Tomato staking involves providing physical support for tomato plants. This practice helps manage vertical development and fruit production, preventing sprawling and ensuring plants remain upright.
Why Stake Tomatoes
Staking tomato plants offers several advantages. Keeping fruit off the ground reduces spoilage from soil-borne pathogens and pests, which can cause diseases like early blight or anthracnose. Elevating foliage also improves air circulation, helping dry leaves more quickly after rain or irrigation, minimizing fungal disease spread.
Supported plants allow easier access to ripening fruit, simplifying harvest. Staking helps plants direct energy toward fruit development, leading to a more abundant harvest and healthier tomatoes by preventing stems from breaking under heavy fruit loads.
Popular Staking Techniques
The single stake method is suitable for determinate tomato varieties with a compact growth habit. This technique involves driving a sturdy stake (6-8 feet tall, 1-2 inches thick) into the ground near the young plant’s base. As the plant grows, its main stem is tied loosely to the stake every 10-12 inches using soft materials like cloth strips or specialized plant ties to prevent stem damage.
Tomato cages provide a self-contained support structure, allowing branches to grow through openings. Cages are often conical or cylindrical, ranging from 3-5 feet in height, with wider options for larger indeterminate varieties. While cages offer continuous support without frequent tying, selecting a robust cage is important; flimsy ones can buckle under the weight of a mature, heavily fruiting plant.
The Florida weave, also known as “basket weave” or “trellising,” supports multiple plants in a row. This technique uses two sturdy posts at either end of a row, with additional posts every 10-15 feet. Strong twine is woven in a figure-eight pattern around posts and plants, creating a continuous support system. This method is efficient for large plantings, providing lateral support.
Selecting the Best Method
Choosing the appropriate staking method depends largely on the tomato plant’s growth habit. Determinate varieties, which grow to a predetermined height and fruit all at once, generally thrive with simpler support like a single stake or a smaller cage. Indeterminate varieties, which continue to grow and produce fruit throughout the season, require more robust and continuous support, making taller cages or trellising systems like the Florida weave more suitable.
Available garden space also influences the choice; single stakes and cages require less horizontal space, while trellising systems are better suited for rows. Material costs and the time commitment for setup and ongoing maintenance are also considerations. Simple methods like single staking are inexpensive and quick to implement, whereas a well-constructed trellising system may require a greater initial investment of time and materials. Gardeners may also consider the visual appearance of the support system in their landscape.
Essential Staking Tips
Begin staking tomato plants when they are young, typically when they reach about 12 to 18 inches in height. Early support helps guide the plant’s growth from the start, preventing it from sprawling and becoming difficult to manage later. Waiting too long can damage the roots or stems when attempting to install support around a larger, more established plant.
When tying plants to stakes or trellises, use soft, wide materials such as old nylon stockings, fabric strips, or specialized plant ties. Avoid thin string or wire, which can cut into the stems as the plant grows and the stem thickens. Ensure ties are loose enough to allow for stem expansion, creating a figure-eight loop between the stem and the support to prevent chafing.
Regularly prune suckers, which are the small shoots that emerge from the axils between the main stem and a branch. This practice directs the plant’s energy towards fruit production and improves air circulation within the plant, especially for indeterminate varieties. As the plant continues to grow, adjust or add new ties and weave additional layers of twine to maintain proper support for the increasing height and fruit load.