Cherry tomatoes are a favorite among home gardeners due to their sweet, snackable fruit. These plants produce a rapid, sprawling mass of foliage and fruit that cannot support its own weight. Allowing the vines to sprawl on the ground makes the plant susceptible to soil-borne diseases and pests, and it makes harvesting difficult. A support structure is necessary for managing this vigorous growth and ensuring a successful, healthy harvest.
Understanding Cherry Tomato Growth Habits
The need for support relates directly to the plant’s growth pattern, which falls into one of two categories. Indeterminate varieties, which include most popular cherry tomatoes, are vining plants that continue to grow, flower, and set fruit until the first frost. These plants are the most vigorous, often reaching heights of six to 12 feet, requiring a continuous and robust support system to manage their vertical expansion.
Conversely, Determinate cherry tomato varieties are bushier and grow to a fixed height, typically between three and five feet. These plants set all their fruit within a short timeframe and then stop growing, making them better suited for smaller spaces and containers. Although more compact, the weight of the ripening fruit can still cause stems to break or the entire plant to topple over. This means that some support is beneficial even for these less aggressive types.
Comparing Support Systems
The question of whether to use a cage depends on the tomato’s growth habit and the quality of the cage. Standard, conical wire cages found in garden centers are often too short and too flimsy to contain the aggressive, vining nature of indeterminate cherry tomatoes. These vines quickly outgrow the top of a small cage, collapsing under their own weight and creating a dense, tangled mess with poor air circulation.
Stakes and trellising methods are generally superior for indeterminate cherry tomatoes. A single, sturdy stake made of wood or metal, at least six to eight feet tall, provides continuous vertical support for the main stem. This method requires regular tying and often pruning to train the plant up a single leader, which is ideal for maximizing space in small gardens or containers.
For gardeners with multiple plants in a row, the Florida weave is an efficient trellising technique. This method uses tall stakes placed every few plants with strong twine woven horizontally back and forth between the stakes and the plants. This system cradles the vines and fruit, offering excellent support while promoting improved light penetration and air circulation.
Cages for Determinate Varieties
Determinate varieties are an excellent match for custom-made, heavy-duty cages constructed from concrete reinforcement wire. These cages are wider and more stable than standard store-bought options.
Timing and Techniques for Successful Support
The most important rule for supporting cherry tomatoes is to install the structure at the time of planting or shortly thereafter. Waiting until the plant is large risks damaging the established root system when driving stakes into the ground. Early installation also prevents stem damage, as mature, brittle branches are prone to breaking when forced into a support system.
When tying the main stem to a stake or trellis, always use soft, flexible materials such as cloth strips, garden tape, or soft plastic ties. The tie should be secured in a loose figure-eight pattern, looping around the stake and the stem separately. This prevents the material from rubbing and girdling the stem as it thickens, ensuring the plant is supported without restricting the flow of sap.
Gardeners using stakes or the Florida weave for indeterminate varieties should also practice pruning, or “suckering,” to manage the plant’s size. Suckers are side shoots that emerge in the axil between the main stem and a leaf branch. Removing these suckers directs the plant’s energy into producing fruit on the main stem and improves airflow, which is beneficial for disease prevention.