128 tomato plants and one currant bush in 20 by 20 foot area

[Mlm1]

I've used this structure for the last 3 years with good success. I needed to trial as many as 100 new varieties each year (for my brother Steve (Heritage)) and this method allows me to grow 128 plants in the 20 by 20 foot section. I have pipes cemented into the ground at each end with the pvc pipe threaded over the pipes. The "goal posts" are 20 feet wide and 9 feet tall. On my newest structure ( not shown) I made it 7 feet high which I think is a better height. The plants are in 5 gal pots and all plants are kept to one stem and clipped to a string. I have not had any trouble with sunburn of the leaves or fruit. I keep the bottom 18 inches pruned out and although the plants are only one foot apart I have not had any foliage diseases. I grow many of the same plants in the ground without pruning and I can't tell the difference in flavor between the pruned and unpruned plants. I'll try to repost pictures over the season. Hopefully I will have healthy "walls" of tomato plants in another month or two.

Marla

[janezee]

That's a beautiful set-up, Marla. I wish I had a sister that would do that for me!

Welcome to the forum, by the way.

jane

[Mlm1]

Thanks Jane but perhaps I stretched the truth a bit when I said I had to grow 128 tomato plants for Steve. If you heard him talk I coerced him into growing the 100's of plants he has on his farm. Maybe co-enabler is more accurate.

[walkinggin]

What an efficient set-up. Are those some dwarfs in the front row? And may I ask what you use for potting mix and your fertilizer regimen?

ginny

[swinefka]

Wow 100 plants!!!! That is going to give ALOT of tomatoes for sure.

[ginger2778]

Your property is gorgeous. I wish we had hills here in flatsville! (I mean south Fla.!)
Nice set up. Gives me ideas Hmmmm

[z_willus_d]

Very nice Marla! Have you considered using metal wire conduit in place of the stakes and PVC. I've built cages with PVC in the past and found that over time it degrades in the UV sunlight. The conduit costs a bit more, but it's sturdier and more long lasting. I think it looks a bit nicer too, marginally. In any event, you must show a lot of diligence to keep all of those plants to a single vine. That's a lot of pruning, but it must be a beautiful thing when the machine is in action. What kind of productivity (lb of fruit) do you get from the average vine?

-naysen

[Mlm1]

Thanks for the comments.
Ginny, my potting mix is: organic potting soil (I will get the name later-I am traveling today)
I have used 2 different brands, they are 2 cu foot bags that fill 4 1/2 five gallon pots. Costs about $9 a bag. Then I add 1/2cup of azomite, 2tbsp of shrimp meal, 2 tbsp of dolmite lime, 1 tbsp of epson salt to each pot. I feed with organic dry tomato food (either fox farm or eb stone) 1/4 cup every 2 weeks (ideally but often gets stretched to 3 weeks).
The short plants in the front are late starts that Steve gave me last week at our family reunion. I have about 30 dwarfs but I don't prune them to one stem. they are in 5 gal pots on my deck and one of my projects this week end is to get a wire cage around them. I'll try to post their pictures later.

Naysen, I didn't understand what you meant by the conduit when we spoke and I am interested to know what you mean. I still have another structure to build this year (over another 75 plants) so maybe your system would be better but I guess I don't know what metal wire conduit is. Every winter I say I am going to paint the PVC, both for looks and uv protection, but haven't gotten to it yet. Next winter maybe.

Marla

[Mlm1]

Naysen, I forgot to reply to your question on productivity. The tomatoes on the pruned plants are usually larger than on unpruned but there are fewer of them. I am just guessing but I would say the overall poundage of an unpruned plant might be double what I get from a pruned plant. But, the unpruned plant takes up far more square footage of ground space. I used to grow about 30 unpruned plants in the ground in this 20 x 20 foot area where now I have 128 plants (and a current bush I can't seem to pull out) so the poundage per square foot is much greater from the pruned plants and I get to trial so many more new varieties.

Marla

[z_willus_d]

Marla, that's a very slick setup you have, and it temps me. At some level, I think the goal is to find a setup/solution that affords flexibility in terms of trialing different varieties, which yours certainly does, but also one which doesn't require herculean efforts for upkeep and setup. I'm still not sure about the later.

So when I say conduit, I'm referring to the metal pipes available at most HW stores that are used to convey electrical wires. Here's an example of a 10' 3/4" pipe:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...&storeId=10051

They have the right-angle adapter-connectors that allow you to connect three pipes together for the goal-post arrangement you're used to using. You can just ram the pipe in the ground or cement them to cinder blocks. I've seen a lot better descriptions of this mode of support on the web and here at the site as well.

Best,
Naysen

[Mlm1]

Thanks Naysen for the information. I'll Look into that pipe.

Marla

[ArcticCat]

please post more pictures as the season progresses... I am very intrigued.

ken

[Mlm1]

So far so good. I've pulled out 4 that i didn't like the looks of but nothing serious going on. I have had a few aphids - picked them off. Lots of tomatoes set. Most of the hard work is over for this setup. The pinching out of the side branches and clipping to the string is easy and fast once they are to this stage. I'll bag a few more blossoms and keep a close watch for problems. It's a little nerve wracking at this point.

Marla

[janezee]

They look so cute with their bags! So festive!

j

[ExpendableZero]

Is there a way to get permission to view pictures? I just get permission denied whenever I try to open any attached pics.