lhafken-is it the bush kind or the vine?...if it is the "bush" kind..you will need support (concrete wire cages are perfect, or post (1x2's) pounded in ground to tie them up. If it's the "vine" kind...go to Home Depot/Lowes and get a roll of "VELCRO TAPE" for tomatoes/veggies. It's a green color with the backing made of a soft white material. These worked great for my cukes that went over the trellis and back down again. Before I tied them down, when the wind blew, they began to fall off top of trellis. This should help.

"Krintis"

How can I find out if they are bush or vine?

sorry for the late response..had "corn emergency."
do you know the name of your tomatoes...that should help me decide what type they are.

Here are some good links:
Pruning and Supporting Home Garden Tomatoes
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8107-b.html
"Krintis"

Here is a link that might be useful: Staking Vegetables

Hi. I've got "Mel's Trellis's" too. The ones from the new book made with EMT and rebar, but I substituted concrete mesh for the nylon mesh.

Anyway, how tall are your trellises now? Mine are 7 feet and frankly I don't want 'em any taller. If yours are shorter, you might be able to set some eight foot 1x2s against the top and tie/velcro/tape them, then tie the tomatoes to the 1x2s to extent your height. Bury the end of the 1x2 6-12 inches in the ground and they should hold (famous last words), but keep away from disturbing the tomato roots.

Here's a picture of mine ...

Try the tomato forum too. They have great staking and pruning info.

David

Great, thanks!

Hmmmm. Mine are no where near tall enough to have major issues but I am so so so happy that I decided to make a 1x10' bed for my tomatoes. I have trellis on each side and ahve just tied my plants on each side to keep them standing straight! (We've had some nasty wind storms here this year).

Good luck!Let us know what you end up figuring out!

I used a cattle panel bent into an arch to use as a trellis. $30 well spent! The difficulty has been reaching in to harvest the tomatoes.