How to Train Tomatoes on a Hog Wire Fence

An unattended tomato plant, heavy with fruit, often droops and falls to the ground, increasing the likelihood of rot and pest infestation. Training tomato plants keeps them off the ground, growing upright so the entire structure is healthier and easier to care for. Positioning the tomato plants along a hog wire fence allows you to tie them to it and support the structure of vines. To train tomatoes on a hog wire fence, you need to properly place the tomato plants and perform occasional maintenance.

Started tomato plants
Twine, cut into several 12-inch lengths
Clean pruning shears

Instructions

- 1
  Place the started tomato plants along the hog wire fence, as close as possible to it. Use a length of twine to fasten the main stem of each plant to the fence loosely, near the base. The plants can be in pots or grown in the ground.
- 2
  Gently pull the smaller stems of the tomato plants back, toward the fence and fasten them with lengths of twine. When you are finished, the tomato plants should spread over the hog wire fence, with each stem fastened loosely.
- 3
  Cut away any small branches you cannot tie to the fence with clean pruning shears, close to the main stem. The plant would otherwise waist energy supporting these smaller branches that it could be spending on growing bigger offshoots that can hold bigger tomatoes.
- 4
  Support any large branches that cannot bend back to the fence with a longer length of twine, creating an anchor. This prevents the branches from drooping without breaking them to bend them toward the fence.
- 5
  Continue tying new branches of the tomato plant to the hog wire fence as it grows, ensuring the entire structure has support. This should maintain an easily accessible wall of greenery, and eventually, ripe tomatoes.

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