This year, instead of the flimsy bamboo rods and twine, we bought about 30 round wire cages. That only covered 1/2 of our plants, so I used bamboo for the others hoping to run into more fundage (which, incidentally, never really happened). But NONE of this seems to be working. The plants have grown so tall this year that most have far exceeded the height of the cages. Even the ones that didn't get so tall are tipping over with the weight of the fruit. What can I do to get these puppies off the ground and make sure they stay put? I will have a few extra dollars to spend on this next week.
***One simple yet sturdy support that you can buy is this: http://www.plantsupports.org/plant-supp ... irals.html I can testify to the strength of these because my gardening neighbour just up from me is using them at this moment and she is quite pleased with them. ***Another thing that you can use are tobacco sticks. These may be difficult for you to get hold of, but if you aren't too bashful, you could take a little drive out into the rural countryside and simply stop and ask farmers if they can spare any or tell you where you can get some. --this may not be feasible though. ***A simple and inexpensive technique that I have used myself is: Making a crossbar construction with very thick and sturdy wood. What I am talking about is driving two thick poles that are about 5-6 feet tall (after driven intpo the soil) into the ground. Then span a 2x2 (or thicker if possible) horizontally between the two vertical poles. Next you get some thick twine and secure it to the cross bar in line with the tom plant below. (Make sure that the length of twine is longer than the distance from the crossbar to the ground.) Then you wind the twine around the tom plant from top to bottom so that the tomato plant actually supports itself by hanging on the twine. One word is that it is better to have placede the support at the time that you plant the toms, as you could damage the roots now that the plant is an "adult"...but that's for next year; the spiral support is probably the safest to use now--and it's very strong. An important further word: I would strongly advise you to carefully select the day that you impliment whatever method you choose. Select a sunny and hot day, and begin the winding-in of the plant onto a twine or spiral at around 3 p.m. or so. The reason for this is that the tomato stalk will be at it's most pliant (limber) state, having been exposed to heat all day long. This means that it will have lost a degree of water--that's what causes poor turgor, which is then manifested by limpness. I mention this because if you try and bend a tom stalk that has a stiff tuthor, then you could well snap off the top before you know it. I hopew that you don't think that I was being too esoteric here, ut it's one thing to advise, but I like to try and give the reasoning along with my thoughts so that one can understand WHY I suggest what I suggest. Good luck Lexxi. Keep us posted on how you get on.
