Once the tomato plants are in the ground and growing, they will need support. There are many ways to support tomato plants; once you understand what tomatoes need, there is almost no limit to your imagination. However, we have two favorite methods that have worked great for us for many years.
Why does a tomato plant need support?
Regarding support, there are two different tomato plant varieties: vine and bush tomatoes.
Vine-type tomatoes are the most common tomatoes that gardeners grow. Long-season tomato varieties are all vine-type plants (also called indeterminate). These plants grow as long as the weather and/or the environment allows it. If not given any support, these plants will vine on the ground and become one massive plant that will often kill itself by getting diseases from the moist surface of the earth. Even though they are called vine-type varieties, tomatoes do not climb independently. They do need support and help to hold on to the support.
All the determinate and most dwarf varieties are bush-type tomato plants. You can also prune a vine-type plant back to be a bush. A bush-type plant does not need as much support as a vine-type tomato plant but does appreciate some support in a cage.
Very few tomato varieties do not need any support because they are small and sturdy enough to stay in form on their own, or they are a dwarf variety that does great in a hanging basket. These plants are the exception.
Before you plan your support, you need to know what you got. Do you have an indeterminate vine-type plant that will grow very tall, or do you have a determinate or dwarf bush tomato plant? A seed package will tell you that. If in doubt, google your plant’s name; in most cases, you will find a seed company with all the needed information.
How to support vine-type tomatoes
Since vine-type tomato plants (also called indeterminate) continue to grow during the whole growing season, they need tall support. Also, it will make a big difference in your support choice if you prune a vine-type tomato plant back to a single stem or let everything grow into a huge bush. We prefer the single-stem method. Read also: to prune or not to prune tomato plants.
When we first started growing tomatoes, we used a Spiral Stake. It worked, but we noticed that tomato plants could outgrow a stake rather quickly. A stake is a great option if you grow an indeterminate cherry tomato plant in a pot leaning onto a wall.
In the greenhouse, we started using twine with clips. This method allows us to grow plants as tall as we would want. It is an easy and inexpensive support method suited for greenhouse growth.
To use twine with clips you will need a structure to hang the twine onto. In our greenhouse we use a galvanized steel cable that we hang all the twines on (see picture below). You can also work with the structural support of the greenhouse and string the twine on that.
We often use one or two clips at the beginning and wind the plant around the twine after that, using fewer clips this way.
For the garden, an archer trellis seems to work great. We do not grow vine tomato plants in the open ground because of our short growing season. But if you do, this is a great way to support not just tomatoes. Photo credit to Little Veggie Stand.
How to support bush-type tomatoes
For bush-type plants, we use a simple support cage. For our short growing season, that’s all that is needed. I must admit, though, that sometimes, at the end of the season, when plants are loaded with fruit, the cage has to work hard to keep everything straight.
Use the support cage as soon as the plants are transplanted. There is no way to add the cage later in the growing process. The cage can easily be established as long as the plants are small. Even if it seems you still have plenty of time, add the cage. You might be surprised how quickly those plants grow. The support cage also works great for container gardening and grow bags.
Another advantage of bush-type tomatoes in cages is the ability to protect them from cold and frost. Every cage can easily become a little greenhouse by wrapping a Frost Blanket around it. The lightweight blanket can be left on for days to give the plant protection as needed.
What is your favorite way to support tomato plants? Please share in the comments below.
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I have had no success “yet” growing tomatoes because of cool temperatures here and I have yet to make that raised-bed-mini-greenhouse-tomato-box…but…I have had some come up in garden compost. Last year one came up in the shadiest part of my garden so I knew there was no hope at all for it!…….but…what a joy it was when walking by to take my hand and gently caress a branch and breath deeply of it’s scent! Amazing! I saw a video some years ago of a couple who grew tomatoes in their greenhouse and they had this “contraption” built on the concept of how a window blind works that they could raise up and down. It also reminded me of a weavers loom. Their plant was huge and they trained the side branches to catch the sun rays so the harvest was amazing.
Hope this will be the year for you to grow great tomatoes. Just find the warmest spot in your garden, make sure the soil is good and grow!