Supporting My Tomato Plants
If you’ve ever grown a vining plant, you know how important it is to provide strong structures to which the vines can cling and climb. Staking various vegetables is necessary to keep fruits off the ground and to reduce the risk of disease and rot.
Every year, we stake all my eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes. This season, we decided to use old metal deer fencing uprights and netting - it's faster to put up and repurposes unused materials we already had here at the farm.
Enjoy these photos.
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- I am always interested in trying new ways to improve productivity in the gardens. This year, we streamlined our process for staking these tomatoes which are growing very quickly.
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- We decided to use netting from the old deer fencing that once surrounded the farm. I save everything I feel can be reused and because these structures are outdoors, it is important that they are strong and secure, so they could hold the weight of the plants and fruits, and any strong winds we may get during the growing season. This netting will be perfect.
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- These metal stakes are strong and can be used over and over again. They are also easy to purchase in bulk wherever fence materials are sold.
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- Chhiring places one eight-foot stake every six feet along both sides of the tomato beds.
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- The first step is to pound the stakes into the ground. Here, Domi and Chhiring pound the first stake at the end of a row.
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- Domi uses this manual post driver made out of steel. It is designed to pound uprights into the ground without damaging the tops.
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- Once the end posts are secured, Chhiring ties a long strand of twine from one to the other.
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- This twine will provide a guide for pounding the other stakes into the ground, so all are the same height.
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- Next, Domi and Chhiring continue to pound more upright stakes into the ground. The soil in this garden is rototilled every year, so working with it is quite easy. It does not take our strong crew long to get this part of the process done.
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- Here, one can see the stakes secured along both sides of the tomato plants.
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- Next, netting is drawn from one side to the other on the outside of each row. For safety, Domi and Chhiring remain a safe distance away from each other, and when closer together, don their protective face masks.
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- Chhiring holds it taut at one end, so Domi can secure the netting to the metal stakes.
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- Domi starts at the top and uses four-inch zip ties, or cable ties, to attach the netting to the metal.
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- Fortunately, these metal stakes have holes every two inches – they accommodate the zip ties perfectly.
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- Here is Domi attaching another zip tie to the bottom.
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- Here is one side all complete.
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- Chhiring then cuts the netting at the end, so it is all very neat and tidy.
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- The tomato plants are still quite low right now, but soon they will be guided to grow up the netted sides.
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- Tomato plants always look so much better when kept upright and neat. The tomato plants will have a lot of room to climb, keeping delicious fruits off the ground.
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- And here is another row – all ready for the growing vines. I am looking forward to a wonderful harvest this season.
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- Adjacent to the tomatoes, we planted peppers and eggplants, which we staked using metal uprights I designed myself. Each metal support has two eyes, one at the top and one in the middle. I use larger versions of this design for my peonies.
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- Each of the stakes is positioned, so the eyes face the same direction.
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- The twine is laced through the middle stake eyes. It is easier to start with the bottom row first. The stems of the plants are positioned between the twine strands.
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- Our garden is coming along nicely, and all our plants are well-supported for the season. Very soon we will have many, many delicious tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants to enjoy – I can’t wait.
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