I grow my outside tomato plants on jute strings in the same fashion that greenhouse growers do. I find it fascinating that if you simply wind the jute around and around, it grips the stem really well and all you have to do is keep winding them as the plants grow. (With this method, you do have to have a nice long string to begin with.)

Linda

@Labradors

So do I. I also grow like the greenhouses. but don't you use a knot at the base of the plant to start ?

Plastic clips are the simplest way and very inexpensive, about a penny each.

You can see the black clips in this picture. No skill needed but I usually position first one just opposite the first Leaf and keep the line a little taunt. The clips grip the string and form loose collar around stem of plant. Never tie anything tightly to stem or even loosely that a slip knot could tighten on the stem.

I don't tie the string to the stem - unless I have made the string too short and then I tie it to a spot just below some leaf branches. I have been lucky that we don't get a lot of wind or I can see that tying them might cause them to snap off. I much prefer to simply wind it. Give it a try :-).

Linda

I use plastic clips from Amazon... Cheap. I got 400 for $8. I use jute too. I prune to three stems and I put two strings in one clip and one string in the other. These clips just wont hold all three strings at once.

I dont do what the above posters do, because I start my strings as soon as I can, and my stems are not yet long enough to not use a clip and for the jute to stay in place. if you wait long enough for the stems to get some length to them, then, yes, no clip is required... just wrap the first couple of wraps closer together than you would have to later on.

I have used my clips for 4 seasons and they are still looking good enough to be able to use next year too.

The clips sound cool although I don't think I would need 400 of them, and then you have to retrieve them at the end of the season. I can just cut the string at the top, pull out the vine, and throw the whole thing in the compost.

Linda

thank you all for your answers. it's all good. Regards

stef

NC, you can clip three stems to a single stringline. Just clip at different positions up the string. I use a woven polyester line although I have used jute to corral a cluster of stems later in the season. That usually involves a lower clip onto the main stringline and jute, then a spiral of jute around the branches and reclip at the top. I've never relied on just trying to wrap twine around the plant because it fails and a broken stem is not good. So I clip from planting time through the end of the season. I usually use 2 boxes of 84,000 clips.

Barrie, I twine my vines up and around the stem as it grows. I only use the clips at the very bottom, just to get things started. I want to use as few clips as possible, as I want as few as possible to have to reclaim at the end of the season. I have 75 plants. Linda, you do not have to buy 400. I believe each bag is 50. I also use them for my blackberries too. You can see mine in my videos on my thread .