick question we get pretty good wind where we live here in Oklahoma could you connect the twine to something more stable in the ground than just the tomato any ideas on that thank you again.
Does this method work if you're using containers? Should I make the supporting posts taller?
Yes. I use it as you can see here: ua-cam.com/video/mfafaZ0KYyg/v-deo.htmlsi=iu7xoNm6RV4XD7mM
what is the horizontal support line? rope or wire? i want to try this. thanks
They are pre-packaged double tomato hooks. They come pre-spooled with 30 feet of nylon string. You want to use nylon string, because it is a synthetic fiber. Natural fibers like cotton swell when wet and shrink when they dry, and the UV rays from the sun rots them quickly. The nylon stays the same length wet or dry, and after 3 years, there is no fraying or damage from UV rays. I have them linked in my Amazon Storefront in the video description. They're sold by the dozen and pretty inexpensive.
@the millennial gardener how do you use those clips to support the tomatoes themselves? Often my tomatoes get so large that they break the vine that is growing them
Great content, I just subscribed. What are the other plants growing along side the tomatoes?
Thank you! If you're talking about the perpendicular rows of 3 plants in between indeterminate tomato, those were garlic. I've found inter-planting garlic with tomatoes is very effective at keeping pests away. Something about the odor of the bulbs makes a fantastic repellent!
@@TheMillennialGardener Another great tip. Thanks again.
I've been following the lower and lean technique with my indeterminate cherry tomato plants. I see lots of conflicting information on how to prune cherry tomatoes. Currently, I let 1 to 3 leaders grow and then string trellis each. Others say to use cattle panels to really let them grow wild. Not sure what would be best?
I let my cherry tomatoes bush out pretty heavily. I find 4-5 double tomato hooks is enough to control them. Because cherry tomato vines are so much lighter than beefsteak and slicing types, I can clip multiple vines to a single double tomato hook. This will encourage disease more by limiting airflow, but these cherry tomatoes I'm growing are almost invincible to disease (Super Sweet 100VF and Sungold), so I don't worry about disease with these varieties much. If you really struggle with disease - which I can't imagine it being any worse than my area unless you're in South Florida or South Louisiana - you can trim the leaders to only one or two. The nice thing about this method is you can tailor it to as many leaders as you wish.
@@TheMillennialGardener Sounds like a good idea. Next season I'll let the cherry tomatoes branch out more and see what happens.
Once you start laying the plant on the ground, can you just remove the clips from the bottom of the plant and reuse them?
Yes, you absolutely can.
Do you do the same for cucumbers?
Another thought.... instead of using the plastic clips, why not anchor the string down low and spiraling around the stalk, eliminating the need for the clips altogether?
I’ve tried this, but the problem is the strings rub against the stems and cause a lot of rubbing damage. Also, I cannot anchor the strings because when we get bad wind storms, I detach the tomatoes and lower them. They need to freely hang for best results. Anchoring them will cause rigidity, which increases wind damage. Allowing them to sway alleviates wind pressure.
@@TheMillennialGardener Thanks, appreciate the input. Maybe this method would suffice in a high tunnel since there wouldn't (shouldn't) be any wind issues. Have you seen any damage from the plastic clips?
How heavy do you think 8 tomatos would get if you prune allllll the leaves back 10 leaf stems...im using 6.5 ft tposts and doing 2 rows of 4... im worried the pvc pipe i was planning to use won't be enough and may bend...
I'm not a big fan of removing leaves unless they are diseased or really low to the ground. The leaves are the "solar panels" of the plant. The more leaves you remove, the less solar energy your plant will be able to absorb. That means less growth, less fruit and smaller ripening times. I try to leave the leaf stems and only remove excess suckers beyond the 2-3 main stems I prefer. For the overhead trellising system, I would recommend using 1/8" braided stainless steel cable like the airplane cable in my Amazon Storefront. It can support hundreds of pounds. I think PVC pipe would bleach crack in the sun after a couple months with that weight on it. If you must use pipe, I would use EMT conduit instead since it'll last practically forever.
where do you get the clip that goes on the top? thanks
Every single part I used is linked in my Amazon Storefront in the video description under the category "Trellising Supplies." If you click the Amazon link in the video description, it's all there.
@@TheMillennialGardener sorry looked in description didn't see tx
i love this system. where can i buy these trellis systems?
I have a full how-to on how to build it here: ua-cam.com/video/gxrAz8bWMXM/v-deo.html
The parts are linked in my Amazon Storefront in the video description.
@@TheMillennialGardener thx a lot
Good video. I'm staking on bamboo right now and seeing stem damage at many points where the stem/leaf rests on the bamboo stake. Do you get stem damage from these clips too? Does stem damage matter much?
Yes, you will get a small amount of rubbing at first where the clips go on. However, the plants heal over quickly and develop a callous at those locations, so it becomes a non-issue. I wouldn't worry about it at all. The bamboo stakes will struggle once the plants get to be about 4 feet tall and laden with fruit, in my experience. They're good for peppers, but they're not strong enough for tomatoes.
@@TheMillennialGardener good info thanks. Yeah bamboo is not enough unless I top them.
How many years do you get out of the clips?
Right now, they're on their second season in my blistering sun. I would say 95% of them survived the first season. A few would crack. However, keep in mind they're only about $10 for 150-200 of them, so they're very inexpensive to replace.