Got Lots of Tomatoes

How many different tomato trellises and other growing systems are there? The answer is lots and lots. As we like indeterminate heirlooms, trellising is imperative. I tried something different this year. I did almost no pruning. Mostly, I pruned leaves that could make ground contact and straggler stems that got outside the tied-down stems.
I tied most of the stems to the bamboo poles and T-posts I use for the trellis. There were some negatives to this approach, but the yields are fantastic and the quality of the tomatoes is excellent.

I grew 40 plants in two beds. 18 different varieties, all heirlooms or open-pollinated.

Next year I’ll grow less. We’re dealing with way too many tomatoes and giving lots away.

I had two problems with the trellis system. I used bamboo poles attached to a single bamboo brace between the T-posts. The frame was not strong enough. And the bamboo poles slid or sometimes collapsed under the weight. Next year, I’ll put bamboo cross supports across the top, which will make the frame much more rigid.

The second problem was that many tomatoes got wedged between the points where I tied stems to the posts. This resulted in deformed and sometimes unusable fruit. I’ll figure out a different tie system for next year.

The two advantages of the system outweighed the problems: bountiful yields and almost no sunscald. The tomatoes had much less cracking under all the foliage, and the fruit quality was extremely high. Direct burning sunlight can damage fruit. Pruning techniques I’ve tried in the past left too many open areas of unprotected fruit.

Early in the season, I followed a rigorous spray routine using copper sulfate, resulting in no loss of foliage covering the lower-hanging tomatoes. Without spraying, leaf blight would have destroyed a lot of the crop.

I’m already looking forward to next year when I’ll put some new ideas into practice. Growing a lot of different food plants offers many challenges, but you get to solve the problem and become a better gardener. There is always more to learn regarding growing techniques.