How To support Growing Tomato Plants

There are many options for supporting tomato plants in your garden. Gardener Peter Richards shows several methods he has tried and talks about what he likes and does not like about each one. He says that the traditional wire tomato cages do not work, instead you need a sturdier structure. He talks about and shows the pros and cons of heavy tomato cages, the Florida weave, livestock panel platform, tying the plants to a pole and tying them up with string. His personal favorite is to prune the tomatoes into a vine and use string to tie them up. He says this method makes it so you don’t need to spray fungicides nearly as often or at all and the plant will stay blight free for most of the year.
0:00 - Introduction
0:20 - Problems with Tomato Cages
1:03 - Tomato Tower with Cattle Panel Method
2:00 - Indeterminate vs. Determinate Tomato Plants
3:05 - Florida Weave Method
4:35 - Platform Method
6:12 - Pole Method
7:39 - Vine Method (for blight-free organic tomatoes)
Tomato twine for Florida weave, or vine: amzn.to/3JesxxM (Amazon affiliate link)
Everything else is best purchased at your local nursery or farm supply store.
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[@davidhofman4341]

I use concrete 6x6 wire in 24" round tubes 4' high with vertical open on the bottom. They hook together to form a tube. Unfold and stack for storage.

[@JohnHenrySheridan]

Thanks for the video and tips!

[@belindanares810]

Thank you for your ideas,,

[@tumusiimeisaac2543]

I was looking for that last method.. It has given me insight

[@peliROJO]

good episode. I might try that Florida weave this year.

[@FamilyPlotGarden]

Here is the video where we built that: ua-cam.com/video/FTZ3yYwjmpA/v-deo.html

[@DmgNebulaa]

Can’t wait to try the last method on my tomatoes

[@FamilyPlotGarden]

We hope to be making a video soon on the details of how to do the last method, but he covered most of the basics here.

[@jackieo8693]

Very interesting!

[@meldlew]

All those indeterminate need to be pruned to keep the air flow

[@Grace-kash]

Great

[@pa.fishpreacher6166]

why didn't you remove the leaves from the other plants at the bottom? Doing so and mulching around them will keep them from getting blight

[@Claiboren]

In using the String Method, is the string attached to anything at the bottom?

[@mangofever4681]

Hello, those pegs cost $5 each, so 3 would cost the same as those tomato cages. String can be tied around the 3 pegs to support the tomato plant.

[@rachelbutler790]

Have you tried using an arch/doorway trellis? If you cut the leaves at the bottom, would it be kinda similar to the string method?

[@FamilyPlotGarden]

That should work. Just make sure you tend to it often enough to steer the plant through the wire before they get too long.

[@johnwerner7194]

: )