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Old September 28, 2007   #23
ddsack
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Northern Minnesota - zone 3
Posts: 3,221
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I use stock fence panels for some of my raised beds, and I tuck in or tie up most of the suckers.

Some tomato varieties have very flexible branches, but others tend to be thick and stiff and will snap off if you try to bend them back into the squares, so I tie those. I only remove a few of the bottom ones that tend to snake into the aisles at tripping level , partly to get a little better ventilation for the base of the plant.

Yes, they will eventually entangle and you get a wall of tomatoes. Some people don't like that and have complaints about not being able to figure out branches from adjacent plants. If you plant alternating various color, leaf, fruit shape or size difference in each row, it's easy to tell what's what when fruit ripens. Might be a problem if all you want to grow are large red tomatoes.

If saving seeds, you might want to consider bagging blossoms because of the close proximity.

I've tried every other way of growing, and this is my favorite in terms of ease and looks.

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