Hey all. Moved into a new place and there is a large tomato plant on our front porch. They taste great and the plant is producing like crazy. I did have a question though: should this plant be secured in some way? It’s just sprawling across the ground so many of them are getting left on the ground and rotting away.
Thanks!
by Sihlis23
6 Comments
This is certainly a chaotic way of growing tomatoes but I’ve seen people do it.
It’s up to you. By attempting to contain the plant you’re going to damage some stems and the productivity (net) will be reduced.
That being said, I find it difficult to find the tomatoes in a sprawl (sometimes I step on them or the plant) and they’re more likely to get a bug that sets up home in the fruit with ground contact.
So if you don’t mind the sprawl, let it go this year and enjoy the fruit. If you don’t mind a little setback now (though it is close to end of season/frost) you can contain it.
Highly recommend next year doing a trellis or cage (research strong versions, the conical cages are notoriously flimsy) if you plan to grow.
This thing probably has the craziest root system after growing along the ground like that! I would maybe try staking a few of the taller shoots but this late in the season idk if it would do more harm than good. Enjoy your new maters!
What kind of tomato is this?! ❤️
I would try to find the ones in contact with the ground and just reposition them to lay on top of the foliage where you can see them, or slide a piece of cardboard or something under them.
You can pick them before they’re fully red. They will ripen near a window in a bowl. I had a similar tomato jungle and straightened it out about a month ago. I wouldn’t mess with yours this late in the year. You will have them next year from the ones that drop lol. That’s how I grew mine. Just kinda tossed scraps in the flower bed and watched what grew.
Maybe build a bamboo tipi with wired levels and carefully start elevating it and training it off the ground. Looks healthy!