" My thinking is that if the vine winds around the spiral, the overall plant height is reduced."

That sounds good in theory but unfortunately doesn't work in actual practice. The problem is that to use the spiral stakes you have to prune the plant to a single stem. So not only do you lose all that side production but the more you prune a vining type tomato, an indeterminate, the taller it gets. The pruning stimulates new top growth in an attempt to compensate. Just look at the pics of those GH growers who string support their plants. The plants are 8-10 feet tall not including the coils of stem laying on the ground as they lower the plant.

In an Earthbox you would also have stability problems as the soil level is too sallow to support the stake.

Based on past reviews of the spirals over on the Growing Tomatoes forum here I'd encourage you to avoid them. They never really caught on as an effective method of plant support.

When one chooses to grow indeterminate varieties rather than determinate then the height of the plants is just something we have to live with. 60" tall supports are the norm and work just fine as the additional growth just drapes back down the outside of the support. There is nothing gained by trying to rig an 8 foot support that you have to climb a ladder to harvest. ;-)

Dave

Oh.

Hmm....

I always thought that pruning the indeterminate vine to a single strand was best? That side branches drew nutrients from the main plant? Your thoughts?

In any event, I have done what you suggested for the last several years--let the vine fall. The problem is that it has a tendency to break--I've never found a way around that. Last year I had to bandage it with band-aid tape that I found in our first aid kit. (It worked, can't you believe it?)

the side branches don't have to be pruned off, they draw nutrients from the soil just like the main stem does and they go and produce fruit so really it's just fine to leave the suckers growing as long as you're letting them sprawl or they are in a cage.

Dawson

"I always thought that pruning the indeterminate vine to a single strand was best? That side branches drew nutrients from the main plant? "

Not at all. That is an old mis-conception long proven to be untrue. Indeed the alternative is often best not only for increased production but for increased plant health as the increased foliage provides additional energy to the plant due to increased photosynthesis.

Pruning a tomato plant is merely an option, never required. But rather than rehash the many discussions about it I'd suggest you go to the Growing Tomatoes forum here and type 'pruning' in the search bar there. You'll find literally hundreds of discussions about when it may be necessary, the many different degrees of pruning, and when it should be avoided. There is also a FAQ here called 'To prune or not to prune'.

As for stem breaking, that is quite common and only if a full through and through break happens it poses no threat to the plant and it just keeps right on growing. Tomato plants quickly heal stem breaks and 99% of the time no intervention is required.

Dave

DO NOT ORDER FROM THIS COMPANY, HOUZZ. THEY DO NOT REPLY TO EMAIL. THEY DO NOT ANSWER THEIR PHONE. THEY DO NOT SEND YOU WHAT YOU ORDERED. I ORDERED A PACK OF 20 SPIRAL TOMATO STAKES AND THEY ONLY SENT ME ONE!!!!!