Have you considered using cages? Not the 3 ring things sold as tomato cages. They are worthless. But many of us, especially those opposed to pruning ;) - use 5 or 6 foot CRW cages instead of stakes and you'll find many discussions here about them - some with photos and instructions on how to make them.

Cages have the advantages of greater containment and control plus not much pruning required.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cages discussions...

Just wanted to second digdirt's suggestion.

I love the cages, it contains them very well, and I literally don't prune a single branch.

I trimmed some of the longer lower foliage off some of mine the other day because although they are caged they grew so bushy I couldn't walk between them or service them. I don't think I planted them too close but who knows. I was getting white flys and aphids and could not get my sprayer wand in there to spray with soapy water. I pruned then sprayed.

The nice thing is the mosquitos did not bother me while I did this, I guess they do no like palmolive. I got some neem oil yesterday and was going to repeat spraying but the pests look to be under control now and I see lady bugs and larva, I don't want to hurt them. I might just hit the bad spots in a few days if I need to.

Oh, back on topic: I also have poles with my cages so when they outgrow the cages I can still control them. i check them every few days to adjust growing branches so they are staying within the cage. I just have the store bought cages, I am going to try and make some out of the reinforcing wire for next year though. I'll use the cages I have now for peppers, or something.

aggiman

Some of my tomato plants have a rather wild "reach" and look jungly and untidy when growing, but that's one of those things I just accept. I don't prune any either except the branches on the bottom under the first blossoms for air flow, but I just try to keep the worst offenders tied to the support system -- I use a cattle panel trellis.

If you look at pictures in posts about tomato supports, you'll see that nearly everybody has large tomato plants and tidy they are not. That's just their charming character! They are naturally sprawlers. You can weave the adventurers back through the holes in the cage or your weave to keep the largest ones confined.

Aggiman, you've taken the first step in admitting that your tomato plant appearance isn't satisfactory. I'll be the first to tell you that it doesn't have to be that way. But, it will take a bit more attention than just sticking a $20 cage over each plant early in the season.

One of the first decisions you need to make is what type growth habit plants you want to grow. Don't mix determinates and Indeterminates unless you want the unsightly tangled mass of vegetation from past experiences. The Florida weave method seems to keep a reasonably good appearance of determinate tomato rows. It still leaves a lot to be desired for a full season crop. Regularly adding a new line is still important.

The only way to have neat looking tomatoes throughout the season is by having a support system that allows you to regularly attach the growing stem by clipping (attaching) to the support material. And the only way to keep the clipping from becoming unmanagable is to sucker plants heavily. It's that simple but as I mentioned earlier it will take a bit more attention. I find myself clipping and suckering my plants about twice a week but 5 months from now I'll still have plants that are sightly and even more important I'll be able to pick slicers rather than canners.

Thanks everyone. I need that. I look forward to check out the caging post