How to Stake Tomatoes the Right Way

Many options are out there for staking your tomatoes. Some people use cages, while others use fencing as a trellis. The best way that I've found is using wooden stakes and a box of string. Indeterminate varieties of tomatoes keep growing and will flower along the stem. These types of tomatoes need to be staked for ease of pruning and to keep the fruits off the ground. Determinate varieties often only grow to three feet tall and don't require staking for their bushy growth habit. These types of tomatoes grow their fruits at the ends of the stem and will often ripen all at the same time.

To begin, you'll need wooden or metal stakes about four feet tall. A stake every three plants is sufficient. Buy a box of string and a piece of 1 inch PVC pipe about 3 feet long. The type of string is not important but more of a preference. The natural fiber strings will break down over time, while the nylon string will last longer and will retain it's strength over the growing season. The pipe will be used as a wand to place the string around the plants and stakes. A leather glove for your left hand, to control the string, will also be needed. Another good tool to have is a stake driver. This is a steel pipe with one end closed off and will have handles on the side to hold it as you drive your stakes into the ground. The stake driver is much easier to use than a sledgehammer and will save you time and effort, a very good investment.

Once your plants are transplanted to the field, drive a stake in the ground between every third plant. These should go in far enough to swing your arm over the top without getting caught up on the stake. Tie the box of string around your waist and thread the string through the pipe. You'll start out at the end of the row and string one side at a time. Tie the string to the stake about a foot from the ground. Put your leather glove on your left hand and place the strung pipe in your right hand. You'll start out on the right side, unless you're left handed. In this case the process will be reversed. Once the string is tied to the stake, start walking. As you reach each stake, wrap the string around the stake once or twice. You'll use your left hand as a control for tension. You will want to put just enough tension on the string to make it tight.

As you reach the end of the row, wrap the string around the stake and continue your way down the other side. Again, at every stake, wrap the string around it a few times as you go. Once you reach the end of the row, wrap the stake again, cut the string, and tie it off. You should do this every week to two weeks throughout the growing season, moving the string up the stake about a foot every time. You'll find that this is the most efficient way to stake your tomatoes.