Staking Tomatoes in the Garden

July 7, 2025

How are your tomato plants doing? Mine are growing excellently with careful planning and maintenance.

Tomatoes, Solanum lycopersicum, grow on vines, so it is crucial to provide strong structures to which the vines can cling and climb. Some use pre-made tomato cages. I like to use tall bamboo stakes for supports. Bamboo is attractive, easy to find, and can be reused year after year. I also use natural jute twine to carefully secure the plants to the bamboo canes. Last week, Pete from my outdoor grounds crew, worked hard to put up all the tomato stakes, so the fast-growing vines can stay off the ground as they grow.

Here are some photos, enjoy.

: With nutrient-rich soil and warm days my tomato plants have grown pretty quickly. Tomato leaves have serrated, or wavy and pointed, edging along the entire perimeter. They are compound with multiple leaflets growing along a common stem, called a rachis. These leaves are also slightly fuzzy to the touch, which is caused by the trichomes, or multi-cellular hairs, on the plant.

: Once the plants are about knee-hi, it’s time to support their growing vines.

: Some fruits are already growing so perfectly.

: I like to use strong bamboo. Bamboo canes are easy to buy in bulk, and can be found in a variety of sizes. These canes are about 10-feet long.

: As with all our projects using twine, we use jute – everything is kept uniform and as natural as possible.

: Pete secures three stake into the ground next to each tomato plant. They will form teepee like structures. The plants will use these upright stakes as supports.

: Each one is pushed into the ground about eight to 10-inches deep and at a slight angle. The important thing is to place them deep enough, so they remain secure for the duration of the season. And never use chemically treated wood or other material for staking climbers, as the chemicals would likely run off and go into the soil.

: Pete gathers the three bamboo stakes at the top and uses zip ties, also known as tie wraps, to secure them.

: Then he cuts off any excess.

: Next, he secures them with twine, so the joint is extra tight and strong enough to hold the fruit laden vines. Securing the tomato plants is a time consuming process, but very crucial to good plant growth and performance.

: I have three rows of tomato plants running down this wide bed. Here are some teepee structures partially done.

: And here is the bed complete. Each plant is now surrounded by designated stakes. As plants are groomed, the long wines will be tied to the bamboo where needed. These supports really help to keep all these beautiful fruits off the ground and free of rot.

: These stakes should last through the season nicely. It takes about 50 to 90 days for tomato varieties to reach maturity. Planting can also be staggered to produce early, mid and late season tomato harvests.

: In a more narrow bed, two stakes every three feet are pounded into the ground at an angle, so they touch each other at the top. Pete starts at one end and continues down the length of the bed.

: Using a line of twine secured above from one end to the other, Pete ensures the stakes are all centered perfectly.

: He ties the two stakes securely using the same zip ties and twine.

: Next, at about three feet up from the ground Pete secures horizontal bamboo pieces across the length of the bed and the already secured bamboo. He can add more rows of horizontal supports as the plants grow.

: There is plenty of space to tie and support every tomato vine.

: Here is the bed all done. Looking through the center of the bed from one end, there will also be just enough space to carefully walk through for any maintenance work or harvesting.

: Maintaining the plants and checking them regularly will go a long way in keeping them healthy. Another key to maintaining a rich vegetable garden is to rotate the tomato bed between a few spots in the garden to diminish the risk of soil-borne diseases such as bacterial spot and early blight. These tomato beds located on the south end of the garden this year. Very soon, we will have many, many tomatoes to enjoy.