Support your tomatoes, they depend on you.

Tomatoes are the number one favorite amateur gardener choice for summer food gardens. If we love them so much, we should treat them with love and care, right? It’s simple enough to do. Tie them up!

Last year I tried an experiment and did not stake my tomatoes. I thought, “Aren’t they vines and aren’t they supposed to grow along the ground?” I saw an internet article that said it would make no difference…It was a disaster for me. They barely produced any tomatoes and those that were on the vines, did not ripen. Last year was not the best year for tomatoes climate-wise but I could have done much more to support mine. Do yourself a favor, learn the lesson from my experiment and get your tomatoes off the ground.

Staking is not just for vampires…

A stake should be about six feet tall. You will need to place it on the north side of the tomato, two to three inches from the stem and drive it about one to two feet into the ground.

Now that you have the stake firmly in place, tie ‘em up. I know, it sounds so rude! But while tomatoes need to be held up in order to produce an abundance of fruit, they have no natural way to do it themselves. They need our help. A few things to remember:

• Use something soft
• Keep it tied loosely
• Place the under a sturdy non-fruit branch

Tie the rag strip to the stake first. Make a nice square knot. With the loose end gently place it under a strong branch. Never place the tie under a fruit branch as it may snap the branch laden with fruit.  Then tie the rag strip again to the stake. At the end of the season those rag strips can go into the compost with your tomato plants as long as you have used a natural fiber like cotton.

As the plant grows, keep adding your rag strips about every 12 to 18 inches.

If you are the type of person that likes your garden neat and tidy, I suggest the stake method. This is for the gardener that likes to pinch back suckers and is diligent about it. Cages obstruct your hands for this.

Sew? Use your sewing fabric scraps for bright, cheerful veggie ties.

Cage the wild tomato!

And just because you’ve put them in a cage, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check to make sure they don’t need a little help in there. If need be, make sure your tomatoes are upright in the cage with a loose rag.

If you do choose the cage method try to avoid using the wimpier store-bought cages for heavy tomatoes like beefsteak varieties. The weight of the fruit will likely tip over the cage. If you want a sturdier cage for your beefier tomatoes, it’s easy enough to create them yourself. It’s very simple. You can use hardware cloth or fencing materials.

First, get out your wire cutters and buy a roll of the wire mesh of your choice. Cut the mesh in any diameter you feel comfortable with, I like to make mine tighter (18″) circles because it means I have less worry over supporting. At the bottom, cut a few inches of the horizontal layer of wires off to create little stakes to go into the ground and keep the cage steady. The circle itself will enable self-stabilization of the cage.

Now, fold over the wires where you cut them and voilà! It’s a great way to get a cheap, heavy, stable tomato cage!

That’s it, that’s how to support a tomato and be rewarded with a better yield of yummy juicy tomatoes.

Photos are all of the Frank Mastini Memorial Garden in Cine’s citystead