How to Stake Tomatoes: [Utility, Installation and Procedure]

The tomato plant is a species that needs support to stay upright and prevent the leaves and tomatoes from hitting the ground.

This process must be carried out in a timely manner because it grows rapidly and will always do so in a creeping way. Performing this task is more or less simple and will take as long as the number of plants you have.

So get in work mode so that after reading this you can go straight to preparing the stakes for your tomato plants. Are you ready?

Why should tomatoes be staked?

Tomato plants are species that grow creeping. It means that they develop on the ground and produce their fruits in this way.

As it is something normal of nature, it may not cause any inconvenience, but it is best to ensure that they are in a vertical position. This avoids two basic setbacks:

It reduces the chances that tomatoes will grow directly on the ground, which could promote the attack of pests, diseases and even domestic animals.
Prevents crops from being damaged on the skin. Knowing how beautiful tomatoes look with their careful shape, this is a delicate point, even more so if they will be used for commercial purposes.

To all this we must add the fact that picking the tomatoes will be a much simpler process.And, if you have little space or want to take advantage of what you have for several species, trellising is an ideal strategy to better organize the tomato plants.

How to put tutors on tomato plants?

Tomato stakes should be installed at the back of each plant to ensure that the entire structure will have proper support. For this to be effective, it is necessary to wait until the seedling has developed a little and has an appropriate length.

Of course, the fact of nailing the support behind the tomato plant is a movement that you must execute carefully so as not to damage the roots. Now that you know all of the above, it is time to know the step by step to define the tutors.

The selection of tutors

This is one of the fundamental steps that will define the entire following process because tutors must meet several requirements:

Have a long durability period, which will make it easier for them to stand up throughout the plant’s growth process. This also implies that they can withstand climate changes.
Be consistent around their structure in order to support the weight of the tomato plant when it is already loaded with delicious tomatoes (at this point the plant is quite heavy and there is no risk of it falling over).

Among the options of tutors that are beneficial are steel tutors, bamboo canes, among others. Take into account that the tutors must be very clean before proceeding to tutor.

How to trellise tomatoes with rope?

The rope is the instrument that you will use to fix the stems of the plant to the stakes. Here it is necessary to take into account that the mooring must be done in such a way that it is firm but without exaggerating because you could affect the flow of sap inside.

It must be considered that the ropes do not cause a negative impact on the plant, which is an issue that we must keep in mind for its health. For this reason, although there are people who apply this step with plastic tape, it does not seem the most profitable.

How are tomatoes tied in a greenhouse?

The work of staking tomatoes inside a greenhouse is not very different from that used in the open field. Here it is common to apply the methodology explained above of a tutor for each plant, giving good benefits.

However, it is also possible to use the Florida weave which consists of designing a structure on the back of the tomato plants.

This structure has stakes on the edges and ropes inside, which allows the plant to lean on the ropes as it grows.

In order to achieve a good result, the ropes that are used for support must be taut and the end supports must be very firm. In this way, you ensure that it makes the proper counterweight as the tomato plants develop.

The tomato trellising is not a procedure that you carry out once and for all, but rather you must advance with it as the plant is growing. There are strategies to install the ropes at the beginning from one site to another of the stakes, so that as the plant grows you do it effortlessly.

Keep in mind that although it is a process that can demand effort on your part, it will be very worth it because tomato plants are one of the plants that can produce the best harvests.