Overgrown Tomatoes

[DrakeMaiden]

I have never had tomato plants get as big as mine are this year. They have overgrown my wimpy support system. I think it would take cattle panels to corral them. They are in a hothouse and metal is not supposed to be good for staking plants when temperatures get super hot. Does anyone care to share their system for keeping tomatoes in check that does not involve metal caging?

 

[big brown horse]

Don't brag!

I have used bamboo and jute for tomato cages.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I used the thickest bamboo I could find as stakes and then used twine between the stakes, but that is not good enough. No, I'm actually not bragging. We had to lift the tomato stems with a board onto two saw horses, because my attempts at restraining them were pitifully inadequate. I am having a hard time watering them too, with all the stems. I wish I had gone ahead with a drip irrigation system. I don't know how I am supposed to pick the tomatoes that are not at the very front. This is a legitimate problem! Maybe you can come over and help?

 

[Greensage45]

Hi,

It is amazing how big a tomato plant can get. I have seen some nice 'tidy' setups, but no matter how managed they are in the beginning and middle of the growing season there comes that time when the plant just overwhelms its environment.

Sadly this means broken branches as the season nears an end, and even then there are rotten fruit that finds a way to stash itself along the bottom half of the mass.

I have tried everything. I do like the larger cattle-style fencing that has the big holes allowing the hand to pass through to the fruit. One year I even just let the plant sprawl just so I would not have to fight it.

This year I am doing a very open style fence design and will utilize strips of sheets to tie the branches as they grow upward. You may have seen my pics but I will link one here so that you can see directly. This fence will not be perfect by summer's end. I highly doubt it will support everything from spilling out across the garden, but at least it will enable me to prevent weeds and crowding.... I think LOL

My guess is to keep trying different ways of support. You might want to consider taking a branch from your existing tomatoes and root them up for future plantings in case the hothouse is too much for the adult plant.

Wishing you luck,

Ron

 

[big brown horse]

I used the thickest bamboo I could find as stakes and then used twine between the stakes, but that is not good enough. No, I'm actually not bragging. We had to lift the tomato stems with a board onto two saw horses, because my attempts at restraining them were pitifully inadequate. I am having a hard time watering them too, with all the stems. I wish I had gone ahead with a drip irrigation system. I don't know how I am supposed to pick the tomatoes that are not at the very front. This is a legitimate problem! Maybe you can come over and help?

Oh my, that does sound like a problem! I will come over and help any day any time!!!

I have never had tomaotes grow that huge and dence. Is your greenhouse floor dirt? If so Greensage has a good idea.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Thank you, Ron! That is a great tip about taking cuttings. I never tried it before, but this year I accidentally broke one of my tomato stems as I was planting and noticed it had little root nodules on the stem, so I just planted that too, just in case. Well, it did root!

I have only grown tomatoes in a hothouse in pots before and I really did too good of a job digging and amending the greenhouse soil, I think.

My hothouse seems to get up to about 110 degrees max (we haven't gotten a venting system together yet, but the plants seem to do ok in this heat and we made it through last summer without any problems). Would metal caging be ok in that kind of heat?

I can see the advantages and limitations of the fence you are using, Ron. I also agree that letting them sprawl almost seems to work as well or better than staking, because then the dirt they sprawl on is dry/not irrigated. I did that last year out of sheer laziness and found most of the tomatoes were just fine.

I have also considered trying to tie them to some of the roof supports of the greenhouse, but wasn't sure what to use to tie them up with . . . cloth strips sounds like a good idea. Thank you.

Yes, BBH, come over and help me pick the tomatoes! I will wrangle my way around the back of the row and hand them to you! I have never seen tomatoes this big either, except in photos from other places.

 

[big brown horse]

You are getting good at wrangeling!

I was going to suggest a trapeze, but I like your idea better!

I learned something today, that you could take cuttings from tomatoes! Thanks for the tip you guys!

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Just call me the jolly green garden wrangler!

Unforunately I am just not agile enough for a trapeze! Though I could see the utility in climbing up onto one and then dangling down to pick the tomatoes!

 

[HiDelight]

I am using pvc poles and welded fencing this year (all scrounged) and have as you may have noticed a plastic tent over the san marzanos! I will not let them split!!!! no way no how ..I will coddle them like no other tomato has ever been coddled! ..you are right it is off the charts for us and more sunshine and heat to come ..my branches are completely full of tomatoes that look pretty much the same rate of growth ...I love that!

YAY AND HAPPY DANCING FOR OUR VERY WONDERFUL (SO FAR KNOCK WOOD) TOMATO SEASON!!!! : :bee

 

[ranchhand]

Our tomatoes didn't survive the drowning spring, but DH took cuttings- and stuck them in beer bottles on the picnic table. Nothing like a beer bottle garden!