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  • From: "frank ventura" <frank.dragonflyfarms AT gmail.com>
  • To: "'Market Farming'" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] determinate Tomato >> trellising
  • Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:23:12 -0500

Thanks !  What’s the dimension of the stake you use?  1”x1”?  What do you do when the tomato inevitable grows beyond the height of the stake?

 

Thx,

Frank

 

 

From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Road's End Farm
Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 2:12 PM
To: Market Farming
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] determinate Tomato >> trellising

 

 

On Jan 27, 2010, at 12:01 PM, Deb Taft wrote:



 


Do those of you growing tomatoes on a large scale do any sort of trellising for indeterminates?  

 

The most I've grown was about 300 plants.  I used cattle panels or an overhead trellising system for the indeterminates and stakes or cages for the determinates.  This year I plan to grow a LOT more and most of the varieties I like are indeterminate.   I can't imagine providing trellising for vast numbers of plants but on the one occasion when I didn't get my s**t together for a row and just let them meander on the ground, I was very sorry. 

 

I'd love to hear how y'all are handling this!

 

Best,

Deb

Sleepy Hollow NY, 

 

 

This isn't large scale, I usually do 100 to 200 plants, but the basic technique is used by larger growers: stake and weave.

 

Set a stake between every plant or every couple of plants, and at the ends of rows (I do between every plant, and use 5' untreated oak tomato stakes if I can get them.). Get a lot of untreated twine. Tie one end of twine to the first stake about 6" up, pull it tight and wrap around the next stake (not around the plant), and so on either to the end of the row or as far as you want to go in one stretch (you won't be able to walk across the row where the twine is once the assembly is full height; I generally do each variety as a separate section.) Then go back on the other side of the plants doing the same thing, trapping the tomato plants between the two opposite rows of twine. You don't need to actually tie the twine at each stake, just wrap it around at each plant and tie it only at the ends (though if you're doing a really long row as one section, you might want to tie it occasionally to limit the amount of repairs necessary if the twine breaks at some point.)

 

Repeat as the plants grow, adding layers of twine about 6" to 1' apart, until you're the full height of the plants or the posts, whichever comes first. It's easiest to do this by adding layers just as the plants gain enough extra height to be worth adding another one; if you miss on the timing and have to catch up later, you may have to pull the plants upright as you go, which in severe cases can make it a two-person job (yes, there is a reason why I know this).

 

The first layer is the hardest because you have to bend the most; you can make a tool to make it easier, but on only 100+ plants I never bothered to make it, and don't have the directions for making it; maybe somebody else on the list has them. The end stakes for each section need to be in really well, and maybe slanted a little away from the direction of the pull of the twine, as there will be significant tension on them; but, at least if you've only got maybe two or three dozen plants per section, I haven't needed to use heavier duty posts at the ends; if you're doing really long runs on each stretch of twine, you might need to.

 

Hope that was clear -- there's very likely a video of the process somewhere, but I don't know where. You could try googling "tomato stake weave".

 

-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly

Fresh-market organic produce, small scale

 

 

 




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