collinsmom1 Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 I am wondering about tomato plants, someone had told me to lay straw down around the plants instead of using the cages. Has anyone tried this appoarch? If so, what advice do you have to share? Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 I don't because sprawling plants would make me crazy! I stake each tomato plant and keep pinching off the new side growth while tying the plant as it grows. We also get a lot of slugs. Sprawling tomatoes=slug buffet :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punchie Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Oh gosh...If I didn't stake my tomatoes, they would take over the garden! I personally wouldn't let them sprawl b/c garden pests have easier access while you have less access to the fruit. I also agree w/pinching off the suckers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIS0320 Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Not staking means less air circulation which means more prone to disease (like blight) and more rotten fruit. I always stake. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsintheGarden Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 I've done tomatoes with cages and without, and had great harvests both ways. I have always mulched with hay when planting, both with and without supports. Using no supports makes planting easy. Some tomato plants, determinates that don't get very tall, don't need supports. Indeterminates (the ones like cherry tomatoes that just keep getting bigger and bigger until frost) can get very sprawly. Sometimes plants get so big it is impossible to get close enough to them to harvest (squish, squish - just squashed another tomato!). If you don't mulch thickly, the straw will decompose into the soil, bare patches will appear, then weeds will come up, and tomatoes touching the dirt and rot. Also, sometimes a really nice tomato will form under a plant and will be impossible to remove. All that said, no supports are a great way to go if you have the space. Put your indeterminates 3-4' apart at least. Determinates can go 2' apart. Leave a path between rows of about 3'. After years of not supporting, we went to caging. Supports allow you to space plants closer together (2'), with 2' paths. Cages are easy, but staking, and trellising, and Florida weaving require pruning and/or tying. The fruit is off the ground so is less likely to rot and become food for slugs, snails, and pillbugs. We have the folding cages that stack neatly in the attic over the winter. Planting tips for tomatoes: - Put a soaker hose down before mulching. - Put about 1/8 cup of organic fertilizer and 1 cup of bone meal in each planting hole. The bone meal contains calcium and will help to combat blossom end rot. Even watering is also very important to prevent this deficiency. - Strip off all but the top 6"-8" of leaves and bury the rest of the plant in the soil up to about 1" below the bottom leaves. - If you have problems with cutworms, gently wrap a 1"x3" strip of newspaper around each stem just above and below the ground. - A ring of diatomaceous earth around each plant will deter slugs, snails, and the like from eating your young plants, until it rains. - Leave a little saucer-shaped depression at the base of each plant to catch rain/hose water. - Water them in well, but don't drown them. - Remember that deer like to eat tomato plants. HTH, GardenMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 If you don't have easy access to bone meal, finely crush 6-12 eggshells (start collecting now!) into each planting hole. Because of uneven rainfall (ie pouring for days), we sometimes have blossom end rot problems. When I make sure to add lots of eggshells at planting, I may only get one or two tomatoes from 6 plants that are yucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collinsmom1 Posted May 21, 2011 Author Share Posted May 21, 2011 Thank you!!!! Very helpful and lots of good tips!! I think I am going to support them, as I am hoping to plant squash, and other vine friends!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merry gardens Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 I've done tomatoes with cages and without, and had great harvests both ways. I have always mulched with hay when planting, both with and without supports. Using no supports makes planting easy. Some tomato plants, determinates that don't get very tall, don't need supports. Indeterminates (the ones like cherry tomatoes that just keep getting bigger and bigger until frost) can get very sprawly. Sometimes plants get so big it is impossible to get close enough to them to harvest (squish, squish - just squashed another tomato!). If you don't mulch thickly, the straw will decompose into the soil, bare patches will appear, then weeds will come up, and tomatoes touching the dirt and rot. Also, sometimes a really nice tomato will form under a plant and will be impossible to remove. All that said, no supports are a great way to go if you have the space. Put your indeterminates 3-4' apart at least. Determinates can go 2' apart. Leave a path between rows of about 3'. After years of not supporting, we went to caging. Supports allow you to space plants closer together (2'), with 2' paths. Cages are easy, but staking, and trellising, and Florida weaving require pruning and/or tying. The fruit is off the ground so is less likely to rot and become food for slugs, snails, and pillbugs. We have the folding cages that stack neatly in the attic over the winter. Planting tips for tomatoes: - Put a soaker hose down before mulching. - Put about 1/8 cup of organic fertilizer and 1 cup of bone meal in each planting hole. The bone meal contains calcium and will help to combat blossom end rot. Even watering is also very important to prevent this deficiency. - Strip off all but the top 6"-8" of leaves and bury the rest of the plant in the soil up to about 1" below the bottom leaves. - If you have problems with cutworms, gently wrap a 1"x3" strip of newspaper around each stem just above and below the ground. - A ring of diatomaceous earth around each plant will deter slugs, snails, and the like from eating your young plants, until it rains. - Leave a little saucer-shaped depression at the base of each plant to catch rain/hose water. - Water them in well, but don't drown them. - Remember that deer like to eat tomato plants. HTH, GardenMom Thanks for this helpful post. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenbrdsly Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 You could lay straw down as a mulch, but you still need cages if you are planting indeterminite plants. Determinate tomato plants, would not need cages, but would grow up small, like patio tomatoes. Here's a picture of my garden, and how I involve my kids in our garden: http://teachingmybabytoread.blog.com/2011/05/18/learning-in-the-garden/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehommel Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Anyone planning to plant some Fall Tomatoes? It's time to do that here in LA... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenpatty Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Yes! Our fall tomatoes seedlings are going in the ground as soon as we can get another spot cleared! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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