The Best Tomato Trellis

Simple Trellises

• For a simple, inexpensive trellis, pound metal or wooden posts at least 1 inch in diameter and 5 feet high into the soil. Space the posts 4 feet apart. Stretch a length of chicken wire with 2-inch holes between the stakes and secure it tightly with staples or plastic ties. At the end of the season, this trellis can be removed from the ground and stored in a shed or left in the garden. Posts used for rural fencing are ideal -- sturdy, yet inexpensive.

Planting

• Secure the posts down the middle of the tomato patch. Plant tomatoes in late spring after the last frost, spacing them alternately on each side of the trellis, 18 to 24 inches apart. This method allows you to grow more tomatoes in less space. As the plants grow, tie the main stem to the trellis with strips of fabric or old nylon socks. Do not use scratchy twine, which might damage the plants. Pinch off suckers, which are the small leaves and stems that grow between the main stem and the strong lateral branches. For succession plantings, sow pea seeds along the fence in early spring. The peas will be ready to harvest when it is time to plant the tomatoes, allowing you to get two crops from one garden space.

Homemade Cages

• Try a few different growing methods for tomatoes and you'll soon discover the method that works best for you. Some gardeners prefer to stake each tomato plant to a stake planted next to the tomato plant. This method is inexpensive and stores away quickly in the fall. Make cages by bending and securing cement reinforcing mesh into a ring. These cages are durable and long-lasting, but they cost more to make and take up a lot of room in the garden. They are also cumbersome to store.

Commercial Growers

• Commercial growers use a trellis method for managing tomatoes, but instead of wire, they string twine between the posts. Early in the spring, growers install one piece of twine 12 inches from the ground. They don't tie the plants to the twine, but the plants merely rest on it. As the plants grow, the growers install additional lengths of twine higher on the posts. This method provides a quick, inexpensive solution when growing many tomato plants.