what to do when tomatoes top their 'cages'?

11 years ago

Our tallest tomato cage is only about 3 feet high (some are about half a foot shorter) and our tomatoes are already a couple of feet above the tops. I've only ever grown tomatoes before beside a very tall (10 ft high) fence and mine over-topped that. We've not got a fence or trellis in the current garden.

What to do? These are all indeterminates and so should grow quite tall.

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beesneeds

11 years ago

I guess it kind of depends on the tomato and the cage. Like in the past I have been really disappointed with "tomato cages"- those thing of rings and spindly legs sold as tomato cages. But some folks like them and will double stack them to accommodate a taller tomato. Me, I've started using them to support peppers instead and now use 6 foot tall cages I made myself out of fencing.

You could "top" your plants- cutting off the top. And that will make them bush out. But then you might have the problem of the cage you are using not being strong enough to support that bush.

You could drive in a tall pole of 1x1 wood, bamboo, or even rebar to tie the plant to it. Leaving the cage in place or even stacking cages to help support it all. You could also do this with several poles around the cage to create a much taller and more supportive cage.

You could just let the plants flop out of the top, and grow over- I've heard of some gardeners that do that.

And there are more options.. like Max said, so many ways of making trellises and cages.

Keep in mind that not all tomatoes are alike, even indents. Some of them only top out at 4, 6, or even 8, 10, 12 feet tall. It would be extremely helpful to know what exactly it is you are growing.

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Comments (6)

maxjohnson
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
There are so many answers to this as there are many ways of making tomato trellis and cages.

You could just top off the plant so it can concentrate on making fruits. If the plant isn't diseased then replant the part that was chopped off.

One of the most affordable type of trellis is the "florida weave trellis", which work for square foot gardening, very easy to make, just search google image.

I like to plant my tomatoes closer together and grow them single stem, so I tie the plant to a single 8ft stake. Bamboo is ideal for use as stakes and making trellis if you can find some that tall. This may not work if you have beefsteak tomatoes that need supports, but good for cherry types. I prefer to let the plants overgrow the stakes height and bend over, as they grow down to the ground (about 14ft at this point, I let it grow back up another stake). I can do this since I'm not worries about lack of nutrient in the soil and is in Florida, until the plant get weak from disease or insects damage.
lgteacher
11 years ago
You can put some stakes in the ground far enough away so you don't damage the roots, and then string up a support system between them.

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israelithyme
Original Author
11 years ago
I think we'll have to try putting stakes outside the garden and try to get them to attach to strings in between as Igteacher suggests -- I made the mistake of putting them sort of all through the square foot garden rather than all together.
israelithyme
Original Author
11 years ago
Beesneeds, many thanks. I am growing in the non-cherry department: 1 Celebrity, 1 Golden Tomato, and 1 San Marzano. Then in the cherry category: 1 Red Cherry, 1 Sungold, 1 Gooseberry, and 1 Black Cherry. Those are the ones I'm worried about.
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beesneeds
11 years ago
Well then, maybe do a bit of research on each tomato, and find out more about it's growing habits. For example, one might grow to be tall, but bushier, and so stacking cages might work better. Another might grow very tall but kind of more to one main stalk, so taller support poles might be the better option.

You might still have time before they get to be overgrown monsters to add more support for the plants.