Trellising Tomatoes with the "Florida Weave" Method

I remember years ago when I watched TV more than I do now, there was an award on one of those Award Shows (Academy Awards, maybe?) for Best Supporting Role. They would call up an actor or an actress who wasn't the lead in the film, but their role played a major part in the success of the particular movie.

Taking that analogy to the garden, I have an award for Best Supporting Role for holding up the vines of the Heirloom tomatoes I plant.  They happen to be all indeterminate varieties, as opposed to the determinate (or bush type).  The success of the garden depends on the support mechanism for the vines and I've tried them all. Here are my nominees for Best Supporting Role for Holding up Heirloom Tomatoes:

First we have The Stake:  In support of the tomato plants this guy is top notch.  He excels it holding up a bush tomato with little effort.  It is pretty cheap - about $1.99 per stake. His weaknesses include rotting.  At the end of the season when I go to pull it up, the stake breaks in the ground as it has rotted over the course of the season.  But the primary limitation is that it is not effective in holding up the indeterminate vines that grow and grow and grow.

The next nominee is The Cage:  This nominee is great for bush tomatoes/peppers as well.  A little more expensive at about double the cost of a stake - $3.89 each, at least he doesn't rot and you can use him again and again as a supporting actor.  He doesn't get 'type-cast' as you can use him for tomatoes, peppers, egg plant, etc.  But he's not effective in holding up the long, long, indeterminate vines either.

Nominee #3 is The Cattle Panel:  Now we're getting somewhere.  A cattle panel mounted between two T-posts will support indeterminate vines.  As they grow taller and taller, you just tie the vines to the panel with pieces of torn up t-shirt or cloth. You can use it year after year.  The only downside is cost.  A 16 foot panel will cost you roughly $35 and throw in the T-post supports and you are looking at $45 bucks for just a 16 foot section! Ouch.

All those are pretty good.  BUT...The winner of the award for Best Supporting Role in holding up Heirloom Indeterminate Tomatoes is... (drum roll as I open the envelope)...  The Florida Weave Method of Tomato Staking! 

The Florida Weave Method uses 3 T posts per 30 foot row, so it is only a $15 investment and you can use them year after year in the garden or in the pasture.  I've used this method for several years and I like it the best.  Here's how it works.  Use a 'T-post banger' or a sledge hammer to drive a T post at either end of your tomato row. I usually drive them until the "foot" of the T-post is even with ground level.  If I have a wooden stake lying around, I might drive that in the middle for extra support.

T-posts driven on either end with a wooden stake (optional) in the middle.

Next is your most important step, your supporting mechanism is the 'guide wires' that are attached to each T-post and hold up the plants.  I use poly baling twine as it is free to me.  When I purchase my round bales, I cut the twine off, pull out from the bale and wrap around a stick for use later.  You can use baling twine for most anything, almost as integral as duct tape for use around the homestead.

I count 3 notches up from the ground and tie a length of baling twine securely to the T-post.  Then I stretch out the twine and WEAVE the twine in serpentine fashion down the row, running it on the right side of the first plant and on the left side of the second plant, and so on and so forth until you get to the other T-post. Circle the T-post several times with the twine to hold it taut and then repeat the steps back to the first T-post, only this time running the twine on the opposite side of the plant from the first go-round.

Oh, Oh, Dream Weaver - I believe you can get me through the tomato season...

You repeat this process as the tomatoes grow.  I add another strand of baling twine for every 3 notches of T-post as the plants grow.  You can see below how the strands of twine pulled tight and weaved around the plants provide support to the growing vines.

A good support structure

Here is another angle.  One of the things that I try to do when weaving is that I use the branches of the tomato as part of the process.  You can see that I've run the twine just beneath one of the branches.  The twine lends support to the plant, holding it up from the tomato plant's "arm pits."

I got ya!

Sometimes your plants will grow at different spurts where some are tall enough to be supported by "the weave" and some won't.  Some plants grow at their own pace.  No problem.  Just watch them and as they grow tall enough, open the twine up and pull them in the middle of the supporting strands of twine.

Here are some of the same plants a few weeks later.  You can see that I've added a couple more runs of twine as the plants have grown.

Tomatoes 'a Growin'

Now here's a good place to mention that while you are weaving, it is a great time to inspect the plants for suckers and remove them.  I see a big one below.  Do you?  I almost let this one go too far.

Suckers on Tomato Plants

Maybe tomorrow we'll show how to identify and remove suckers off of your tomato plants.  Right now, though, we'd like to give a parting applause to The Florida Weave, winner of the Our Maker's Acres Best Supporting Role Award for 3 years running!