I don't know what is 'strict 1 ft spacing' or why one would be strict on spacing plants. Nonetheless, I use trellises for my toms made out of 1/2 EMT conduit, and I train them up twine. The spacing is ~18 in, a bit more for the paste toms.

Dan

I use the EMT conduit too. Do you usually grow determinate or indeterminate tomatoes?

I love my "tomato walls" and I wouldn't grow tomatoes any other way! In a 2x8 foot bed I grew 8 tomato plants. And I planted beets in front of the tomatoes. I had green, pink, yellow, orange, red and white tomatoes.

Follow the link below to see some pics of my tomato walls.

Here is a link that might be useful: My tomato walls

GOOD NIGHT!!! That's a wall if I ever saw one.

I'd say a "trellis" in the mesh sense is only good if kept pruned to one stem, which is hard, and questionable on harvest poundage. I like the conduit idea as well.

Here is a trellis that will support anything you want to grow. I think the grand kids could use it for a climbing wall. John
http://www.jbest123.com/?p=961

Here is a link that might be useful: John's Journal

catalina - wow! those are some "walls"! Dang!!

This has got me wondering if I shouldn't build a separate box for the tomatoes.

Pardon the noob question, but what is an emt conduit?

Ezzirah, EMT conduit is electrical conduit. Basically it's very sturdy and relatively cheap pipe that happens to work great for supporting plants when you tie netting to it.

I'm trying to imagine my tomatoes from the past (all indeterminate I believe) grown by this method. Many end up being 3X3 or larger at their perimeter. Usually I have to keep adding to the support system to keep a branch heavy with fruit from tearing off the plant or what not.

Does growing them up somehow make them less rotund?

How do you deal with the branches that grow way out from the plant that need support?

Scott

srj19 - I weave the tomato limbs into the plastic netting. The limbs have never broken off. Maybe they are supported enough or they grow stronger?
Until I used this method I had sworn off growing indeterminate tomatoes, because they would grow too big, fall over and take over the garden.

OK Catalina Grey, I have to know about those tomato walls. Are they boxes? My neighbor made these boxes that he put over the tomato. They are made with a very wide metal...arg cant find the word for it. They remind me of the tomato cages but they are square and not round and 10 times thicker and sturdier. The squares are big enough to put your hand it and pick the fruit and I dont think he even ties them up. Is this what you did or did you just have a trellis with yours? I am envious!!!

Catalina, When you set your tomato walls (the one with 8 plants) do you have all on one side with that side facing south, or do you have 4 tomatoes per side with the wall runing North South so each side gets some light?

Ever tried watermelon with a vertical method?

Scott

jengc - They aren't boxes. The metal is shaped like an arch and then I tie plastic netting to the arch.

srj19 - I plant them all on one side facing south. But this next year I'm turning my raised beds so they will be facing west and also getting morning sun from the east.
I grew watermelons and some other melons on trellises 2 years ago. It didn't work very well. We had some straight winds that riped all my melons down.