Happens every year - how to tame the tomato jungle?!

[Enginerd]

This happens to me every year - I still cling to my tomato cages, and tried suckering this year for the first time, although wasn't 100% successful. (Most plants have around 4-6 main vines rather than the 1 or 2 I was trying for.) However, these vines are now at least 6-7' tall, ready to bend over the tops of my 5' cages.

What can be done to combat this problem after the fact? Every year, I vow to come up with a plan in the spring for 8' tomato plants, and every year I wait until the situation becomes dire.

Should I construct a fortress with some tall stakes/wire/twine/etc.? (I found some good ideas in the tomato support sticky.) Or can I prune the growing tips off the tops of the vines? Will that stifle future production causing me to run out of tomatoes well before the frost in late September?

[hendi_alex]

I've never tried it, but saw on a rooftop garden at NYC on time, where the grower took the plants up about six feet tall and then trained them to go horizontal for several feet. This was a green house garden so the vines appeared to get at least 12 feet long. As memory serves, they were trained to a central leader so it was probably pretty easy to construct a wire or other horizontal support.

What if you place a frame beside the cages and place five foot wide concrete reinforcing wire on top of the frame. Then the tomatoes could be allowed and trained to sprawl or intertwined on that horizontal surface.

[Enginerd]

I like where you're head's at, Hendi_alex! However, I'm a bit space constrained. I've attached a couple pix to save me a couple thousand words:

I've got 3 "rows" of 5-6 plants each. Here's a shot from one end of the garden:
[img]https://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t403/kappelmonster/25Jun12GardenFromNorth.jpg[/img]

And here's a shot from the other end:
[img]https://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t403/kappelmonster/25Jun12GardenFromTheSouth.jpg[/img]

If I do nothing, the path between the 2 rows will be impassable in another week, unless I literally crawl through the tunnel. (Which I usually end up doing!)

You can see the green stakes I added this morning after my initial post - I'm thinking about putting a long "rectangle" around each row of wire or twine or rope or something. This will give me a few more inches, and add some much-needed stability to the tomato cages. If only I had some taller stakes!

BUT they'll keep growing! I can't go sideways, so it's either got to be up or... I pinch the tops and stop their progress...

[hendi_alex]

Wow, really nice looking garden. Wish mine still looked that lush. The over 90 degree heat and humidity are taking its toll here in central South Carolina.

One idea that I've experimented with is simply dropping down and topping a plant. May be worth an experiment on a plant or two. If you remove the top growth about half way down, then laterals/suckers will sprout and start moving back up the basket. Obviously that will delay production of the hard pruned plants, but will keep them in the baskets, plus will give the chance for a longer more even harvest.

[rainbowgardener]

Yeah, you don't have to let them get so huge. Pinch out the growing tips to slow the growth down and focus them more on making tomatoes.

Lots of ways to spread it out. One of my 4x8 beds with tomato plants, I have home made trellis all around the outside (wire frames with twine across). They've got beans planted next to them, but also some of the excess tomato vine from the tomato cages tied to it.

[Enginerd]

Thank you both! I'm going to try some one-vine trellising experiments next year for sure. Today I'll be pinching tops. I'm glad tomato plants don't squeal when you prune them!