Tomatoes are America’s favorite vegetable or fruit to grow at home. The first time I grew tomatoes I didn’t know what I was doing. I had successfully sprouted my first plants from seed but they soon turned spindly with just a long stem and a little leaf but they soon died. I was gardening in a very reactive manner without
knowledge or experience. I used to think all that was required was a seed, dirt and some water.
Why trellis tomato plants? What do I do now as they get taller? Tomatoes will take up a huge amount of room if left on their own. They will sprawl on the ground and be eaten but slugs and other pests which will ruin everything and become unsightly.
The method I use I got from Mel Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening. My difference from Mel’s book is that I use ¾ inch PVC pipe instead electrical conduit.
Using a trellis system like this is Easy on the back, and adds to mass production of tomatoes. Trellising is not just for tomato plants but it’s also great for cucumbers, beans, peas, pumpkin, melon, edamame, peppers, vining squash and zucchini, and eggplant (although personally I prefer wire cages for eggplant.
That’s what we’re all about here at ToDoListHome.com mass production with ease and low cost at the home. Believe it or not the trellis is also strong enough to survive hurricanes level storms winter snow storms.
What to do with remaining green tomatoes after frost? I put them in a box with newspaper and a banana. The ethylene gas from the banana will ripen the green tomatoes in a few days. 2 years ago we had fresh tomatoes until early December.
So be sure to use this lazy method of growing the tallest and most productive tomato plants in your neighborhood. Do not use chemicals you wouldn’t use on yourself. Sometimes neem oil with a little dish soap is good to keep away the evil tomato horn worm. The only maintenance you really need is to Cut off dead leaves as they occur. If it’s green let it be. If its brown take it down. Brown may also be an indication of nitrogen deficiency so using a little fish emulsion is definitely beneficial. On a weekly basis from the time tomato plants go in the ground you must prune those runners. I know it’s hard but pinch them and Pitch them or use some rootone to try to propagate clones. I have a link to how to do this properly in today’s show notes at todolisthome. There are also several resources including Mel’s book on this website.
Resources
- Episode-93- Grow More Tomatoes With Vertical Gardening
- Permaculture
- How to prune tomato plants
- How to trellis tomato plants
- planting times 2012
- Episode-48- Sow Seeds In Soil Blocks To Save Time, Money And Back Pain
- Episode-69- Garden Starts With Soil Blocks For Easy Planting
- 12 Principles of Permaculture
- Introduction To Soil Cubes
- The Soil Cube Tool
- TSP EPISODE-831- SEED STARTING PRIMER FOR 2012
- Make your oil soil cube
- Also search for how to make your own soil cube on YouTube
- Harden plants
- Episode-83- When To Plant And What To Do To Protect Against Frost
- How to ripen green tomatoes
Song of The Day – Georges Bize – MP3 L’Arlésienne Suite No.2 – Intermezzo – Video