Tomato staking

[Gloucester2]

Not impressive Dad - just don't know what I'm doing - I can grow the #^&#^&#^&#^& out of the plants but when it comes to fruit - not so much

Except the Super 100's - got a million cherry tomatoes - some of them were growing 15 feet in the air

I need to learn how to prune properly . . . those pictures were from a few years ago - I'm going with 8 foot wood 2x2's this year and I'm going to pay alot closer attention to them before they get out of control . . . either that or I'm going to take up golf . . . I just have a small area that I like to mess around with after work while sipping a cold beer.

I'm sure to have lot's of questions . . . it goes beyond just pruning out suckers . . . I think I need to use hedge trimmers

[Goose]

I use this system easy and works great

[The Dad Fisherman]

Originally Posted by Gloucester2

Not impressive Dad - just don't know what I'm doing - I can grow the #^&#^&#^&#^& out of the plants but when it comes to fruit - not so much

No expert by any means but I've been reading up on tomatoes and they say if you apply a fertilizer high in phosphorous it promotes more fruit developing.....like I said....I'm no expert but try googling up some info on it.

Coffee grounds are supposed to be good for that as well
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Raven]

one method i always do
when setting them out is to plant them much deeper
so they have a larger root system which
makes for a bigger plant later on

[vineyardblues]

Originally Posted by Raven

one method i always do
when setting them out is to plant them much deeper
so they have a larger root system which
makes for a bigger plant later on

Raven has the right idea ,
You can lay down the plant with only a few inches above ground . Carefull bending the top up and out of the dirt
everything under ground will turn to root .
I toss in a little 10-10-10 and sit back ... Mine are always over 5-6 ft tall

A very old man told me this from Spags years ago, works fine

[Rockfish9]

Originally Posted by Raven

one method i always do
when setting them out is to plant them much deeper
so they have a larger root system which
makes for a bigger plant later on

bingo.... makes them much more resistant to drought...and stronger, more bushy
I put mine in a trench tilled down deep and fill in as the plants get taller...

if you want alot of fruit...pinch those suckers...if you have too much greenery.. the plant puts all the effort into maintaining the leaves and less into producing fruit
One thing the old man used to tell me about pinching suckers.... he used to remind me all the time " fruit dont grow on the leaves son"