Best way to stake dwarfs in grow bags?

[Keowee]

Hello! I am close to planting out my little Dwarf Project tomatoes. They will be going in 7-gal Root Pouches. I am wondering what the best way is to stake or otherwise support them in order to avoid toppling.

In Epic Tomatoes, Craig seems to suggest planting at the edge of a container and then staking externally, but I'm reluctant to do that as a beginner. Would I be alright just placing a stake next to the plant in the root pouch? I will be lining the root pouches up against a low brick wall (which ironically is the footprint of a former greenhouse) so I might be able to anchor the stakes somehow.

I haven't seen anyone mention caging their dwarfs, but I'd be open to that, too. It just seems like the thick central stem makes staking more practical.

[amideutch]

This will give you an idea how I staked mine. The containers are 2-3 gallon plastic and you can see where I staked the central stem initially but later had to add additional stakes to support all the fruit trusses on the plant.

Depending on the dwarf variety and fruit size will dictate how many stakes you will require and the number of flower trusses the plant produces. Depending how protected your yard is from wind gusts will determine if additional staking is needed. If your plants are going to be lined up against a wall in a straight line you can use the Florida weave technique to support all of them.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...t=Dwarf&page=5

http://www.gardenbetty.com/2011/08/t...florida-weave/

[Keowee]

Thank you so much! That's really helpful. The Florida weave looks super complicated but may make more sense. Has anyone tried using a central stake and including it in the Florida weave for additional stability? Or is that just crazy talk?

[clkingtx]

Originally Posted by Keowee

Thank you so much! That's really helpful. The Florida weave looks super complicated but may make more sense. Has anyone tried using a central stake and including it in the Florida weave for additional stability? Or is that just crazy talk?

The Florida Weave may seem complicated, but really it is simple to apply. You just have your plants spaced out, and have a strong, tall post(I used 5 foot t posts), driven into the ground at each end of the row. Then you take your roll of string and tie the end securely to one post. You take the rest of the roll and go in front of one plant, then behind the next. Repeat until you get to the end post. Then tie a good strong knot around the post, and go back the opposite direction and repeat the process, but the plants that you put the string in front of the first time-go behind this time. Keep the slack out of the string, but you don't have to pull it super tight, just taut. Securely tie the string at the first post, and cut the end. You will do this approximately every foot up the height of the plants as they grow. It really works great, and it is way less complicated to do than it sounds. I used this to control vigorous indeterminates(just tied a second 5 foot post to the first one to extend it to about 7 feet tall) and it worked great. I bet it will do great with dwarfs, too. Don't really think using a stake in addition to the weave would give any more benefit.

Carrie

[Keowee]

Originally Posted by clkingtx

The Florida Weave may seem complicated, but really it is simple to apply. You just have your plants spaced out, and have a strong, tall post(I used 5 foot t posts), driven into the ground at each end of the row. Then you take your roll of string and tie the end securely to one post. You take the rest of the roll and go in front of one plant, then behind the next. Repeat until you get to the end post. Then tie a good strong knot around the post, and go back the opposite direction and repeat the process, but the plants that you put the string in front of the first time-go behind this time. Keep the slack out of the string, but you don't have to pull it super tight, just taut. Securely tie the string at the first post, and cut the end. You will do this approximately every foot up the height of the plants as they grow. It really works great, and it is way less complicated to do than it sounds. I used this to control vigorous indeterminates(just tied a second 5 foot post to the first one to extend it to about 7 feet tall) and it worked great. I bet it will do great with dwarfs, too. Don't really think using a stake in addition to the weave would give any more benefit.

Carrie

Thank you for the thorough and helpful explanation. This definitely sounds like my best bet. I will try to see how I can improvise this to work with the existing greenhouse footprint -- I may have to anchor hooks into the brick on the full-height wall at one end and "weave" through the plants to a post of some sort at the 2-foot brick wall on the opposite end.

[clkingtx]

Sure, no problem. I really did like that method, and I had all the supplies, so cheap for me!

I would definitely use it this year, but I am growing in bags in kiddie pools, so they aren't in a line or anything. I am going to have to figure out something, one of my dwarf project plants has at least 15 tomatoes on it, and it is starting to really put out trusses sideways...really cool to see, but I know they will have to have support when the fruit starts sizing up.

[SueCT]

I successfully caged mine for the past 2 years. You didn't say if they would be on dirt or grass, or on pavement or another hard surface. If on soft ground you can push cages into ground around the outside or through the inside fabric of the pots, I am told. Mine were on a hard surface, so I used a wire cutter to cut the prongs on the cages so that they were just long enough to reach the bottom of the pot when it was filled with soil. I lined the pots up so that they actually helped support each other, but most were pretty secure on their own. I don't put my largest varieties in pots, though, except for cherries which seem to do OK, probably because even though the vines grown quite large, the fruit is not super heavy. I just let them go up over and back down the cage. Some people really like the Florida weave. I found it too much to keep up with when the plants were growing very quickly.

[Gerardo]

Stakes (about 3 per bag when all is said and done), or the 99-cent store trellis, or the small circular ring tomato cages will do the job well. Which dwarfs are you doing? It does matter, as some can get bushy and relatively large.

As others mentioned, wind has to be considered.

[Keowee]

Originally Posted by Gerardo

Stakes (about 3 per bag when all is said and done), or the 99-cent store trellis, or the small circular ring tomato cages will do the job well. Which dwarfs are you doing? It does matter, as some can get bushy and relatively large.

As others mentioned, wind has to be considered.

I've got 15 young plants and 8 more seedlings coming up, all different Dwarf Project varieties. Let's see - Adelaide Festival, Boronia, Chocolate Lightning, Dwarf Blazing Beauty, Dwarf Mr. Snow, Dwarf Sweet Sue, Summertime Gold, Fred's Tie Dye, Dwarf Golden Gypsy, Dwarf Purple Heart, Sarandipity... well, you get the idea!

[Gerardo]

Pretty cool, after this summer your dwarf IQ will be formidable.

[Keowee]

Originally Posted by Gerardo

Pretty cool, after this summer your dwarf IQ will be formidable.

It's definitely a crash course! Right now I'm in that stage where I'm embarrassed I can't remember all my kids' names...

[zipcode]

Staking outside is not a bad idea actually. You can still plant in the middle and lean the plant while young-ish toward the stake (this way the roots will be in the center). This is what I do on the balcony, where there is no ground to stake in (the stakes are glued to the container).
And then I tie the stakes to each other. It helps a lot with stability, especially if you stake them no completely straight, but each one slight in the other direction. This way a lot of weight cancels itself horizontally.

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by zipcode

Staking outside is not a bad idea actually. You can still plant in the middle and lean the plant while young-ish toward the stake (this way the roots will be in the center). This is what I do on the balcony, where there is no ground to stake in (the stakes are glued to the container).
And then I tie the stakes to each other. It helps a lot with stability, especially if you stake them no completely straight, but each one slight in the other direction. This way a lot of weight cancels itself horizontally.

Do you have a picture?

My dwarf season is almost over; Once again I totally underestimated staking. I grew all dwarfs on the pool deck so nothing to sink a stake in.

I tried several ways: bamboo poles, the cheapie cages, the good square cages upside down, the 54' 4 prong cages upside down,
these http://www.lowes.com/pd_329305-507-T...d=3197407&pl=1
-
Had to do them upside down because their base is larger than the root pouch.

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by clkingtx

..... but I am growing in bags in kiddie pools, so they aren't in a line or anything. I am going to have to figure out something, one of my dwarf project plants has at least 15 tomatoes on it, and it is starting to really put out trusses sideways...really cool to see, but I know they will have to have support when the fruit starts sizing up.

Do you have a picture?

[clkingtx]

Sorry, Barb FL, just noticed your post. Here is a week or two old picture of the pool garden: There are 8 tomato plants in the pool-2 indeterminates and 6 dwarfs.