Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú

Grow your own  permalink

Tomato greenhouse and support

• Message 1. 

  Posted by marilina (U3878924) on Tuesday, 8th March 2011

  Hello
  
  until now I have always grown my tomatoes in large pots. This has had some disadvantages as the tomatoes get tall, often to do with the fact that I cannot have the stake stable enough due to the limitations of the pot size.
  
  This year I have decided to build a wooden tomato greenhouse - the kind covered with strong plastic, and put the tomato plants in the ground.
  
  I will again have a problem in not knowing the best way to support them. Would it be better to put stakes in the ground and tie them to that or I have seen some trellis with string tied between the stakes that the tomatoes can be woven through.
  
  Can anybody offer some advice?
  
  Thank you

  Link to this forum: Tomato greenhouse and support

  Report message1

• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Logissimo (U14020652) on Tuesday, 8th March 2011

  Hello!
  
  Not too difficult really and there are 2 or 3 options. I have discovered that stainless steel spirals (up to 2 metres in length) work very well. You stick the non-spiral end into the ground at planting time and train the growing plants up them; very quick and easy. You will also need some form of support, a wire or similar, to secure the end of the spiral at its upper end. The spirals can be used inside or ouside.
  
  You can also train the tomatoes up strings in a very similar way. The strings have to be secured at both ends.
  
  I suppose the conventional method is to use simple garden bamboo canes. the tomato plants have to be tied to the canes as they grow which is perhaps a bit more time consuming.
  
  No doubt these suggestions will trigger lots of othger suggestions so stand by and make you choice.
  
  Tee Gee will surely have an excellent fully illustrated guide too!
  
  Good luck L

  Link to this forum: Tomato greenhouse and support

  Report message2

• Message 3

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by marilina (U3878924) on Tuesday, 8th March 2011

  Thank you Logissimo.
  
  I do have some of the stainless steel spirals, but never thought to seure them at the upper end, which is probably why they were never any good in the pots I used!

  Link to this forum: Tomato greenhouse and support

  Report message3

• Message 4

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by ivyhouse (U13788805) on Tuesday, 8th March 2011

  This may sound strange but stay with it. Last year in Disneyworld, Florida, I saw some experimental gardening where they were growing toms. very successfully on a trellis up and across the roof, as you would a vine. I thought I might try some Gardener's Delight in this way this year. I know the seed people recommend stopping plants at three trusses but I usually let these go right up to the roof, between six and eight trusses per plant so it might work.

  Link to this forum: Tomato greenhouse and support

  Report message4

• Message 5

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by punpun (U14553477) on Tuesday, 8th March 2011

  Hi Marilina,
  First time we've talked and its nice to be able to say hello,
  
  Now my idea ref your question is completely different to the other ideas you've had but i think they are more in line with you wanting to build a toms/wooden frame greenhouse.
  
  What i did for my outside toms was to buy the blue coloured water pipe's from the builders yard that the water bourd use to pipe water through the ground, Off cuts are very cheap as they're no good to the waterbourd etc .
  these are weather proof and strong but can be bent easily into a loop shape,
  
  So if you buy 6 all the same length and fix these into wooden 4x4 joist (you decide how long you want your toms greenhouse) drill a hole big enough for each pipe to fit into (the 4inch wide wood will hold tight the pipe) do this for all the piping ie 12 holes made, (six on each side).
  
  You know have a tunnel effect (mine is 4 feet high 12 feet long)
  Now you use wire to run along the sides of these bent over water pipe to give both strength and stop the pipe from leaning over ,
  Do 3 lengths of wire on each side, 1 approx 6 inch from the ground , the next one approx 2 feet and the 3rd one another 3 feet, high.
  You now have support wire's for the toms to be tied to and also these wires stop your polythiene cover from blowing inside of the frame.
  
  If you also put wire's going across the inside of this tunnel you can have a lot more tied space to use.
  
  This is a simple frame but one we're you can cover the toms of a night and as the cover is always fitted to the roof part of this frame the rain will not mark the toms,
  I just roll my polyhene cove up the sides and hold it there with wire ties attached to the water pipe framing.
  
  Ref the the corkscrew shape wire growing stakes,
  again i use these in my greenhouse for the verious toms i grow there and a good idea to keep these stakes in a standing possition is when you buy each one "Drill a very small hole in the top of each one big enough so that you can feed a length of wire through to the next one and so on, this way the wire can be connected to a strong point so that each stake has some strength in it to stop it falling over with the weight of the toms when they're growing or if it rains and the water makes the plant to heavy
  .Hope this little lot helps
  Regards punpun

  Link to this forum: Tomato greenhouse and support

  Report message5

• Message 6

  , in reply to message 5.

  Posted by marilina (U3878924) on Wednesday, 9th March 2011

  Thank you Ivyhouse and Punpun,
  
  Ivyhouse, I quite like the idea of the vines across the 'roof' . If I don't go with Punpuns idea below, this would be my next choice.
  
  punpun, I have read some of your other posts with interest. This one is also interesting. I will print it out so that I can digest it at leisure. My daughter is going to help me build this 'greenhouse' so I want her to read this as well. We have a builders yard quite close to us so it shouldn't be a problem to get some offcuts.
  Thank you for this very detailed and interesting post.

  Link to this forum: Tomato greenhouse and support

  Report message6

• Message 7

  , in reply to message 6.

  Posted by punpun (U14553477) on Wednesday, 9th March 2011

  Hi,
  My pleasure, i hope you try it and enjoy it for many years to come.
  Regards punpun.

  Link to this forum: Tomato greenhouse and support

  Report message7

• Message 8

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Paull2 (U14064177) on Friday, 11th March 2011

  I grow mine in large pots and to allow vigorous cordon plants room to grow, I construct a primitive scaffolding with stout canes, hazel rods etc tied up with twine. This is about 5' high, is anchored to the GH frame but effectively stands alone on its legs so would suit using grow bags too. By the end of summer, it's capable of supporting a good weight of fruit without the plants collapsing. I haven't found a ready-made support structure which betters this but I'm always on the look out for innovative solutions.

  Link to this forum: Tomato greenhouse and support

  Report message8

Back to top