My First Trellis

[MelonHed]

This is my 4th summer growing tomatoes, but it's the first year I got serious about it. I have alot to learn from y'all here on the forum, but I thought you might want to see my first try at the Florida weave system.

Last year I tried some Italian Tree tomatoes they had at our local nursery, and although they got really tall (12') they were way too unmanageable with the simple pole-and-tie system I was using. So I wanted to try to discipline them a little this year...

These plants were actually sprouted from "Old Italian" seeds I got from Baker Creek, but I suspect they're the same thing as "Italian Tree," a.k.a. "Burgess Trip-L Crop." Also this year I've been pruning pretty severely, because I want just one main stalk for each plant, rather than the tangled mass of vegetation I got last year.

The soil is the native alluvial sand of Louisiana's Red River valley, amended with Shultz's Tomato & Vegetable Food. I've been watering deeply once every 2 weeks.

I picked 8 large tomatoes today. They have a real nice, rich flavor, and lots and lots of juice.