tying up tomatoes

[t-ham]

Just a quick canvas on techniques for tying up plants as they grow. Do you secure vines to the sides of the cage, or to ties secured to the top so that the vine is suspended in a freer manner? Also, and more importantly, what do you use that will support the weight yet have some "give" so that the vines don't get jerked around in a heavy wind? Following that line of thought, does anyone use any sort of "shock absorber" in line with the tie? Is more secure better that swingin' in the breeze? Do rusty CRW cages damage the plants where they come into contact?

I've used everything from sisal twine to strips of old bedsheets to scraps of landscape fabric trimmed off my pallet garden. None of these questions would have arisen had I not found TV and been forced to "step up my game".

Thanks in advance,

Tom

[Worth1]

With a cage you have no reason to tie up the plants.

Worth

[feldon30]

Originally Posted by t-ham

Do rusty CRW cages damage the plants where they come into contact?

Not really. Tomato plants are pretty resilient and will just grow around. I make galvanized fence C-cages and then prop them open so I can reach in from the open end. I don't really like dealing with rusty CRW cages.

[TZ-OH6]

When I tie off to anything (stake, or occasionally part of a cage or wire trellis) I prefer the stem to be vertical and as close to the structure as possible so that the weight is taken by the stem, and not the tie. The stem/vine needs a little room in the tie loop to thicken. I use jute garden twine.

[SmartAlex]

Originally Posted by Worth1

With a cage you have no reason to tie up the plants.

That never happens. Mine always exceed their cages. The cage lends more tying opportunities.

I use the foam covered wire by the spool, or cut up old nylon stockings.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by SmartAlex

That never happens. Mine always exceed their cages. The cage lends more tying opportunities.

I use the foam covered wire by the spool, or cut up old nylon stockings.

Looks like you need a bigger cage.

Worth

[SmartAlex]

Or a better pruning program.....

[tjg911]

i used to play that game, tying up plants every few days... what a waste of time. put your plants into crw cages and you will free up all that time spent tying and retying the plants. also you don't have to worry about suckers just let them grow as they help to feed the plant, shade the fruits and add to the supports holding up the plant in a cage.

[t-ham]

tjg911,

What size diameters do you use for your cages? I would imagine you use different sizes for different types of plants, ind vs det, etc. Does experience tell you that, for example, a Brandywine takes "x" and a commercial Roma takes "y"?
Your answer seems to infer that your plants fill the cages comfortably and sort of hold themselves up by filling in the space. The remark about letting suckers grow is appealing, too.

[FILMNET]

Sucker slow down my plants for me. I grow tomato plants for the fruit, so until i have flowers 30 days anyway, no suckers. Mid July here then the plants grow better in the hot days with big fruits on there bottoms. They are growing the best, and i want some more fruit flowers before the plants are 6 ft high. I feed them and last years i got more flowers and was eating fruits 65 days from some plants. If the plants are still ok i am get some flowers last summer, these fruits will be on the plants as the cold night come. Suckers slow my plants down i would not get flowers 3 or more times if the plants are left alone. And i was told years ago to cut some leaves off the bottom early, and more off for the sun on the fruits. I gave plants away last year the same ones i grew here, mine grew the best, i saw the same plants i gave away. Huge suckers on them, late fruit only 1 time. As all i want is fruit, i gave away a ton of fruit to friends and told them they came from the same plants they had.

[t-ham]

Filmnet,

I've heard of stripping lower leaves and usually do it to some extent. But your answer seems to bring us back to the question of suckers/no suckers. The info I got years ago and usually have kept to is to allow the shoots out of the bottom 2 axials as branches and grow as a 3 stem plant but since learning about the astounding variety of tomatos out there I figure that what works for one variety may not be the best for another.

Lets get tjg911 back in here. t, have you noticed any production variables between sucker and non-sucker plants? Or do you always leave them grow. Have you ever given plants to a friend and compared yields later?

Thanks all,

Tom

[FILMNET]

Yes last year i did for 2 friends, when i was there plants late in the summer they were nasty. Had 2-3 coming up from the ground for each plant, i cut off them to 1 only. Then they did get fruit late i left my fruit for them anyway. This shot is 1 plant late July 60-70- days Stump of the world

[SmartAlex]

Originally Posted by t-ham

What size diameters do you use for your cages? I would imagine you use different sizes for different types of plants, ind vs det, etc. Does experience tell you that, for example, a Brandywine takes "x" and a commercial Roma takes "y"?

My cages were 18" square and 80" high. If you are diligent, and can easily reach all four sides, you can keep most vines (even indeterminate varieties) woven into that, but it would be a good idea to drive a T-post into one corner to keep it upright when it becomes top heavy and you get a decent wind. Not much will contain a healthy Sun Gold vine.

You will still have to tie up clumps of fruit to the cage to keep it from breaking off. I've given up on cages because of the storage nightmare they pose (even the colapsible design), and switched to tomato ladders.

[b54red]

I wasted a couple of years using the big tomato cages and letting them grow wild inside them. The plants would look so beautiful and healthy for the first 6 weeks or so and then when they were looking their best foliage diseases would just take over despite constant spraying. I got very few tomatoes after the first couple of trusses because diseases just destroyed them due to lack of air circulation and poor drying. When you have 90% humidity and above nearly every day with temps to match the plants need good air flow. After all the work of building cages that I thought would make my growing easier it was a real disappointment to have to find a better way of supporting my tomatoes.

I take off any leaves near the ground and almost all suckers and most forks. Then tie the stems to a trellis. It is a lot of work but the plants set and produce far more fruit over the season than when I allowed them free reign. I'm like filmnet, I'm in it for the fruit not the vines. Almost every time I find myself admiring a beautiful plant the harsh reality of my growing conditions will make it obvious within a week or so why this is not a good thing. Keeping the plants pruned helps keep most of the foliage diseases under better control and makes spraying more efficient and much easier.

I think everyone should use the method that works best for their garden climate. The method I use would probably be far less effective where the climate is much drier or where the season is really short.

[FILMNET]

Its all well know that for big fruit you have to cut a lot off plants like my shot, the last 30 days of Aug i let the top grow of my plants. The nights can be cold with green fruit on the top. The plants may die from cold but the top will be the last to died.My plant of Brandywine was dieing before i got fruit last year 80 days or more for huge fruit.