Juliets in Earthbox too tall!

soozbz · June 24, 2016

Hi everyone! Black-thumbed newbie here. I am new to growing tomatoes and I've never been a star gardener--in fact, this is the first year I've ever managed to get a tomato plant to last more than a couple of months. So, please bear with me and my silly questions!

I've got one Juliet plant and one Celebrity in an Earthbox. The Juliet (indeterminate) keeps getting taller and taller, and it's showing no sign of stopping. Yesterday it finally busted one of the Ultomato rods off and bent over, nearly in half. I have both plants staked with Ultomato cages, which have worked well up until now. I tried shoving the Juliet back into its cage, and I added some string for a bit of (admittedly very minimal!) extra support. But, it's still leaning very heavily to the side. I'm worried that, the second a Texas thunderstorm rolls through, the whole thing will tip right over.

I'm worried that if I prune it, I might end up with sun damage (again, Texas). And I wonder if adding more stakes would damage the roots. I don't really have the space to put stakes in the ground instead of the Earthbox. I suppose I could try letting it bend over, but I don't know if that's bad for the plant. Any suggestions?

In the attached pictures, the Juliet in question is on the right. Note that it's leaning pretty heavily to the right! This is after I MacGyvered it upright again.

Bulldog · June 26, 2016

You can get some tall 8 foot stakes, bamboo or metal or wood, and put them right next to th earthbox in the ground

daydreamerNJ · June 26, 2016

Bulldog beat me to my response. Lol I was also thinking a stake. You can find a really thick-sturdy wooden stake at Home Depot or Lowes. If you haven't done so already, prune those suckers out.

soozbz · June 28, 2016

Thanks to both of you! I will try putting stakes in the ground. I barely have any space around my Earthbox, but maybe two skinny stakes right next to the box will do!

Dewayne mater · June 28, 2016

Great!!! looking plant. I would still prune the lower leaves as disease usually starts at the bottom and works its way up. In my opinion, the better a plant can breath, the less disease it gets and less it spreads. That's pure conjecture based only on observation of my plants. A component of that is likely that by pruning, it is easier to get sprays everywhere and that helps. Enjoy!

BigVanVader · June 28, 2016

Juliet will get enormous, and they are very disease resistant. I had never grown them before this year mainly because everyone seemed to hate them. Well I thought they were pretty dang good myself. Made my lips burn a little after eating but still tasted good.

Nematode · June 28, 2016

Disease resistant and enormous plant, tasted like....supermarket tomato for me. That all American winner thing kept me trying, but finally gave up.

Csross · June 29, 2016

I've only grown them once, but it was a big, tough, productive plant. The tomatoes were a little firmer and less flavorful than other cherries, so we liked to cut them in half and dry them in a food dehydrator. Easy to use in scrambled eggs, sautéed spinach, etc. throughout the winter.

soozbz · June 30, 2016

Yeah, I chose Juliets because they're supposed to be hardy and tolerant of the heat. I've never had much luck with tomatoes in the past, so I figured I could use all the help I could get!

I haven't had a chance to taste them yet--recent bouts of blossom end rot and aphids have messed up a number of my early tomatoes (on the mend now, thankfully). The aphids killed off many of the lower leaves already, but I will prune what's left down there just in case. Thanks for the tips, everyone! I may get some tomatoes out of this this thing yet...

June 26, 2016	#2
Bulldog Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Georgia Posts: 126	You can get some tall 8 foot stakes, bamboo or metal or wood, and put them right next to th earthbox in the ground

June 26, 2016	#3
daydreamerNJ Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2016 Location: NJ Posts: 12	Bulldog beat me to my response. Lol I was also thinking a stake. You can find a really thick-sturdy wooden stake at Home Depot or Lowes. If you haven't done so already, prune those suckers out.

June 28, 2016	#4
soozbz Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2016 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 12	Thanks to both of you! I will try putting stakes in the ground. I barely have any space around my Earthbox, but maybe two skinny stakes right next to the box will do!

June 28, 2016	#5
Dewayne mater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 1,212	Great!!! looking plant. I would still prune the lower leaves as disease usually starts at the bottom and works its way up. In my opinion, the better a plant can breath, the less disease it gets and less it spreads. That's pure conjecture based only on observation of my plants. A component of that is likely that by pruning, it is easier to get sprays everywhere and that helps. Enjoy!

June 28, 2016	#6
BigVanVader Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Greenville, South Carolina Posts: 3,099	Juliet will get enormous, and they are very disease resistant. I had never grown them before this year mainly because everyone seemed to hate them. Well I thought they were pretty dang good myself. Made my lips burn a little after eating but still tasted good.

June 28, 2016	#7
Nematode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: massachusetts Posts: 1,710	Disease resistant and enormous plant, tasted like....supermarket tomato for me. That all American winner thing kept me trying, but finally gave up.

June 29, 2016	#8
Csross Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Bel Air, MD Posts: 28	I've only grown them once, but it was a big, tough, productive plant. The tomatoes were a little firmer and less flavorful than other cherries, so we liked to cut them in half and dry them in a food dehydrator. Easy to use in scrambled eggs, sautéed spinach, etc. throughout the winter.

June 30, 2016	#9
soozbz Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2016 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 12	Yeah, I chose Juliets because they're supposed to be hardy and tolerant of the heat. I've never had much luck with tomatoes in the past, so I figured I could use all the help I could get! I haven't had a chance to taste them yet--recent bouts of blossom end rot and aphids have messed up a number of my early tomatoes (on the mend now, thankfully). The aphids killed off many of the lower leaves already, but I will prune what's left down there just in case. Thanks for the tips, everyone! I may get some tomatoes out of this this thing yet...