The tomato bush has the ability to grow significantly both in width and in height. And the range of sizes for different varieties varies significantly. Balcony varieties have a height of 20-30 cm, and some indeterminate vines can reach 3 m.
If the stem of low-growing standard tomatoes easily withstands the weight of its fruits in a vertical state, then the stem of other varieties bends to the ground even before the formation of the ovary. It is necessary to know the vegetative characteristics of tomato varieties and how to tie plants in order to effectively help them form a good crop and improve ripening.
Why do tomatoes need to be tied up?
Tomato plants need constant care and a number of agrotechnical measures, one of them is tying. Reasons why a plant requires a garter:
- easier to stepson and process;
- it is convenient to carry out watering, fertilizing and loosening;
- improves ventilation and reduces the risk of developing diseases;
- fruit clusters of tied plants are open to sunlight and ripen better;
- fruits lying on the ground are attacked by slugs and other pests;
- the usable area of the greenhouse is rationally used.
In addition to purely practical advantages, properly tied tomatoes in a garden or greenhouse have a neat, aesthetic appearance.
What varieties should be tied up
The main part of the varieties of tomatoes needs a garter. The exception is low-growing varieties, the stable stem of which fully withstands a few ovaries. Medium-sized, determinant tomatoes, when grown in a hot climate in the southern regions, in the open field, also make no sense to tie up.
Their development and maturation occurs quickly, and even fruits that fall on dry land ripen safely (due to low humidity).
In the middle lane, it is necessary to tie up all medium-sized and tall varieties, both indeterminate and determinant.
Advice! If the summer is damp and cool, then the garter will not damage even undersized tomatoes, so that the stem does not lose stability under the weight of the fruit.
How to properly tie tomatoes
For a garter, you need to choose a material that would not injure the stem, was soft, not thin, durable. For a small number of plants at home, you can take fabric cut into strips 3-4 cm wide, old linen and even nylon tights. In mass production of tomatoes, linen twine is usually used.
Manufacturers now offer plastic holding devices for holding fruit clusters and shoot ties that can be used repeatedly.
An even more perfect option is a garter device, which wraps around the stem and its support with a special tape.
Tying accessories
- With individual stakes.
Such a garter is simple and affordable, but very laborious and costly over large areas. You will need an individual support for each plant. Can be used:
- wooden slats, tree branches;
- metal rods, remnants of reinforcement;
- plastic tubes.
The height of the material chosen for the support should be 25-30 cm more than the height of the plant, as this is the minimum depth to which the stake must be driven into the ground for stability.
It is not advisable to use such devices for tall tomatoes, since too high a support may not withstand the weight of the plant with fruits and collapse.
- With wallpaper.
To implement this method of tying, strong materials are stretched between two stable supports: wire, rope, cable, or a crossbar is installed. Below, at a distance of 35-55 cm from each other, other parallel rows are pulled. The growing tomato stalk is tucked to one side or the other, passing through rows of ropes or simply tying them to them as the plant grows. Fruit brushes are additionally attached to parallel trellises with a rope or hook. The method is more suitable for plants formed into one stem.
- With linear trellises.
For this type of garter between supports that are installed among several seedlings, only the upper trellis is pulled. It must be strong and not strongly bend, because several heavy plants will be tied to it at the same time. From the upper trellis, the material chosen for the garter (twine) is lowered down, with which the seedlings are tied and, as it grows, the material is wrapped around the stem.
- Cells.
With this method, a round or square structure is made for each plant from intersecting vertical and horizontal rods of wire or other durable material. A tomato bush is placed inside a cage, buried for stability in the soil. The method is quite expensive, it complicates the care of the plant, an additional garter to the cage itself is required.
- Caps.
They are constructed from four high rods, which are dug into the soil, and are interconnected at the top. The design is designed for 4 plants, that is, one for each support. The cap can be used to build a shelter in the spring, but in general, this is a troublesome task.
Gardener’s tips on how to tie up tomatoes:
How to make a trellis design yourself
A trellis is a rope, wire, or bar placed over plants. For the installation of the trellis, you will need strong supports in the form of wooden or metal poles. In greenhouses, the upper structural elements of the structure itself are used as fasteners for trellises.
The main conditions for the manufacture
- The material for the trellis should be selected depending on the number of seedlings and the variety of tomatoes in order to support the weight of all the bushes. At the same time, the trellis should not stretch and sag, otherwise the plants will move and sag. For a linear trellis, it is better to use thick wire, an iron or metal crossbar. For several tapestries stretched in parallel, the material may be thinner.
- The supports must be fixed very firmly so that they do not collapse under the weight of the plants. Poles for long trellises need to be dug deep into the soil and stretched in the opposite direction from the direction of the trellis. It is better to tie tomatoes of one type of bush to one trellis. The height of the structure depends on the variety: large – for indeterminate ones, lower – for medium-sized determinant ones.
How and when to tie tomatoes
In a polycarbonate greenhouse
Tall varieties of tomatoes are most often grown in polycarbonate greenhouses, so it is best to tie them to a linear trellis stretched over a row of plants. The sequence of work is as follows:
- a rope or twine is thrown through the trellis, their length should be 30-50 cm longer than the distance to the trellis;
- the stem is tied with a free knot (with the expectation of subsequent thickening) below the first true leaf;
- garter material is wrapped around the stem in a spiral under each leaf and flower brush;
- the upper end under the trellis is tied with a slip knot in order to be able to lengthen the thread after the next twist.
Advice! For bandaging to the trellis, special hooks can be used, on which twine is wound with a margin.
In the open field
This is how mostly low-growing and medium-sized tomatoes are grown. For small plants, a garter to single supports (stakes) is usually used. It is more rational to tie taller bushes to parallel trellises, cages and grids of intersecting trellises. The stem of the tomato is freely wrapped with twine, its ends are crossed and tied to a support.
On the windowsill
Low-growing balcony tomatoes can not be tied up, but if the variety has an unstable stem, then a beautiful wooden or plastic peg and an original soft cord can be used for gartering.
The time and money spent on tying up tomato plants will pay off with a decent harvest and will make it possible to rationally use the sown area.
