NDIrish81
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Location: Indiana

Help! Massive plants!

So not gonna lie. First time gardening on my own. I bought 12 plants from gurney's that got rediculously large. I first had them in cages. Got so heavy and big that the cages fell over. So then we got metal fence posts and staked the cages so they would stay up. They grew so large that they look like some creeping ground cover that happens to have tomatoes. I tried to pull up the branches to tie them loosely to the stake but they want to break and I'm afraid to smother the tomatoes in the middle...I'm open to suggestions![/img]

TZ -OH6
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And the season's only half over :(


Commercial wire ring cages?, Right?

Its tough to do anything with the vines once they are down except mulch heavily under the vines to help keep things clean, but if you are not willing to let them sprawl and already have sturdy fence posts, go to the forum's sticky thread on support methods and see how I string a cable between fence posts to hold up stakes. Use as many stakes as you can get your hands on and put some upright and maybe some horizontally between cages and just tye the vines up however you can to whatever you can.

NDIrish81
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Location: Indiana

thanks for the reply! I know I won't use those cages next year! I have room to just let them go til they run into my peppers! So what kind of mulch would you recommend? These tomatoes are crazy though. If I knew how to put pics on here I'd post one. The fruits themselves are huge too. The variety is a winner, but what type of support would you think would be best for next year?

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rainbowgardener
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Check out the sticky on Tomato Supports at the top of this section.... TZ spent a long time writing out a whole bunch of info.

For posting pictures, the instructions are linked in my signature line.

What variety are your huge plants and have you been fertilizing them a lot?

NDIrish81
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Location: Indiana

well that stinks. I can't post pics bc my palm doesn't have flash. I'll have to do it from my desktop when I get a chance. I looked at that post. I glanced at it briefly when I registered. I have a 3 1/2 yr old and 17 month old, so it's hard for me to read long threads :) but I just got through it. I think I like the weave idea. Will that work for very heavy plants? Here's the variety I got (link at the bottom). I had to spray them with sevin last night bc there's now worms. I tried BT first, but didn't seem to help. Unfortunately it rained overnight and this morning...so it all probably washed off. We fertilized the whole plot to begin with since it was a first time garden. We decided late, so I didn't have time to send in a sample for analysis. So my MIL just got a general fertilizer and I can't remember the ratio. I also used fertilizer spikes on them a couple weeks after transplant. Thr craziest part of it is I swear to you three of the plants were dead. We got a ton of rain and they got drown. They were just a single brown stem and then they came back! So they're definitely hardy :)

NDIrish81
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the link didn't show up...try again!

https://gurneys.com/delicious-tomato-plants/p/14109/

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rainbowgardener
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Many of us don't love Sevin around here.... it is broad spectrum, meaning it kills off all your beneficial insects as well as the ones you want to kill. So eventually the bad guys come back and there are no good guys to control them.

Here's a thread that has links to info about some of the health and environmental effects of Sevin.

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=137800&highlight=sevin#137800

I hope you read the articles, just so you have the information to make your own decisions.

If you are using it, be sure to read and follow all the label instructions / precautions carefully and don't eat anything within a week of when it has been sprayed.

NDIrish81
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Location: Indiana

thanks. I don't like it myself, but around here it's what everyone uses. I didn't like the idea bc my kids are out there with me a lot. That's why I tried the BT first. My tomatoes are starting to finally turn red and every one of them had a hole in it. Just don't want to lose my crop. Have visions of a stocked pantry and basement :) I'll check it out. I appreciate the alternative suggestions!

NDIrish81
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Location: Indiana

ok. So I read the thread. Wish I wouldn't have let my mom convince me to use it. So now I want to throw it away, but what's a safe way to dispose of it? And the thread said to make sure the soap is soap, not detergent. How do you tell the difference? I have garlic, onions, hot peppers, oil and have green apple concentrated dish liquid (not antibacterial)...would that work?

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rainbowgardener
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Nope... dishwashing liquid is detergent unless is specifically says soap on it. Detergent works just as well for killing bugs, but can harm your plants. Soap will kill the bugs without harming plants.

Soap is Murphy's oil soap, Dr Brunners pure Castile soap, Ivory dish soap (but watch out because Ivory also makes a dishwashing liquid that is detergent) or just shavings from bars of soap shaken up in water.

The Sevin must be disposed of as hazardous waste. Sometimes charitable organizations have a hazardous waste disposal or call the city or the local garbage collection company and ask them about hazardous waste disposal.



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