The Florida Weave

At first glance, the Florida Weave might sound like a trendy new hairdo, or a dance, or a resident of Florida who's had a little too much to drink.  Actually, it is none of the above.  It is a means of staking tomatoes that I've had some success with.  I'm always looking for good ideas and was searching the Internet last year and found this technique.  I'd like to share it since it really worked for me.

We grow heirloom tomatoes.  Indeterminate, open pollinated, heirloom tomatoes, to be precise.  The indeterminate term means that they aren't 'bush-type,' but are vining tomatoes and that presents a real problem.  I tried staking them one year, but the tomato plants get too tall and top heavy and fall over and then you have a mess.  I tried the tomato cages with the same level of failure.  The Florida weave works!  It is going to be a little hard to explain, so I'll show you pictures of getting it started and then show a picture that I cut and pasted off of the Internet.  There are also videos on Youtube that will demonstrate the process. 

All you need is baling twine, T-posts and some wooden stakes.  Drive a T-post into the ground on each end of your row.  Tie your baling twine onto the T-post about one foot off the ground and pull the twine toward the other T-post weaving the twine in and out on alternating sides of the tomato plant.  When you get to the other T-post, pull tight, circle the T-post several times to hold twine taut and proceed back to the original T-post, but this time, alternate the twine so that the plant has twine on either side of it.  Then tie it off onto the original T-post where you started.  The photo below demonstrates what I'm talking about.


Twine on either sides of the plant, providing support

Here's a close-up of the support that the twine provides.


"Hold me!"

Here is a shot where I've zoomed out to show the entire row.  You can see one of the T-posts at the far end.

One strand of the Florida weave completed on a row of Black Krim Heirloom tomatoes

A couple more things to add.  The Florida Weave process that I've demonstrated is just getting started.  There is only one strand of twine so far.  As the tomatoes grow, you'll want to provide additional strands to provide more support.  Just watch it closely and every 6-10 inches of growth, you'll want to add an additional strand.  I think I had about 6 strands last year. 

Another thing you'll want to do is between every other plant, drive a regular wooden stake between the weave to solidify the trellis and provide rock-solid support.  This is especially important as the plants begin to bear fruit and become heavy.  You'll need it.


The Florida Weave: winner of the best supporting role in the Tomato row

The illustration below comes from finegardening.com and shows a great depiction of what I've been trying to describe. 


I endorse this technique as it has finally enabled me to find a method to keep the rows that contain my tomato plants from looking like an unorganized jungle.  Now if I could just find a good remedy for STINK BUGS!!!