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| I'm wondering if this trellis would be able to support tomato plants. I tried the Florida weave but it turned out to be a mess when I came back from china |
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| Yes! You could try stringing your tomato plants. That is what I do. I attach a very long string to the horizontal pole so that it becomes two strings hanging down, then simply wind the string around the main stem several times. Amazingly, there is no need to tie it to the plant. If you do not prune, simply add more strings to support more stems. Linda |
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| Yes, it will work great as long as your horizontal support pole is strong and stable. A good crop of tomatoes can get quite heavy. When I use this method, I need to add extra strings during the season since I don't remove many suckers. |
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- Posted by Natures_Nature 5 OH (My Page) on Tue, Mar 18, 14 at 11:35
| Stringing the string vertical, tying it to the horizontal support, will leave all the weight load on the single top horizontal pole. If you run string horizontally, the weight load would be more evenly distributed on the vertical support , as well as the horizontal. I would string the string(wire, trellis,whatever) horizontal, so you plants can climb on it like a ladder, that's what I do. It seems the plants can climb it better(would you rather climb a ladder or a fire pole), and the weight load is more supported by running horizontal wires vs vertical(like you planned).. |
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| That's true about the weight. I forgot to add that our trellis has an extra vertical support in the middle. In addition, they don't self-wind and need help from me! Fortunately, I have lots of time to help them and am always out there checking on them (grin). Linda |
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- Posted by TomAndJerryGardener (My Page) on Tue, Mar 18, 14 at 12:23
| Thanks for all the numerous and we'll detailed replies, I'll be sure to try it! |
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| Definitely agree with the need for extra vertical supports for the cross piece. If Kansas winds are anything like down here, once that wall of plants gets developed it turns into a not-very-sturdy wind break and you don't want to find the whole wall of green laying over some morning. Dave |
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| It should work., if your structure is rigid. In normal state, the strings are mostly holding the balance . That is, NOT all the weight is pulling down. Some of the weight is on the plant itself, as if it was in a cage. But in a breezy/windy condition there will more pulling down on the strings. So the strings will be pulling down the horizontal bar./wire. I think for this reason, stringing is mostly used in greenhouses. So if you have a lot of high winds, you should incorporate some weaving as well. JMO |
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| I trellised about 14 plants last year. Used a 2x2's for the A-frame, a 2x4 for the horizontal, and heavy twine for the string. It withstood some major wind storms we had last summer with no damage. The only reason I'm not doing it again is the big hit in production you take. |
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| Hermicide, Can you explain why you took a big hit in production? Did you prune to one or two stems? Enquiring minds want to know! Linda |
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| labradors, Yeah I pruned to 2-3 stems. Although by the end of the year I was sick of suckering and it got a little out of control. It was an everyday job wrapping the stems and pruning. This year I got some nice, tall collapsible cages and will just let them grow. |
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| You can remove as many or as few suckers as you want when trellising, just depends on how strong a structure you have. Most of my growing now is on cattle panels, but before that I grew many years on 2x4's (or 1x2's for shorter beds) wired to tall heavy duty metal posts. I only pruned near the bottom to keep paths free for easy walking. I used baling string to tie the first leader up to the overhead board, and added new strings from above as I needed them for large side suckers. By the time you have from 3-5 strings per plant, you can usually weave the rest of the suckers in among the already supported ones. I like to call my method a suspended sprawl. I do tie off each string below a sturdy branch elbow when first adding a string, after that it's all weaving. I have a wide open NE and E exposure to wind in thunderstorms and never had any collapses of structure or vines. The main problem is if you are gone for a week, your new suckers will be snaking out and trying to go back to the ground. Late in the season, if I get sick of weaving, I may remove suckers that won't develop ripe fruit anyway if they get in my way. There is really no right or wrong way to do this. Whatever works for you, depending on your visual aesthetics and patience for maintenance. I feel that not pruning gives me better protection from sun scald of fruit, and if disease hits, I have more leaves as back up for the plant. If you live in a very humid region, pruning might make sense for better airflow, or maybe you just prefer the tidy look of heavily pruned tomatoes.
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