How to tie up tomatoes
The thin stem of a tomato is not able to sustain a bountiful harvest of fruits on its own – additional support is required for the normal development of the culture. The garter of the plant is performed immediately after the formation of the ovaries and is repeated as the tomato grows. Before tying tomatoes, you should familiarize yourself with the basic rules of this procedure.
Why do you need to tie up tomatoes?
The climate of our region is not a natural environment for a plant, which requires the creation of additional conditions for growing and care. In warm latitudes, this is not necessary – the specificity of the climate is such that the fruits lying on the ground, on the contrary, receive a much larger amount of useful substances from the soil.
Tied tomatoes are much more convenient to pick
Why you need to tie up tomatoes:
- an unfortified stem can break under the weight of the fruit;
- without a garter, tomatoes will lie on the ground and begin to rot due to constant contact with wet soil;
- fruits lying on the ground will become easy prey for slugs and other garden pests.
For the garter, you must use the right material – fishing line, wire or thin rope can crush the stem and destroy the plant. It is best to tie the tomatoes up with ribbon or thick rope to provide firm but soft support to the stem.
The easiest way is to tie it to a wooden peg. Near each bush, at a distance of 20 cm, a peg with a length of at least 1 m is driven in. The top of the plant is tied to it with a loop. During the growth process, this procedure is repeated several times.
You can not use last year’s garter material – this increases the risk of contracting diseases
With the trellis or linear method, two stable supports with a length of 1,5 m or more are installed on both sides of the bed.You can use powerful wooden stakes, but metal reinforcement is the best option. A wire is pulled between them, and plants are tied to it with a rope. In the process of growth, the tomato is independently braided around the rope, so a repeated garter procedure is not required.
The lattice method is similar to the linear one, only several rows of wire are stretched between the supports with a distance of 30-40 cm.The tomato will grow and braid between the rows of wire in a checkerboard pattern. This method is very suitable for strengthening tall varieties.
Properly tied tomatoes are convenient for watering, weeding and spraying. The bushes will be ventilated and dry quickly after rain, which will significantly reduce the risk of diseases and increase yields.