Square foot garden question -- staking tomatoes

[Janie Grace]

Complete gardening newbie here -- please help! I built a trellis at one edge of my SFG for climbing plants like beans, peppers and tomatoes. The former two are doing great. The thing is, I planted one tomato plant per square (in the center of the square) so my tomato plant is a good 6 inches away from the trellis (which is in lieu of a stake). How do I get the tomato plant to be supported by something so far from it? Are you supposed to plant tomatoes on the edge of your SFG? Someone told me to use old nylons to tie it (won't cut into plant like twine) but still, it just seems weird... like a plant tied parallel to a trellis but not leaning against it for support! HELP! :confused:

[jentancalann]

i'm not sure about your specific question w/ the trellis, but this video was extremely helpful to me. http://www.finegardening.com/Videos/

[lailasmum]

I think it depends upon the tomatoes. Some are dead floppy and some will pretty much stand up for them selves with a little guidance. If yours are supper floppy then you have no choice but to put a cane or stake in closer to the plant but if they are mostly standing up for themselves you might get away with a being loosely tied off to something farther away with just enough guidance to stop it flopping. I think the nylons would be ideal for that.

 

My bush tomatoes were supposed to stand up for them selves un-staked but are getting so big and heavy they need a stake where as my vine tomatoes that need tying to a stake are big and strong and standing up fine still at 3 to 4 foot or so.

[morosophe]

Okay, a couple issues I have here:

 

What kind of trellis are you using? If it's the nylon netting I use, you're supposed to be able to weave the top of the plant back and forth through the netting as it grows.

 

Secondly, what kind of tomato are you growing? Determinate or indeterminate? A determinate tomato, in my opinion, doesn't really need a trellis. It does need those tall tomato cages, but since you have to let all the suckers grow and it never gets all that tall, trellising doesn't really work well for it, and isn't necessary in the first place.

 

Thirdly, since you're supposed to bury as much of the tomato plant as you can to make a stronger root system, and Mr. Bartholomew recommends doing this by lying the plant down in the plot, the part of the plant that comes up always is at the side of its square when I do it. (Actually, it's usually in the corner.) But since my trellises are anchored by pegs that are pounded in beside the garden in line with approximately the middle of the square, it wouldn't really matter. (It's really hard to write that out so it makes sense, but it really does. :p)

 

Finally, in my considered experience, tomatoes are pretty forgiving. You could do it all wrong, forget to water half the time, even plant them in good ol' Virginia CLAY instead of a nice square-foot garden, and they'll still give you at least some fruit. Of course, I don't know how they do in other states, but hopefully the principle still applies.

[Janie Grace]

Okay, a couple issues I have here:

 

What kind of trellis are you using? If it's the nylon netting I use, you're supposed to be able to weave the top of the plant back and forth through the netting as it grows.

 

Secondly, what kind of tomato are you growing? Determinate or indeterminate? A determinate tomato, in my opinion, doesn't really need a trellis. It does need those tall tomato cages, but since you have to let all the suckers grow and it never gets all that tall, trellising doesn't really work well for it, and isn't necessary in the first place.

 

Thirdly, since you're supposed to bury as much of the tomato plant as you can to make a stronger root system, and Mr. Bartholomew recommends doing this by lying the plant down in the plot, the part of the plant that comes up always is at the side of its square when I do it. (Actually, it's usually in the corner.) But since my trellises are anchored by pegs that are pounded in beside the garden in line with approximately the middle of the square, it wouldn't really matter. (It's really hard to write that out so it makes sense, but it really does. :p)

 

Finally, in my considered experience, tomatoes are pretty forgiving. You could do it all wrong, forget to water half the time, even plant them in good ol' Virginia CLAY instead of a nice square-foot garden, and they'll still give you at least some fruit. Of course, I don't know how they do in other states, but hopefully the principle still applies.

 

The trellis isn't nylon netting. Its a frame that we strung with garden twine to make a net pattern (if that makes sense). Nylon would have been better but we were in a rush b/c the beans were trellising onto the onions and generally being a nuisance. :)

 

I don't even know what determinate vs. indeterminate tomatoes are! I can google but I have to run out the door in a minute. I told you I was a newbie! Right now they are growing tall and strong and show no need of staking. They are about 3 feet high and are just starting to flower.

 

I didn't read that thing about laying them down until last night! Duh! But you're right, if I had laid them down, they would stick up at the edge right where I need them to be. Shoot. I can picture what you're saying about how you did your trellis and that would have been better -- trellis bisecting each square. Ours is outside the box, against the edge. Not so good.

 

I hope you're right about them being forgiving. Since everyone and her mother seems to grow them, I'm hopeful... i guess I can just add regular stakes or cages if they seem to need something closer.

[Janie Grace]

I think it depends upon the tomatoes. Some are dead floppy and some will pretty much stand up for them selves with a little guidance. If yours are supper floppy then you have no choice but to put a cane or stake in closer to the plant but if they are mostly standing up for themselves you might get away with a being loosely tied off to something farther away with just enough guidance to stop it flopping. I think the nylons would be ideal for that.

 

My bush tomatoes were supposed to stand up for them selves un-staked but are getting so big and heavy they need a stake where as my vine tomatoes that need tying to a stake are big and strong and standing up fine still at 3 to 4 foot or so.

 

They seem strong and not floppy. I guess I will do the nylons for general guidance and then see if they need a stake.

 

By the way, how do you decide whether to stake or cage them?

[jentancalann]

I don't even know what determinate vs. indeterminate tomatoes are! I can google but I have to run out the door in a minute. I told you I was a newbie! Right now they are growing tall and strong and show no need of staking. They are about 3 feet high and are just starting to flower.

 

 

seriously, that video upthread will help a newbie tremendously.

[MamaSheep]

If they're three feet tall and not leaning over they're probably determinate and won't need much support. You might put a stake in the square and tie the stem to it if it needs some extra support. My indeterminate varieties usually start leaning over a bit by the time they're a foot tall or so, and I just gently lean them toward the trellis and then wind them up through the netting as they grow.