Thank you!!! We have been very happy with the design and have changed it for different crops. We now have a cucumber wall using the conduit and wire fence, works so great!!! Thanks for watching!
I've been doing the exact opposite for pruning and get bushy fruitful plants. I want to try this method next year to see the differences. Thank you for the detailed video.
Thank you for your detailed video especially showing us where to purchase your accessories. Clips, conduits and how you put them together. I suggest also tells us about watering and fertilizing in you next video. Great looking set up.
Thank you for such a great video and this beautiful system you made. I have been trying to design mine from 1st, PVC pipes in similar fashion to yours, then I thought of using 4x4x10's as they would be sturdier but couldn't find good ones either and home depot or lowes and from what they have is PT that cost upwards of $20 for 1, that is terrible. the thought of electrical conduit passed my mind while walking down the isle at lowes but now after watching your simple and clear video, I am going to go your way. Thank you again.
Hi Floyd, check out the end of the video, there is a picture of the clips (Part Number) that was purchased from Amazon. Also, there are several close up pictures of the clips on the vine and the string, very simple to install. Thanks for watching!
Lady first time to hear about cutting of large sucker's and I will consider the statement As Inderment continue to grow until death you should not need the second crop unless deseise kills your first crop. I did love your setup and I also having strings for my first year, I'm finding my growth rate as to fast and them clips are handy but I have growing room for a cattle panel hung up on T post as I let my plants have a double growing stem in case one was to break and I have saved one plant mid season and it's now have a new sucker for the second new stem. Yes for your limited garden 🏡 space your string system is great and save $$$ . You too should concerned about the Florida weave as a possibility system if you grow a few determinat tomatoe as many are bigger producers. Thank you for the teaching and welcome into your garden Thanks
Hi Heath, we make our own compost and refresh the planters with new soil and our compost every season. When we plant the seedlings we dig a deep hole and put in a handful of bone meal and our compost. Seems to work pretty good! Thanks for watching, please subscribe and good luck with your gardening!
Love your videos and contents. Just found you on UA-cam. Can you recommend a brand of tomato tying strings. I heard I need to order special strings that can withstand the of vine. Can you give an Amazon link? Thank you.
Hi Eunice, we’ve used a bunch of different types of natural string and haven’t had any issues. You typically only get one growing season per string installation. Thanks for watching and please follow, here’s the string we bought last year from Amazon… www.amazon.com/Natural-Gardening-Industrial-Presents-Decorations/dp/B083P5QGTT
Hey Dan, we use 3 to 4mm Jute or Hemp twine (lots of choices on Amazon). It holds up great for one season and the plastic clips grab it very well. Some people bury the end under the starter when they plant but the natural fibers degenerate quickly in the wet soil. We found it’s best to keep it out of the ground by using the bottom conduit horizontal piece. Thanks for watching and please subscribe and follow…
Hey there, did you check out the follow-on video to this one? It shows the conduit trellis in more detail. Check it out and let me know if you have any questions? Pretty easy to bolt the 10 foot sections of conduit together after smashing the ends in a vise. Thanks for watching!
Do you get enough sunlight there in that spot? I’m thinking of adding this method to the back of my garden, which is against the fence. I also usually take the tomatoes all the way deep into the fall, which during the fall it has shade there. Not during the summer though it’s full sun. I was curious though because maybe shade wouldn’t be so bad
Hi, the planter along the fence gets direct sunlight mid-morning to mid-afternoon and lots of reflection off the side of the house. We have always had wonderful production year after year in this location. Our string tomatoes get 12 to 14 feet high!!! Check out our other video where we planted more tomatoes in planter boxes with full sunlight, similar production? Thanks for watching and please subscribe and follow. Good luck with your gardening!!!
Love the system , I would have liked more information about your structure and believe many of your viewers in limited space garden will be asking. Here in Ohio zone 6 Just started having Romo tomatoes and a few salad tomatoe ripen But I already have on my strings a few wine sap almost as wide as my outstretched had and wider than my wife's hand seems that string and the trimming of suckers do help tomatoes grow larger but don't expect a larger total yeild. Thank you for your teaching
Hey Rose, the raised planter by the fence is 30 feet by 18 inches. Please check out our other videos that shows how we built new planter boxes in our backyard. Thanks for watching and please subscribe. Good luck with your gardening!
Hey Tim, we’ve done this with several large fruit varieties, Striped German, Hillbillies, etc. and yielded plenty of tomatoes. The strings handle the weight no problem but you need to make sure it’s attached to the vine in many locations. You can plant the tomatoes 10 to 12 inches apart and really maximize your space. Thanks for watching and please follow and subscribe. Good luck with your Garden!!!
Hi Essie, the trellis is supported with the vertical pieces driven into the ground and the cross pieces bolted together. The planter by the fence has a few supports that are attached to the fence. We have two other videos that describe the trellis design in a bit more detail, check them out. Thanks for watching and please follow and subscribe. Good luck with your gardening!
Hey Geo, the strings are tied to the Metal Conduit on the bottom and the top of the frame. We have another posted video that takes a closer look at the structure. Thanks for watching and please follow and subscribe!
Any advice for setting up up this frame without a fence for bracing? I was thinking of using t post or rebar and burying it 2'-3' and sliding the conduit over it and drilling a few bolts through to make it stable. That or just burying 2' of the conduit itself... I'm wanting to use this for multiple double rows over an estimated 15'x25' in ground garden. So probably 6 single row frames or 3 frames supporting 2 rows each. any advice from more experienced DIYers?
Hey HS, pounded the 10 foot section of conduit 2 feet into the ground has worked fine for our application. They haven’t moved however we have a clay layer below our garden beds. The rebar idea has good potential, I would test out the stand alone vertical conduit two feet into the ground and see how stable it is. I would also recommend a vertical center post every five feet. One great thing about the electrical conduit is smashing the ends and being able to bend and bolt together. You literally can alter it to piece together any type of design. Thanks for the great questions, please let us know how it worked out!!!
Hey Lanny, we use 3 to 4mm Jute or Hemp twine (lots of choices on Amazon). It holds up great for one season and the plastic clips grab it very well. Some people bury the end under the starter when they plant but the natural fibers degenerate quickly in the wet soil. We found it’s best to keep it out of the ground by using the bottom conduit horizontal piece. Thanks for watching and please subscribe and follow…
Is there any sag in the middle of the 10' beams across the top? Like should I have the vertical braces every 5' instead of 10' or is it study enough to not give in after just a couple years?
Hello HS, please check out our other video where we built a free standing A-Frame String Garden. Yes after the tomatoes/cucumbers started growing we did get sagging in the middle of the structure. I drove a vertical 10 foot section of electrical conduit in to the ground right in the middle and it worked great! I would suggest supporting every 10 foot section in the middle as you have the tension of the multiple strings and the weight of the plants. I found that the vertical conduit sections kept there position and didn’t sink further into the ground if they went in two feet. I guess it depends on the soil beneath the garden soil. We have pretty robust clay layers under our garden beds. Also, this year I’m changing the A-Frame design in the planter box video. We found that all the plants got all jumbled up when they reached the top apex. I’m going to add horizontal sections and change it to a vertical frame on both sides (i.e straight up and down vs. slanted A-Frame). Thanks for watching!!!
Very helpful...I cringe at determining locating the suckers and cutting them. I'm using the pole method...straight up like you. I'm brand new at this. I'm growing black eyed peas the same way. I'm growing all in containers on my lanai.
Hello, We use plastic clips and wrap the plant around the string as it grows. Purchased them from Amazon in bulk bags. Watch the end of the video, pictures and part numbers included. Thanks for watching!
Hey Bill, thanks for watching!!! The bottom bar is about 12 to 14 inches from the dirt level. This works well as we have enough room to till/amend the dirt for the new harvest. Seedlings are starting soon, can’t wait to start planting…
Great question! I supported the middle of each horizontal top section with an angle brace attached to the fence. I’m not sure if it was necessary but it held the weight of 10 tomato vines without sagging. We just built three new planter boxes and I’m going to install a conduit trellis system without the middle section supported. I’ll let you know how it goes with a follow up comment and we will post a video. The good thing about electrical conduit is you can cut it easily and create stable braces that can be bolted together. The new design will look like a swing set A-Frame. Thanks for watching and good luck with your gardening.
We used 10ft lenghts of 3/4 inch conduit. Leaned it against the side of the house we were renting and pushed the ends of the conduit in the ground. Grew cucumber, luffa, pole beans, and buttercup squash. No support was necessary. 1/2 in conduit probably would colapse under the weight of heavy veggies. Nowadays we have switched to the T-post, PVC tee and 3/4 inch conduit method. Again, 10-foot lengths of 3/4 inch works great for all veggies we grow. We also paint everything matte green so you cannot see the conduit shining in the back yard.
The 3/4 inch conduit is very sturdy, I’m sure it works great! Check out our latest video, we are trying a new “A” frame design, it sags a bit but seems to be holding up nicely. Thanks for watching!
Hey Brittany, please re-watch the video and the update video to see the details but we don’t tie the strings to the plants. We have conduit on both the top and the bottom. We purchase the string off Amazon, it standard hemp or jute cord. Here’s the link from our last purchase. Good luck! 👍 www.amazon.com/Natural-Gardening-Industrial-Presents-Decorations/dp/B083P5QGTT
How long are the tomatoes in the shade versus the full sun? I want to plant my tomatoes on the side of your house do to the fact it gets very hot here, low humidity but 95 to 115 during the summer.
Hey Jim, mid-summer we are getting direct light on the plants from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. We have had this garden for a long time and it produces quite well. The string method helps by getting the leaves higher off the ground. Also, the side of our house is a lighter color and the sun reflects off of it later in the day. Tomatoes luv the heat! You should do well. Thanks for watching!
@@milestonesprintervan-peter9545 Thanks for the reply, it seems that we are just to hot for tomatoes here, but I will give it a try on my side yard, it does not start to ramp up to after 3PM so I would have direct sunlight until then, after that shade.
The string setup looks very neat, nice. You said, you want to spread out the harvest by planting new plants some weeks after the first ones. That seems a bit strange for me, since tomato plants produce until either cold weather or some fungal diseases will stop them, no matter when I planted them. (I live in Gemany, should be USDA zone 7.) So for me it's best to plant all tomatoes as early as the weather allows, and then try to prevent early blight and late blight be carefully removing infected leaves and maybe spraying copper. But in the last years, blight was not the big issue it used to be, because we have an unprecedented draught with very few rain during summer. Bad for nature and agriculture in general, but good for tomatoes (as long as I can water them accordingly). Regarding the removal of the lower leaves: I only remove leaves that touch the ground or those that don't get much sunlight anymore (because of higher ones). This thing about redirecting energy into the fruits makes no sense to me, since "energy" (carbohydrates and others stuff) is produced by leaves, not consumed (as long as they get enough sunlight). The stems of your plants seem a bit thin to me. Maybe because of the removal of leaves and probably the first clusters of flowers. The first fruits are much lower on the stem on my plants, I don't remove them, since my plants have more leaves to support the fruits...
Hey Rob, we plant 10 to 12 inches apart and it works great! Multiple varieties of tomatoes, if you’re vigilant with your pruning the leaves and suckers it works perfect. Just strung the strings today (10 inches apart) and will plant our starters tomorrow Thanks for watching and please subscribe/follow. Good luck with your garden!
I thought they say to keep a good gap about 8 inches on the bottom and I’ll keep pulling suckers out but when you get towards to the top are you supposed to just leave them go or just keep one main stand the whole time?
@@milestonesprintervan-peter9545 was also thinking if I took a 3 inch nail and poked through the middle of the stem by the ground then that would weld it self shot and start the string around that on both sides and then take the string up on the very top. Do you think that would work? I have planted tomatoes upside down in a 5 gallon bucket and before tomatoes came on they were growing up like normal and they got tomatoes on and it came down and snapped just hanging on by skin. Didn’t take long and it welded it self shut unbelievable so I’m thinking if I put a nail through it on the bottom it be easier for the string
@@scottjkern Sounds like and interesting experiment! We have traditional used the bottom bar to tie off the strings and I've seen other gardeners tie them to a stake or plant them under the root ball. Let us know if it works, seems like it would be very sturdy, don't copper nails!😀
I've been looking for ways to grow more tomatoes along my fence. Your way is absolutely very pretty and effective. I really love it! One Quick question, it seems like your garden bed is built on concrete (maybe I'm wrong), is it causing some heating issue cause i heard concrete accumulates heat so plants on top of it may get damaged in the roots?
Hello, great question! The planter box was constructed over dirt just to the side of the concrete. There’s plenty on soil for the plants. Appreciate you watching our videos, we just built three new planter boxes with a different trellis system, new video coming out soon.
Hey Aubrey, you can get the Electrical Metal Conduit at any Big Box Store. Unfortunately the price has doubled since we did our project. We are doing several more raised beds and recently picked up a bunch at Lowes. The Home Depot SKU is the following... 1/2 in. x 10 ft. Electric Metallic Tube (EMT) Conduit Store SKU #203106 $6.58 here in California (Cheaper at Lowes)
@@milestonesprintervan-peter9545 thank you! I’ll check my local pricing and compare between stores. I had no idea what electrical conduit was before your video so thank you for the link, I’m much more confident I’ll find the right item now! 🌱
Hi Ray, PVC would flex too much and need to be supported at closer intervals. The metal conduit worked great for our application…. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for watching and following our projects. The metal conduit has held up very well over many growing seasons. We changed the structure several times, bolting and unbolting and it’s solid. The pieces embedded in the soil have only slightly corroded. We really like the metal conduit as it can be easily formed to support the trellis design. Get those seedlings growing! Good luck!
Was wondering about using the same space year after year. Im limited on space. I don't have a whole lot of options to rotate from spot to spot. How do you handle this? Any diseases and such from using the same spot? Thanks
We have been growing tomatoes in the same space Spring to Fall and rotating Arugula in the empty spaces all year. In between planting we add homemade compost and give it a good mixing. We have not had any serious issues with Diseases. With the String method, those lower leaves get cut out quickly and I'm sure that helps. Good Luck!
Hi David, in several instances the main tomato trunks get wound around the strings however in our case the plastic clips provide the majority of support.
Hey there, sorry for the late reply! Yes, the vertical pieces of conduit are braced with scrap 2x4 material screwed to the top of the fence with a 3/4 inch hole drilled in them. The top Horizontal conduit is brace in the middle of the section with some left over conduit. I smashed the ends in a vice and used a hammer to roll it in the shape of the 1/2 pipe, attached with a self tapping screw and then to the fence (great brace!). It's very simple and helped with the drooping of the heavy tomatoes. We'll do a follow-up and capture the structure in more detail. Thanks!
@@milestonesprintervan-peter9545 I like the simplicity of the string and clips. The single stem grows straight up and produces a lot of fruit. I’m waiting to see how heavy the vines get.
We planted several varieties including Sungold, Cherokee Purple, Yellow Pear, Hillbilly, and Striped German. Our favorites are Sungold and Cherokee Purple.
@@milestonesprintervan-peter9545 that's what i was going to ask! It's so cool that you get to play with so many varieties this way. We usually have to pick 3-5/year. Will have to rethink if there's a spot where we can do more...
Hey Lenore, good to see you here! Let me know if you want to stop by and see the garden for ideas, we just added some new planters and the string method is working great!
Yep you are correct, we only use the twine for one growing season. The clips grab the twine much better than the nylon. Not too difficult stringing the trellis each year. Thanks for watching and please subscribe. Good luck with your gardening!!!
Hi Kevin, it’s a single row against the fence with the plants spaced about 12 inches apart. If your diligent in removing the leaves 8” to 10” inches would work great. Lots of tall plants in a little space! Thanks for watching!
Hey William, 10” to 12” apart is perfect for string tomatoes with one main stalk. We’ve done this method for a couple seasons and yielded a great harvest every time. Thanks for watching and please subscribe.
Hey Ganesh, these tomato plants are super hearty and we have not experienced any issues with removing the baby suckers. These are very fast growing and sturdy plants. Thanks for watching and good luck with your gardening!
Hey Mickey, we use plastic Vegetable clips as the plants grow. These are real easy to use, they clamp to the string and are large enough to hold the main stem. They are available in quantity for cheap on Amazon. We show a picture of the bag at the end of the Video as well as several close up pictures of them attached. Thanks for watching!!!
Yep, we've been growing Tomatoes and others along the fence line for many years and get great results. Check out part #2 to see the yield. Thanks for watching!
@@milestonesprintervan-peter9545 that was my question also. How much sun do you get and from which direction? With the houses so close together the sun is shaded alot.
@@evelynbayna8824 the fence goes south to north and there's plenty of late morning to early afternoon sunshine hitting all the plants. The String method additionally helps by getting the leaves higher in the air. My neighbor has multiple tomato plants on the other side of the fence that are huge, 7 feet plus... The spot seems to work fine as we have yielded tons of fruit for many years.
HI Bobbie, the entire structure is made out of 10 foot 1/2 inch electrical conduit. For the top part of the structure, we smashed about 2 inches of the ends of material in a vice making them flat and drilled holes for bolts. The vertical pieces are pounded into the dirt and the horizontal pieces are attached to the vertical pieces with bolts. Our set up is 30 feet long, 4 vertical pipes, 3 horizontal top pipes and 3 horizontal bottom pipes. The strings run from the bottom horizontal pipes to the top horizontal pipes. I used scrap 2x4 material screwed to the top of the fence with a 3/4 inch hole cut in it to brace the vertical pipes and I used a few short pieces of conduit to brace the center sections from drooping. We are due a follow-up video and I'll be sure capture the structure in more detail. Thanks for watching!
Now days it is cheaper to buy pipes whether conduct or pvc as wood has gone skyrocket high very high unbelieveable price. The cheap stud 2x4's wood used to cost like around $3 and now it cost $7 ... poor thing for carpenters who makes a living doing carpenter work. Yea pipes would be cheaper. I use conduct pipes on each tomato plants. Next year I would do the string thing as it is new to me and seems easier to do it.
@@RodeoCowgirl-55 Do you have any trees with straight sturdy branches in your yard? If so, one way to conserve money is to use the branches of the trees for the vertical stakes and horizontal beams. Luckily for me, I have such a tree whose branches I need to trim anyway, so saving them as poles/stakes/beams for tomatoes puts them to good use.
Hey Cody, the plants planted next to the fence do better than the ones planted in direct sunlight. Check out the our other video comparing the two locations. It’s really amazing how well they do. The stalks will be 12 to 14 feet long by the end of the season and the fruit is wonderful. Thanks for watching!
Probably the tidiest arrangement for growth I have ever seen!! 😃I hope you had beautiful tomatoes that year!
By far the best trellis video out there. Well done and I love the flattening the ends of the electrical tubing for fitted pieces.
Thank you!!! We have been very happy with the design and have changed it for different crops. We now have a cucumber wall using the conduit and wire fence, works so great!!! Thanks for watching!
One thing to note, if u have a big sucker, put in water or soil to have another new tomato plant, will produce after u harvest the first lot !
Good point! Propagating the suckers is a good way keep the harvest spread out! Thanks for watching!
How big should the suckers be for me to propagate them? Or can the suckers be any size?
@@stuffbear2763 about half to full size of your hand, and keep them in water at first, should see some roots come out
Took the words out of my mouth
I wondered if you could propagate, thank you! Also what a great video! I learned so much! I didn't know to prune just 1 big suckered at a time!
Oh ! How wonderful and neat and tidy, and what a good idea! Thank you for showing how to put this system up with strings😊
Your welcome! Thanks for watching!
I've been doing the exact opposite for pruning and get bushy fruitful plants. I want to try this method next year to see the differences. Thank you for the detailed video.
Beautiful job.Thanks for the video. Keep up the good work 👏 and may God continue blessing you.
Thanks for watching Elder!!!
Thank you for your detailed video especially showing us where to purchase your accessories. Clips, conduits and how you put them together. I suggest also tells us about watering and fertilizing in you next video. Great looking set up.
Thank you for sharing your video.I also love planting flowers & Vegetables. New friend here in Phil
Thanks Leonor! Appreciate you watching and following our projects!!! You have an amazing garden...
Great video. Plants look nice and tidy. Such a clean look and I bet those plants really produce too. Thanks for your time of making video!
It's great what you share, I also love tomatoes,
Awesome. Love the flattening idea
Great job. Growing tomatoes runs in the family.
I'll try this method for my new project, thank you for sharing this superb idea.
Thanks for watching!
You hear style fit you well.
flattening the ends of the conduit to facilitate the joinery is a great idea. Would love to see how the trellis is set up and installed.
Super video, thank you! 🍅🍾❤️
Thanks for watching Mike!
Wow amazing method for this tomatoes
Thanks for watching!!! The method works great for small planting areas. Please follow and subscribe and good luck with your garden!
Very helpful video and instructions. Thank you
Thank you for such a great video and this beautiful system you made. I have been trying to design mine from 1st, PVC pipes in similar fashion to yours, then I thought of using 4x4x10's as they would be sturdier but couldn't find good ones either and home depot or lowes and from what they have is PT that cost upwards of $20 for 1, that is terrible. the thought of electrical conduit passed my mind while walking down the isle at lowes but now after watching your simple and clear video, I am going to go your way. Thank you again.
Very nice information thank you. I didn’t see any information about how to use the clips or where to buy them.
Hi Floyd, check out the end of the video, there is a picture of the clips (Part Number) that was purchased from Amazon. Also, there are several close up pictures of the clips on the vine and the string, very simple to install. Thanks for watching!
Well done!
Lady first time to hear about cutting of large sucker's and I will consider the statement
As Inderment continue to grow until death you should not need the second crop unless deseise kills your first crop.
I did love your setup and I also having strings for my first year, I'm finding my growth rate as to fast and them clips are handy but I have growing room for a cattle panel hung up on T post as I let my plants have a double growing stem in case one was to break and I have saved one plant mid season and it's now have a new sucker for the second new stem.
Yes for your limited garden 🏡 space your string system is great and save $$$ .
You too should concerned about the Florida weave as a possibility system if you grow a few determinat tomatoe as many are bigger producers.
Thank you for the teaching and welcome into your garden
Thanks
Beautiful plants may I ask what fertilizer you use
Hi Heath, we make our own compost and refresh the planters with new soil and our compost every season. When we plant the seedlings we dig a deep hole and put in a handful of bone meal and our compost. Seems to work pretty good! Thanks for watching, please subscribe and good luck with your gardening!
Love your videos and contents. Just found you on UA-cam. Can you recommend a brand of tomato tying strings. I heard I need to order special strings that can withstand the of vine. Can you give an Amazon link? Thank you.
Hi Eunice, we’ve used a bunch of different types of natural string and haven’t had any issues. You typically only get one growing season per string installation. Thanks for watching and please follow, here’s the string we bought last year from Amazon…
www.amazon.com/Natural-Gardening-Industrial-Presents-Decorations/dp/B083P5QGTT
What string to you use? I had several tomato plants fall when the string I was using broke. Thx.
Hey Dan, we use 3 to 4mm Jute or Hemp twine (lots of choices on Amazon). It holds up great for one season and the plastic clips grab it very well. Some people bury the end under the starter when they plant but the natural fibers degenerate quickly in the wet soil. We found it’s best to keep it out of the ground by using the bottom conduit horizontal piece. Thanks for watching and please subscribe and follow…
thx
@@milestonesprintervan-peter9545
Do you know if Jute is the same? @@milestonesprintervan-peter9545
this is a very great video, answered all my questions! Thank you.
Thanks for watching! Please check out the new trellis we built for our raised planters, just posted yesterday…
Any chance I can get a drawing of the trellis design?? Looking to build the same thing!
Hey there, did you check out the follow-on video to this one? It shows the conduit trellis in more detail. Check it out and let me know if you have any questions? Pretty easy to bolt the 10 foot sections of conduit together after smashing the ends in a vise. Thanks for watching!
Do you get enough sunlight there in that spot? I’m thinking of adding this method to the back of my garden, which is against the fence. I also usually take the tomatoes all the way deep into the fall, which during the fall it has shade there. Not during the summer though it’s full sun. I was curious though because maybe shade wouldn’t be so bad
Hi, the planter along the fence gets direct sunlight mid-morning to mid-afternoon and lots of reflection off the side of the house. We have always had wonderful production year after year in this location. Our string tomatoes get 12 to 14 feet high!!! Check out our other video where we planted more tomatoes in planter boxes with full sunlight, similar production? Thanks for watching and please subscribe and follow. Good luck with your gardening!!!
Wow nice beautiful job Watching from California I got new ideas and I love your videos
Thank You! Appreciate you watching and following…. Good luck!
Thank you so much mam...from the Philippines
Love the system , I would have liked more information about your structure and believe many of your viewers in limited space garden will be asking.
Here in Ohio zone 6 Just started having Romo tomatoes and a few salad tomatoe ripen But I already have on my strings a few wine sap almost as wide as my outstretched had and wider than my wife's hand seems that string and the trimming of suckers do help tomatoes grow larger but don't expect a larger total yeild.
Thank you for your teaching
Hi there 👋 what is ur garden tomato bed length and width can u tell me? Thanks
Hey Rose, the raised planter by the fence is 30 feet by 18 inches. Please check out our other videos that shows how we built new planter boxes in our backyard. Thanks for watching and please subscribe. Good luck with your gardening!
Thank you. You are lovely
I have about 7 beefsteak varieties and I want to use this method. Is this strong enough to hold the size of fruits that I’ll be growing?
Hey Tim, we’ve done this with several large fruit varieties, Striped German, Hillbillies, etc. and yielded plenty of tomatoes. The strings handle the weight no problem but you need to make sure it’s attached to the vine in many locations. You can plant the tomatoes 10 to 12 inches apart and really maximize your space. Thanks for watching and please follow and subscribe. Good luck with your Garden!!!
Great look, how are you supporting the electrical conduit
Hi Essie, the trellis is supported with the vertical pieces driven into the ground and the cross pieces bolted together. The planter by the fence has a few supports that are attached to the fence. We have two other videos that describe the trellis design in a bit more detail, check them out. Thanks for watching and please follow and subscribe. Good luck with your gardening!
So lovely...also great for cukes.
We were thinking of doing some cukes this next season! Thanks for watching!!!
How you keep the string tight / straight ? What do you use in the ground ?
Hey Geo, the strings are tied to the Metal Conduit on the bottom and the top of the frame. We have another posted video that takes a closer look at the structure. Thanks for watching and please follow and subscribe!
Any advice for setting up up this frame without a fence for bracing? I was thinking of using t post or rebar and burying it 2'-3' and sliding the conduit over it and drilling a few bolts through to make it stable. That or just burying 2' of the conduit itself...
I'm wanting to use this for multiple double rows over an estimated 15'x25' in ground garden. So probably 6 single row frames or 3 frames supporting 2 rows each.
any advice from more experienced DIYers?
Hey HS, pounded the 10 foot section of conduit 2 feet into the ground has worked fine for our application. They haven’t moved however we have a clay layer below our garden beds. The rebar idea has good potential, I would test out the stand alone vertical conduit two feet into the ground and see how stable it is. I would also recommend a vertical center post every five feet. One great thing about the electrical conduit is smashing the ends and being able to bend and bolt together. You literally can alter it to piece together any type of design. Thanks for the great questions, please let us know how it worked out!!!
What kind of string did you use? Did it hold up for the season?
Hey Lanny, we use 3 to 4mm Jute or Hemp twine (lots of choices on Amazon). It holds up great for one season and the plastic clips grab it very well. Some people bury the end under the starter when they plant but the natural fibers degenerate quickly in the wet soil. We found it’s best to keep it out of the ground by using the bottom conduit horizontal piece. Thanks for watching and please subscribe and follow…
Your garden looks awesome!
Dilinizi bilmediğim halde. Çok iyi anladım anlattiklarinizi
çok teşekkür ederim!!!
Is there any sag in the middle of the 10' beams across the top? Like should I have the vertical braces every 5' instead of 10' or is it study enough to not give in after just a couple years?
Hello HS, please check out our other video where we built a free standing A-Frame String Garden. Yes after the tomatoes/cucumbers started growing we did get sagging in the middle of the structure. I drove a vertical 10 foot section of electrical conduit in to the ground right in the middle and it worked great! I would suggest supporting every 10 foot section in the middle as you have the tension of the multiple strings and the weight of the plants. I found that the vertical conduit sections kept there position and didn’t sink further into the ground if they went in two feet. I guess it depends on the soil beneath the garden soil. We have pretty robust clay layers under our garden beds. Also, this year I’m changing the A-Frame design in the planter box video. We found that all the plants got all jumbled up when they reached the top apex. I’m going to add horizontal sections and change it to a vertical frame on both sides (i.e straight up and down vs. slanted A-Frame). Thanks for watching!!!
@@milestonesprintervan-peter9545 ty for the quick reply!
Nicely done. Thank you.
Very helpful...I cringe at determining locating the suckers and cutting them. I'm using the pole method...straight up like you.
I'm brand new at this. I'm growing black eyed peas the same way. I'm growing all in containers on my lanai.
Thanks Cynthia!
Great video, well done. Thanks
Do you tie the plant to the string or twist the string around the plant as it grows?
Hello, We use plastic clips and wrap the plant around the string as it grows. Purchased them from Amazon in bulk bags. Watch the end of the video, pictures and part numbers included. Thanks for watching!
You can leave some of thz suckers on the top. They produce quite well
How far is the bottom pipe off the ground thank looks good bill
Hey Bill, thanks for watching!!! The bottom bar is about 12 to 14 inches from the dirt level. This works well as we have enough room to till/amend the dirt for the new harvest. Seedlings are starting soon, can’t wait to start planting…
Could you have a freestanding conduit, it looked like your conduit was attached to your fence?
Great question! I supported the middle of each horizontal top section with an angle brace attached to the fence. I’m not sure if it was necessary but it held the weight of 10 tomato vines without sagging. We just built three new planter boxes and I’m going to install a conduit trellis system without the middle section supported. I’ll let you know how it goes with a follow up comment and we will post a video. The good thing about electrical conduit is you can cut it easily and create stable braces that can be bolted together. The new design will look like a swing set A-Frame. Thanks for watching and good luck with your gardening.
We used 10ft lenghts of 3/4 inch conduit. Leaned it against the side of the house we were renting and pushed the ends of the conduit in the ground. Grew cucumber, luffa, pole beans, and buttercup squash. No support was necessary. 1/2 in conduit probably would colapse under the weight of heavy veggies. Nowadays we have switched to the T-post, PVC tee and 3/4 inch conduit method. Again, 10-foot lengths of 3/4 inch works great for all veggies we grow. We also paint everything matte green so you cannot see the conduit shining in the back yard.
The 3/4 inch conduit is very sturdy, I’m sure it works great! Check out our latest video, we are trying a new “A” frame design, it sags a bit but seems to be holding up nicely. Thanks for watching!
thanks .. very helpful
What's the best method for tying the string? Where on the plant? Do you tighten it as it grows? What type of sting?
Hey Brittany, please re-watch the video and the update video to see the details but we don’t tie the strings to the plants. We have conduit on both the top and the bottom. We purchase the string off Amazon, it standard hemp or jute cord. Here’s the link from our last purchase. Good luck! 👍
www.amazon.com/Natural-Gardening-Industrial-Presents-Decorations/dp/B083P5QGTT
How long are the tomatoes in the shade versus the full sun? I want to plant my tomatoes on the side of your house do to the fact it gets very hot here, low humidity but 95 to 115 during the summer.
Hey Jim, mid-summer we are getting direct light on the plants from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. We have had this garden for a long time and it produces quite well. The string method helps by getting the leaves higher off the ground. Also, the side of our house is a lighter color and the sun reflects off of it later in the day. Tomatoes luv the heat! You should do well. Thanks for watching!
@@milestonesprintervan-peter9545 Thanks for the reply, it seems that we are just to hot for tomatoes here, but I will give it a try on my side yard, it does not start to ramp up to after 3PM so I would have direct sunlight until then, after that shade.
Hi, how deep do you set your conduit?
About 12 to 16 inches, we also have it supported by the fence. Thanks for watching!
The string setup looks very neat, nice.
You said, you want to spread out the harvest by planting new plants some weeks after the first ones. That seems a bit strange for me, since tomato plants produce until either cold weather or some fungal diseases will stop them, no matter when I planted them. (I live in Gemany, should be USDA zone 7.)
So for me it's best to plant all tomatoes as early as the weather allows, and then try to prevent early blight and late blight be carefully removing infected leaves and maybe spraying copper. But in the last years, blight was not the big issue it used to be, because we have an unprecedented draught with very few rain during summer. Bad for nature and agriculture in general, but good for tomatoes (as long as I can water them accordingly).
Regarding the removal of the lower leaves: I only remove leaves that touch the ground or those that don't get much sunlight anymore (because of higher ones). This thing about redirecting energy into the fruits makes no sense to me, since "energy" (carbohydrates and others stuff) is produced by leaves, not consumed (as long as they get enough sunlight).
The stems of your plants seem a bit thin to me. Maybe because of the removal of leaves and probably the first clusters of flowers. The first fruits are much lower on the stem on my plants, I don't remove them, since my plants have more leaves to support the fruits...
How part apart can you plant it with this method?
Hey Rob, we plant 10 to 12 inches apart and it works great! Multiple varieties of tomatoes, if you’re vigilant with your pruning the leaves and suckers it works perfect. Just strung the strings today (10 inches apart) and will plant our starters tomorrow Thanks for watching and please subscribe/follow. Good luck with your garden!
@MileStone Sprinter Van - Peters' Projects Thank you for answering with that explanation. I appreciate that.
Now I have idea how to prune my tomatoes.
Best example I have seen !
I thought they say to keep a good gap about 8 inches on the bottom and I’ll keep pulling suckers out but when you get towards to the top are you supposed to just leave them go or just keep one main stand the whole time?
We keep removing the suckers all the way up. The plants easily get to 10 to 12 feet and continue producing.
@@milestonesprintervan-peter9545 Are that be too tall for me but you can keep cutting the top off too and maybe keep two main beams stems
@@milestonesprintervan-peter9545 was also thinking if I took a 3 inch nail and poked through the middle of the stem by the ground then that would weld it self shot and start the string around that on both sides and then take the string up on the very top. Do you think that would work? I have planted tomatoes upside down in a 5 gallon bucket and before tomatoes came on they were growing up like normal and they got tomatoes on and it came down and snapped just hanging on by skin. Didn’t take long and it welded it self shut unbelievable so I’m thinking if I put a nail through it on the bottom it be easier for the string
@@scottjkern Sounds like and interesting experiment! We have traditional used the bottom bar to tie off the strings and I've seen other gardeners tie them to a stake or plant them under the root ball. Let us know if it works, seems like it would be very sturdy, don't copper nails!😀
I've been looking for ways to grow more tomatoes along my fence. Your way is absolutely very pretty and effective. I really love it! One Quick question, it seems like your garden bed is built on concrete (maybe I'm wrong), is it causing some heating issue cause i heard concrete accumulates heat so plants on top of it may get damaged in the roots?
Hello, great question! The planter box was constructed over dirt just to the side of the concrete. There’s plenty on soil for the plants. Appreciate you watching our videos, we just built three new planter boxes with a different trellis system, new video coming out soon.
Just Great 👍
Thanks Rich!
Great info! Could you link the homedepot conduit you used? I’m prepping my garden for the New England spring season. 🌱
Hey Aubrey, you can get the Electrical Metal Conduit at any Big Box Store. Unfortunately the price has doubled since we did our project. We are doing several more raised beds and recently picked up a bunch at Lowes.
The Home Depot SKU is the following...
1/2 in. x 10 ft. Electric Metallic Tube (EMT) Conduit
Store SKU #203106 $6.58 here in California (Cheaper at Lowes)
@@milestonesprintervan-peter9545 thank you! I’ll check my local pricing and compare between stores. I had no idea what electrical conduit was before your video so thank you for the link, I’m much more confident I’ll find the right item now! 🌱
How do you attach the plant to the string?
We use plastic clips, we purchased them from Amazon in bulk bags. Watch the end of the video, pictures and part numbers included. Thanks for watching!
great idea with the trellis using conduit. have you considered PVC pipe?
Hi Ray, PVC would flex too much and need to be supported at closer intervals. The metal conduit worked great for our application…. Thanks for watching!
@@milestonesprintervan-peter9545 good point! thanks for getting back to me :)
Great video! Will metal conduit last longer?@@milestonesprintervan-peter9545
Thanks for watching and following our projects. The metal conduit has held up very well over many growing seasons. We changed the structure several times, bolting and unbolting and it’s solid. The pieces embedded in the soil have only slightly corroded. We really like the metal conduit as it can be easily formed to support the trellis design. Get those seedlings growing! Good luck!
@@milestonesprintervan-peter9545 thank you so much !
Was wondering about using the same space year after year. Im limited on space. I don't have a whole lot of options to rotate from spot to spot. How do you handle this? Any diseases and such from using the same spot? Thanks
We have been growing tomatoes in the same space Spring to Fall and rotating Arugula in the empty spaces all year. In between planting we add homemade compost and give it a good mixing. We have not had any serious issues with Diseases. With the String method, those lower leaves get cut out quickly and I'm sure that helps. Good Luck!
nice!
Thanks! Appreciate you watching!
Do you twist the string around the plant?
Hi David, in several instances the main tomato trunks get wound around the strings however in our case the plastic clips provide the majority of support.
Nice set up. The conduit is a good solution. Did you brace the conduit against the fence?
Hey there, sorry for the late reply! Yes, the vertical pieces of conduit are braced with scrap 2x4 material screwed to the top of the fence with a 3/4 inch hole drilled in them. The top Horizontal conduit is brace in the middle of the section with some left over conduit. I smashed the ends in a vice and used a hammer to roll it in the shape of the 1/2 pipe, attached with a self tapping screw and then to the fence (great brace!). It's very simple and helped with the drooping of the heavy tomatoes. We'll do a follow-up and capture the structure in more detail. Thanks!
@@milestonesprintervan-peter9545 I like the simplicity of the string and clips. The single stem grows straight up and produces a lot of fruit. I’m waiting to see how heavy the vines get.
Have you guys ever done egg plant with this method?
No, but we love eggplant and you have use thinking now!!!
wow❤
What breed or rather specific variety is this Madam?
We planted several varieties including Sungold, Cherokee Purple, Yellow Pear, Hillbilly, and Striped German. Our favorites are Sungold and Cherokee Purple.
@@milestonesprintervan-peter9545 that's what i was going to ask! It's so cool that you get to play with so many varieties this way. We usually have to pick 3-5/year. Will have to rethink if there's a spot where we can do more...
Hey Lenore, good to see you here! Let me know if you want to stop by and see the garden for ideas, we just added some new planters and the string method is working great!
the oly down side i see on your build is the twine... it will degrade much faster than Nylon.
Yep you are correct, we only use the twine for one growing season. The clips grab the twine much better than the nylon. Not too difficult stringing the trellis each year. Thanks for watching and please subscribe. Good luck with your gardening!!!
What's the in row distance apart
Hi Kevin, it’s a single row against the fence with the plants spaced about 12 inches apart. If your diligent in removing the leaves 8” to 10” inches would work great. Lots of tall plants in a little space! Thanks for watching!
@@milestonesprintervan-peter9545 Ok thank you
Why are they so close together? Isn't that going to be an issue?
Hey William, 10” to 12” apart is perfect for string tomatoes with one main stalk. We’ve done this method for a couple seasons and yielded a great harvest every time. Thanks for watching and please subscribe.
Note you can only do with indeterminate tomatoes. Do not clip off any suckers on determinate or you w ont get many tomatoes and they don’t get tall.
Yep! Thanks for watching!!!
👍
Hi, thanks for sharing the information. I have one doubt if we prune more baby suckers will there be any pressure on the plants ?
Hey Ganesh, these tomato plants are super hearty and we have not experienced any issues with removing the baby suckers. These are very fast growing and sturdy plants. Thanks for watching and good luck with your gardening!
Did not show how you connected the plant to the line
Hey Mickey, we use plastic Vegetable clips as the plants grow. These are real easy to use, they clamp to the string and are large enough to hold the main stem. They are available in quantity for cheap on Amazon. We show a picture of the bag at the end of the Video as well as several close up pictures of them attached. Thanks for watching!!!
👍👍👍🍅🤗😊
Thanks for watching Kebun!!!
Do you have enough sun there. .?
Yep, we've been growing Tomatoes and others along the fence line for many years and get great results. Check out part #2 to see the yield. Thanks for watching!
@@milestonesprintervan-peter9545 that was my question also. How much sun do you get and from which direction? With the houses so close together the sun is shaded alot.
@@evelynbayna8824 the fence goes south to north and there's plenty of late morning to early afternoon sunshine hitting all the plants. The String method additionally helps by getting the leaves higher in the air. My neighbor has multiple tomato plants on the other side of the fence that are huge, 7 feet plus... The spot seems to work fine as we have yielded tons of fruit for many years.
I wish you would film the top part so we can see how it is made.
HI Bobbie, the entire structure is made out of 10 foot 1/2 inch electrical conduit. For the top part of the structure, we smashed about 2 inches of the ends of material in a vice making them flat and drilled holes for bolts. The vertical pieces are pounded into the dirt and the horizontal pieces are attached to the vertical pieces with bolts. Our set up is 30 feet long, 4 vertical pipes, 3 horizontal top pipes and 3 horizontal bottom pipes. The strings run from the bottom horizontal pipes to the top horizontal pipes. I used scrap 2x4 material screwed to the top of the fence with a 3/4 inch hole cut in it to brace the vertical pipes and I used a few short pieces of conduit to brace the center sections from drooping. We are due a follow-up video and I'll be sure capture the structure in more detail. Thanks for watching!
Also, check out the video around 4:00 minutes in, you can see how the upper structure is put together.
Now days it is cheaper to buy pipes whether conduct or pvc as wood has gone skyrocket high very high unbelieveable price. The cheap stud 2x4's wood used to cost like around $3 and now it cost $7 ... poor thing for carpenters who makes a living doing carpenter work. Yea pipes would be cheaper. I use conduct pipes on each tomato plants. Next year I would do the string thing as it is new to me and seems easier to do it.
@@RodeoCowgirl-55 Do you have any trees with straight sturdy branches in your yard? If so, one way to conserve money is to use the branches of the trees for the vertical stakes and horizontal beams. Luckily for me, I have such a tree whose branches I need to trim anyway, so saving them as poles/stakes/beams for tomatoes puts them to good use.
Hy❤😘🤝🤝
Is that Rachel McAdams???
Shh! It’s a secret…😜
Are you an actress? 🤔
Nope, just a gardener…. 😃
There was that one time as a bird girl... 😉
LOL!
Do you regret planting so close to a tall fence? Seems like by doing so your really limiting the amount of direct sunlight that they get.
Hey Cody, the plants planted next to the fence do better than the ones planted in direct sunlight. Check out the our other video comparing the two locations. It’s really amazing how well they do. The stalks will be 12 to 14 feet long by the end of the season and the fruit is wonderful. Thanks for watching!