Toppling Tomatoes!! :(

[koshki]

Every year I have this problem. My plants (all indeterminates) get to the tops of their 6' cages and then the wind starts to blow.

Yesterday we had crazy wind all day, and my Black Cherry (now about 8' tall despite my topping it) crashed over into its neighbors, then into my peppers after I tried to move it to a more protected spot. The Bradley went completely over and I lost 7 fruit from it.

The only solution we have been able to figure out so far is to bungee-cord them together and attach the whole magilla to one of my DH's 65# weights. The problem with this is that the plants get crowded too close together, and after a few windstorms, he doesn't want to bother bungeeing and unbugeeing them any more. That's when disease really gets going.

Does anyone have a better solution to this problem? Of course, this is one of the reasons I'm so interested in the Dwarf Project, but I'm sure there will always be some indeterminates that I want to grow!

I've got 7 plants each in 18x18x18 containers.

[rockhound]

If this happens every year but you haven't figured out a way to fix it, you're right maybe dwarfs are your answer. Give them more room!

[ElectraJim]

My 5 gallon bucket WSC always fell over until I put them in a row, pounded in the ground those 5 foot metal fence post like things, attached a 10 foot 2X2 to each one, and then Florida weave them.
I attach the cage tops to a run of "twine" with zip ties.

So far, so good!

ElectraJim

[JamesL]

Originally Posted by koshki

Every year I have this problem. My plants (all indeterminates) get to the tops of their 6' cages and then the wind starts to blow.

Yesterday we had crazy wind all day, and my Black Cherry (now about 8' tall despite my topping it) crashed over into its neighbors, then into my peppers after I tried to move it to a more protected spot. The Bradley went completely over and I lost 7 fruit from it.

The only solution we have been able to figure out so far is to bungee-cord them together and attach the whole magilla to one of my DH's 65# weights. The problem with this is that the plants get crowded too close together, and after a few windstorms, he doesn't want to bother bungeeing and unbugeeing them any more. That's when disease really gets going.

Does anyone have a better solution to this problem? Of course, this is one of the reasons I'm so interested in the Dwarf Project, but I'm sure there will always be some indeterminates that I want to grow!

I've got 7 plants each in 18x18x18 containers.

Koshki,
Are your plants sitting on the ground or are they on a driveway or deck?
On the ground you could pound in some cheap tent pegs and hook the bungees to them and also keep the plants spaced.
Deck or driveway, assuming you have room, I envision some sort of ladder like frame laid down with the containers sitting between the "rungs" and again possibly bungee'ed to some eye hooks. that would work on bare ground too of course.
Probably $40 worth of materials and you need to build it....