Staking tomatoes

[Muse]

For many years I've been growing indeterminate tomatoes (I've been growing Early Girl exclusively for over 10 years, I think), and using bamboo for staking. Bamboo was rampant on my east border with my neighbor when I moved in here and it's still there, but at the moment completely cut back. However, the bamboo is hardy and very invasive.

The neighbor's wife asserts that it was from our side and it invaded to their property, but I think it's just the opposite. I've kept it cut to the ground for the most part for many years and it grows wild on the neighbor's side of the fence, but he cuts it down periodically. Currently, he's got it cut to the ground.

Now, I've often wondered what I'd do to stake my tomatoes if I couldn't use bamboo. I have a whole lot of it stashed in my gagage, but it doesn't last. Some of these bamboo shoots are as long as 15 feet or more and up to an inch or more in diameter. I remove my trellises at the end of the season and store the bamboo in the garage, but eventually each shoot of bamboo decomposes to the point where it's no longer usable. They darken, crack, weaken and eventually break.

Is there an alternative? If the bamboo is eliminated here I figure I'll need another way to trellis my crops (neither I nor my neighbor really want it here, but I do use it for trellises). My tomato stands are truly magnificent, I grow 6 plants in one row and they get up to 8' tall, maybe taller. Here's a picture:



On the right are my tomatoes (that was from 5 years ago), and on the left in the background is my kabocha squash stand, also trellised with bamboo.

 

[echo4747]

For many years I've been growing indeterminate tomatoes (I've been growing Early Girl exclusively for over 10 years, I think), and using bamboo for staking. Bamboo was rampant on my east border with my neighbor when I moved in here and it's still there, but at the moment completely cut back. However, the bamboo is hardy and very invasive.

The neighbor's wife asserts that it was from our side and it invaded to their property, but I think it's just the opposite. I've kept it cut to the ground for the most part for many years and it grows wild on the neighbor's side of the fence, but he cuts it down periodically. Currently, he's got it cut to the ground.

Now, I've often wondered what I'd do to stake my tomatoes if I couldn't use bamboo. I have a whole lot of it stashed in my gagage, but it doesn't last. Some of these bamboo shoots are as long as 15 feet or more and up to an inch or more in diameter. I remove my trellises at the end of the season and store the bamboo in the garage, but eventually each shoot of bamboo decomposes to the point where it's no longer usable. They darken, crack, weaken and eventually break.

Is there an alternative? If the bamboo is eliminated here I figure I'll need another way to trellis my crops (neither I nor my neighbor really want it here, but I do use it for trellises). My tomato stands are truly magnificent, I grow 6 plants in one row and they get up to 8' tall, maybe taller. Here's a picture:



On the right are my tomatoes (that was from 5 years ago), and on the left in the background is my kabocha squash stand, also trellised with bamboo.

(wire mesh for concrete reinforcing)I made about a dozen of these for my fathers garden years ago still working really well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHfdP97-Ci8

 

[Drako]

I do the PVC pipe thing, but my wife thinks they are ugly.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Texas Tomato Cages

Nice video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQjuzhlR0xQ

 

[TheGardener]

I use bamboo to make a trellis for plants like cucumbers and peas. Fortunately I don't have any bamboo growing on my property, so I buy bamboo in packages at a store. For my tomatoes, I've used (2) 6' wooden stakes for each plant. I bought the stakes at discount store.

I run the jute between the 2 stakes, and supplement the support by adding extra jute to a plant as needed. Last year I used 4 stakes to support 2 San Marzano plants. Confession time. One of the two plants broke during a bad storm, and I had to replace it. That never happen before. Well it happened because I started the season with 2 stakes for the 2 plants. While replacing that San Marzano, I added the 3rd and 4th stake. No more cheapening out.

These store bought wooden stakes can last for multiple years. Though I have noticed that in the last 3 years, that they are no longer as thick as they use to be. I guess it is the industry's way of increasing prices by providing less material at the same cost. I guess that they won't last as long. Some of thicker one's are going into their 5th season. Some do rot in the ground during a season, and I cut them in half and find other uses the next year.

My tomato plants don't grow to 8'. I guess that's a good problem to have.

 

[drnickriviera]

(wire mesh for concrete reinforcing)I made about a dozen of these for my fathers garden years ago still working really well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHfdP97-Ci8

X2

Except ditch the sawzall in the video and just use bolt cutters.

 

[echo4747]

X2

Except ditch the sawzall in the video and just use bolt cutters.

yes bolt cutters much better than sawzall. I also used a straight piece of the same wire mesh affixed to a post at each end ( set up like a section of fence) and we grow cucumber plants up the mesh. You need to train/weave the plant thru the mesh. The result is nice straight cucumbers that you can pick without getting on your hands and knees searching for the cukes on the ground. No yellow splotch on the cucumber that you typically get where they contact the ground.

 

[drnickriviera]

yes bolt cutters much better than sawzall. I also used a straight piece of the same wire mesh affixed to a post at each end ( set up like a section of fence) and we grow cucumber plants up the mesh. You need to train/weave the plant thru the mesh. The result is nice straight cucumbers that you can pick without getting on your hands and knees searching for the cukes on the ground. No yellow splotch on the cucumber that you typically get where they contact the ground.

I've found them a bit floppy for long lengths. My beds are 16' so i use cattle panels and t post. Not nearly as inexpensive as concrete mesh, but they will probably outlast me. I've also set them in a A frame and planted on both sides.

 

[Muse]

yes bolt cutters much better than sawzall. I also used a straight piece of the same wire mesh affixed to a post at each end ( set up like a section of fence) and we grow cucumber plants up the mesh. You need to train/weave the plant thru the mesh. The result is nice straight cucumbers that you can pick without getting on your hands and knees searching for the cukes on the ground. No yellow splotch on the cucumber that you typically get where they contact the ground.

Back in 1980 or so I found a packet of cucumber seeds and planted them in my backyard at my former digs. Man, I got a humongous crop of pickling cukes, and I do remember the yellow splotch you mention. I had many many quart Ball jars of pickles from that year, the only year I have grown cucumbers. I made the brine 2x as salty in order to get extra preservation years. I kept one quart jar until around 5 years ago, but the contents were way beyond edible!

I like that video, just watched it, agree that big wire cutters (e.g. bolt cutters) are easier than sawzall, which I don't have anyway. Nor do I have bolt cutters, but I can get something. Not sure how versatile wire is, with bamboo I can basically construct anything, but it's a ton of work, I have to admit. I know from great experience... I have spent lots of time every growing season constructing the bamboo trellises and augmenting them as needed using string or garden twine. At the end of the season I have to cut it all apart and store in the garage. Anyway, if my bamboo supply dwindles I have another method.

Every year my sister grows tomatoes in small wire cages but her crop is nothing to mine. I wind up giving her ~30lb. My crops are likely over 100 lb/year, maybe 130 lb or more in good years. I weigh my kabocha squash, and my crops average 150 lb or more, even 170 lb, but don't weigh my tomatoes! I have red tomatoes from July through November, even December. I can occasionally from August through Sept. Perhaps this year I'll try canning straight tomatoes in jars, I don't think I've ever done that but for sure I'm going to can a whole lot of this (I've run out):

Tomato Mixture (U of Minnesota website)

* 12 cups tomatoes
* 1 cup chopped celery
* 1/2 cup chopped onion
* 1/2 cup chopped pepper
* 3 tsp. salt

This mixture of ingredients achieves the necessary acidity for water bath processing. Do not use the varieties of tomatoes listed previously with pH values near or above 4.6. Do not add any more pepper, onion, or celery than indicated. This will reduce the acidity of the mixture.

Quantity
The amount of ingredients listed yield 7 pints (for 7 quarts, double the ingredient amounts).

Procedure
Simmer the vegetables for 10 minutes. Pack into clean, hot canning jars. Leave a 1/2-inch headspace. Apply two-piece canning lids following the manufacturer's instructions. Process using the methods and times given for Minnesota Methods, "Whole or Halved Tomatoes Packed Raw Using a Water Bath or a Pressure Process."

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/DJ1097.html

 

[echo4747]

Back in 1980 or so I found a packet of cucumber seeds and planted them in my backyard at my former digs. Man, I got a humongous crop of pickling cukes, and I do remember the yellow splotch you mention. I had many many quart Ball jars of pickles from that year, the only year I have grown cucumbers. I made the brine 2x as salty in order to get extra preservation years. I kept one quart jar until around 5 years ago, but the contents were way beyond edible!

I like that video, just watched it, agree that big wire cutters (e.g. bolt cutters) are easier than sawzall, which I don't have anyway. Nor do I have bolt cutters, but I can get something. Not sure how versatile wire is, with bamboo I can basically construct anything, but it's a ton of work, I have to admit. I know from great experience... I have spent lots of time every growing season constructing the bamboo trellises and augmenting them as needed using string or garden twine. At the end of the season I have to cut it all apart and store in the garage. Anyway, if my bamboo supply dwindles I have another method.

Every year my sister grows tomatoes in small wire cages but her crop is nothing to mine. I wind up giving her ~30lb. My crops are likely over 100 lb/year, maybe 130 lb or more in good years. I weigh my kabocha squash, and my crops average 150 lb or more, even 170 lb, but don't weigh my tomatoes! I have red tomatoes from July through November, even December. I can occasionally from August through Sept. Perhaps this year I'll try canning straight tomatoes in jars, I don't think I've ever done that but for sure I'm going to can a whole lot of this (I've run out):

Tomato Mixture (U of Minnesota website)

* 12 cups tomatoes
* 1 cup chopped celery
* 1/2 cup chopped onion
* 1/2 cup chopped pepper
* 3 tsp. salt

This mixture of ingredients achieves the necessary acidity for water bath processing. Do not use the varieties of tomatoes listed previously with pH values near or above 4.6. Do not add any more pepper, onion, or celery than indicated. This will reduce the acidity of the mixture.

Quantity
The amount of ingredients listed yield 7 pints (for 7 quarts, double the ingredient amounts).

Procedure
Simmer the vegetables for 10 minutes. Pack into clean, hot canning jars. Leave a 1/2-inch headspace. Apply two-piece canning lids following the manufacturer's instructions. Process using the methods and times given for Minnesota Methods, "Whole or Halved Tomatoes Packed Raw Using a Water Bath or a Pressure Process."

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/DJ1097.html

grow

Just out of curiosity, why do you just grow the early girl variety? Do you stagger the time you plant them or do they all start to ripen near the same time? I would think that planting an early,mid,late season variety would allow you to harvest for a longer period of time.

 

[lxskllr]

I use pine branches that are constantly breaking off the trees, then wire tie vines between them. All found material from my property aside from the wire, which I find on jobsites. All biodegradable.

 

[Muse]

grow

Just out of curiosity, why do you just grow the early girl variety? Do you stagger the time you plant them or do they all start to ripen near the same time? I would think that planting an early,mid,late season variety would allow you to harvest for a longer period of time.

I used to experiment with various varieties but was so pleased with the results I got with Early Girl (it's relatively cool here most of the time and there are usually periods, sometimes extended, of cloudy mornings or even days) that I've stuck with it for probably 8-12 or more years now.

I've never staggered. You may be right I could get a longer growing season, but I'm not sure. We start getting colder nights around mid-Oct. to mid-Nov., maybe some pretty cold weather (around here that would be days in the 50's, nights in the mid-40s, maybe even mid-30's, rarely lower), possibly in December.

This year I actually had a few little fairly tasty tomatoes up to New Years.

The Early Girl's being indeterminate, they keep growing and producing, they have a long season.

I just buy a six pack of little seedlings as soon as they are available most years and put them in prepared ground. Used to be around Mar. 22 most years but recent years have been rather warmer and I have been getting them in the ground up to a month earlier. My plants right now are averaging 10" tall. I think they are growing rather slowly, probably because this year I didn't dig out the soil down ~2' and work in a good wheelbarrow's worth of compost. That's mainly because I had been doing a lot of trimming of the overhanging plum tree and there wasn't room to mix all that. The soil seemed pretty rich looking, but maybe not so much. I have been applying fertilizer, added some today, raked on some compost and then mulch a couple days ago. I think (hope) they'll take off as usual.

 

[mindless1]

I just get knotless 8ft 2x4's (already had a stash) and split them in half on a table saw, then tie plants to them with twine. I do not try to get each individual plant to grow as big as possible, instead planting a larger #, pruning away suckers, and topping them once they reach the top of the 2x4.

 

[Fake Wood Floor]

1st thing - it does sound like your bamboo is a spreading variety that is very happy in your climate. It will be very difficult to remove without going to war with it and that includes both sides of the fence simultaneously and consistently. What you probably have is 1 or more plants that span both sides of the fence, so working from just one side of the fence isn't going to do it. I say that only because I think you'll have nice bamboo stakes for years to come.

2nd thing - an alternative
Build a wood frame with ground contact lumber
Drop some string from the wood frame
Use tomato clips to attach the tomato plants to the string. You don't need to anchor the string to the ground. http://www.amazon.com/Vegetable-Garden-Tomato-Trellis-Clips/dp/B00579X2HC

the tomato clips in that amazon link are stupidly overpriced. I bought a 1000 pack for 19.99 back in 2014 so somebody has decided to jack the market sky high. There must still be cheaper suppliers out there somewhere, just not on Amazon apparently.

 

[Muse]

1st thing - it does sound like your bamboo is a spreading variety that is very happy in your climate. It will be very difficult to remove without going to war with it and that includes both sides of the fence simultaneously and consistently. What you probably have is 1 or more plants that span both sides of the fence, so working from just one side of the fence isn't going to do it. I say that only because I think you'll have nice bamboo stakes for years to come.

2nd thing - an alternative
Build a wood frame with ground contact lumber
Drop some string from the wood frame
Use tomato clips to attach the tomato plants to the string. You don't need to anchor the string to the ground. http://www.amazon.com/Vegetable-Garden-Tomato-Trellis-Clips/dp/B00579X2HC

the tomato clips in that amazon link are stupidly overpriced. I bought a 1000 pack for 19.99 back in 2014 so somebody has decided to jack the market sky high. There must still be cheaper suppliers out there somewhere, just not on Amazon apparently.

Very astute assessment of the bamboo scene here, it's been just my thinking. However, presently I'm wondering because there's basically no top growth right now, on either side of the ~5 foot fence. The owner cut the bamboo close to the ground a few months ago (leaving ~2" tops). If he doesn't let it get tall again (I'm talking up to 15 feet or taller!), my supply of bamboo going forward may have disappeared. Yes, I have plenty in the garage, but like I say, every year I place any of that stored bamboo in the yard it deteriorates somewhat. Enough of those years and that bamboo becomes unusable.

The owner no longer lives in the house next door, he and his wife moved out and have been renting the house to a bunch of yuppies (I figure), for some years. I see him occasionally working on the house, talk to him sometimes. In the past he's not addressed the bamboo for periods long enough for it to get out of hand. I have even cut some of it, either from over the fence, or under it (i.e. at places there's enough room at the bottom of the fence where I can pass a tool through and cut the bamboo at the bottom and pull a nice long piece into my yard. Using these techniques I've managed to keep my supply strong. But there' basically nothing there now, and going forward, who knows?

Those plastic tomato ties look interesting. Yes, I assume I can find them cheaper. I'm trying to imagine the ground lumber wood frame you indicate, don't have a picture in my mind of what to construct. Can you provide a link to something, a design?

 

[mindless1]

^ There are many ways to do that, basically you just build an overhead beam of some sort to hang string from. It could be wood or something else like PVC. I've also seen people just hang a rope overhead between two trees and then hang string from that. Example:

 

[rpanic]

^ There are many ways to do that, basically you just build an overhead beam of some sort to hang string from. It could be wood or something else like PVC. I've also seen people just hang a rope overhead between two trees and then hang string from that. Example:

+1 this is sort of how I do it, every week or so just twist the string around main trunk.
https://youtu.be/WsqbggHPn_8