Training Tomato Plants

My mechanism for training tomato plants is rather basic compared to what others do, but is important nonetheless. What I do is what I feel to be appropriate for the climate I'm in (very hot and dry in the summer).

I don't pinch sucker growth, I use metal cages, and I keep “tucking” the tomato branches within the cage, if possible.

Here's a few links for background:

Pruning Tomatoes -- http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/how-to/articles/pruning-tomatoes.aspx

Planting a Seedling -- http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/mar/27/planting-a-seedling/

Tomatoes (PDF) -- http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM608.pdf

I don't feel it appropriate to pinch sucker growth. Making larger or stronger vines or tomatoes isn't a concern of mine at all. There's enough wind and heat to keep the tomatoes and the leaves dry. I want as much leaves as possible to protect the first crop of tomatoes.

I'll use cages because I don't plant tomatoes in a single row. If your situation lends itself to planting in a row, other strategies are available for you.

As the tomato grows, I'll take the branches an lay them over the first bar. For the second bar and above, I may have to “tuck in” wayward branches. Why tuck them in? The plant frequently gets so large that the main branch can be inhibited and even stressed if tucking doesn't occur. Place a pen in the webbing between your index finger and thumb and you'll see what I mean.

During late May through early July this “tucking” can be quite a chore, taking about 45 minutes or so a day. The branches can grow an inch or more a day – there's a lot of branches and a lot of tomato plants! When this occurs, I'll wear thin disposable latex gloves (which will last about two or three sessions), use the back of my left hand to gently push in the rest of the caged plant, use my right hand to tuck in the offending branch, pull my right hand out of the way as I gently let go with my left hand.

On occasion I'll inadvertently break the branch. Oh well, things happen.

Before the tomato plants reach the top of the cage they tend to look like an Italian Cypress tree.

After the tomato plant reaches the top and comes up and over the last bar, I'll use tomato tape and tie it to additional stakes or use tomato tape to tie branches going in opposite directions. If the plant continues to grow at some point I just let it go. But by that time it's at least six feet tall, the first set of tomatoes have been harvested and it sprawls everywhere.

Toward the end of July and beyond, the plants are turning brown and do not look as good as they did a month or two ago. There's nothing wrong with that as that's part of the tomato plant's natural cycle. Besides, our main goal is great tasting tomatoes, not how the plant looks or how many we pick, in spite of what may be inferred in other posts.