Got colossal tomato plant?

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

for those looking to grow a big tomato plantation.
Brandywine Red Potato Leaf is it.
it's huge robust plant and very productive and nice shaped tomatoes. its almost 8 feet tall so far. the fence is 6 feet and is 6 inches off the ground, the pole is 7 feet off the ground.

i have no idea how to support it anymore, can't even see its cage anymore!
not slowing down either, still rapidly growing to the point where i had to start pruning it, something i usually never do.

next year growing it again for sure and getting a crane to hold it. ;-)

Featured Answer

nandina

9 years ago

stevie, make a phone call to on-line company named Home-Sew. Order a 15 foot length (it is sold in various lengths) of a special Velcro they sell called single-wrap Velcro in the color green. I have not been able to locate it anywhere else. I have used this for more than 20 years to secure growing tomato plants. One side is soft and fuzzy, very kind to fragile stems. As you cut and work with pieces of this Velcro you will understand how your tall tomato can now be easily secured to the overhead pipe. Also an easy method to secure heavy trusses to cages or poles. You will also figure out how it is possible to "piggy-back' one strip to another, providing support to other heavy stems.

At the end of the growing season I carefully save each piece of the Velcro, forming it into a ball for use next year. In the spring I drop this ball of Velcro into boiling water for about 15 minutes to discourage any lingering tomato diseases. And it is ready for another year of providing firm tomato growing support. I am still using strips of this Velcro purchased 20 years ago. Tough, easy to use product. Also works well securing vines and climbing roses.

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Comments (11)

hoosier40 6a Southern IN
9 years ago
Nice looking plant for sure. Where did you get the plant and or seeds if I might ask?
stevie
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
they are Burpee seeds, i have some left and can send you about a dozen seeds if you want. when i harvest some more tomatoes i will save more seeds.
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gorbelly
9 years ago
Home Depot sells that velcro. At least, it does in my area.
lgteacher
9 years ago
My brandywine is huge, too. It was started from seed in late January and planted in the ground in April in a spot where I had previously had a compost bin. It's also producing lots of fruit. The tomato cage tipped over a few days after this photo was taken.
stevie
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
lgteacher, you should prune off those lower foliage close to the ground.
the biggest issue i can see with these plants is that they can grow so dense with large foliage (like in the center of the plants) that just becomes a big mass of leaves and can make the plants susceptible to diseases due to air flow. in the photo, i had already pruned about 1/4 of the leaves on the plant. as i mentioned before, i'm usually against pruning in general, but this tomato variety i would recommend pruning to keep it from basically suffocating itself.

next year i will definitely space this plant at least 5 feet from the other plants.
nandina
9 years ago
gorbelly, The green Velcro you mentioned at Home Depot and other nurseries is probably the flimsy variety that will not hold anything. The Velcro I am suggesting from Home-Sew is a superior type of tough, sturdy Velcro which is difficult to locate, especially in the color green.
gorbelly
9 years ago
I use it, and it's very sturdy. The velcro is very strong--sometimes annoyingly so, when it sticks to things I don't want it to stick to, and I ruin them pulling the velcro off.
qaguy
9 years ago
I use cages made of PVC pipe. They work great. The cages are about 6 feet tall.

As you can see, the plants have grown over the top about 2 feet. Sooner or later they just cascade from the top. I've had plants reach 12 feet (that is all the way back to the ground).
Kansas Farm Girl - Shell - South of KC
9 years ago
Nice looking plant .... My largest plants right now are Not Purple Strawberry. I'm thinking 9'. They've got some nice looking greenies on them. Only a couple are showing any color.
Seysonn_ 8a-NC/HZ-7
9 years ago
You can just let it drape at 8ft. But there has to be some structure at the draping point for the branches to lean on. Tomatoes are naturally sprawler so the can drape with no problem.