String Method and Flower Stalks

garyred · May 14, 2014

Hello All,
I'm trying the string method for supporting my Tom's this year for the first time and was wondering, if when wrapping the string around the stalk should i include the flower stalks or let them hand on their own? I've had trouble in the past with the toms getting to heavy and splitting the flower stalk. I'm growing single stem plants in EB's. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Garyred

Stvrob · May 14, 2014

I cut little pieces of jute twine about 7" long to tie the stem to the support string. First a loop around the stem with a square knot, leaving plenty of slack for the stem to thicken. Then I tie the tag ends to the support string. I try to get one of these loops about every 10" of growth, and I try to position flower trusses so they wont have the string touching them as they grow. B54 is using some new stem clips this year, he mentioned in another post. Hopefully he will update us on how they are working out.

On some varieties, the truss keeps growing and trying to set more tomatoes (like a little sucker growing tip on it). If it gets too long I will try to support it too, but usually I let them hang by themselves.

May 14, 2014	#1
garyred Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Charleston, SC Posts: 6	String Method and Flower Stalks Hello All, I'm trying the string method for supporting my Tom's this year for the first time and was wondering, if when wrapping the string around the stalk should i include the flower stalks or let them hand on their own? I've had trouble in the past with the toms getting to heavy and splitting the flower stalk. I'm growing single stem plants in EB's. Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Garyred

May 14, 2014	#2
Stvrob Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 1,413	I cut little pieces of jute twine about 7" long to tie the stem to the support string. First a loop around the stem with a square knot, leaving plenty of slack for the stem to thicken. Then I tie the tag ends to the support string. I try to get one of these loops about every 10" of growth, and I try to position flower trusses so they wont have the string touching them as they grow. B54 is using some new stem clips this year, he mentioned in another post. Hopefully he will update us on how they are working out. On some varieties, the truss keeps growing and trying to set more tomatoes (like a little sucker growing tip on it). If it gets too long I will try to support it too, but usually I let them hang by themselves.