Tomatoville® Gardening Forums


Notices

Share your favorite photos with us here. Instructions on how to post them can be found in the first post within.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old May 30, 2017   #1
adewilliams
Tomatovillian™
 
adewilliams's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 87
Default Tomato setup

I wanted to share this photo so I could brag on my sweet husband for a second. He doesn't garden, but he helps me do anything I want in the garden. This year, he built this setup so I could string up some of my tomatoes. I couldn't be happier!! I think this could be our best year yet...if it ever stops raining.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg IMG_0845.jpg (554.2 KB, 127 views)
adewilliams is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 30, 2017   #2
jmsieglaff
Tomatovillian™
 
jmsieglaff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Southern WI
Posts: 2,742
Default

Nice setup! The plants look healthy. What varieties do you all have growing?
jmsieglaff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 30, 2017   #3
Rockporter
Tomatovillian™
 
Rockporter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
Default

That's awesome, I hope you have the best year yet!
__________________
In the spring
at the end of the day
you should smell like dirt

~Margaret Atwood~






Rockporter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 31, 2017   #4
Nematode
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: massachusetts
Posts: 1,710
Default

If you have 25 fully loaded plants that could be like #1000 tugging on the trellis.
If it was me I would go more rugged or add some bracing. Bummer to have it come down in august.
Nematode is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 31, 2017   #5
zipcode
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6
Posts: 1,582
Default

Indeed. A fully grown plant can weight suspiciously much even without the fruit. I know this when I wanted to move some containers. Together with the fruit, I basically couldn't lift the thing anymore, and there were only 2 plants in a 10 gallon pot.
Nice looking setup, very tidy.
zipcode is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 31, 2017   #6
Worth1
Tomatovillian™
 
Worth1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nematode View Post
If you have 25 fully loaded plants that could be like #1000 tugging on the trellis.
If it was me I would go more rugged or add some bracing. Bummer to have it come down in august.
Even though it looks nice I was going to say the same thing.
I wont get into the detail but pulling on the middle of the middle line will create tremendous side force on the side 2X4 boards.
Think of leverage and how it works.
There needs to be at least one more board running parallel with the top lines in the middle going from side to side connect to the side boards the top lines are tied to.
Better yet two divided evenly doing the same thing.
Guy wires on the uprights will take care of the other part.
Worth
Worth1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 31, 2017   #7
mikemansker
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Branson MO
Posts: 441
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nematode View Post
If you have 25 fully loaded plants that could be like #1000 tugging on the trellis.
If it was me I would go more rugged or add some bracing. Bummer to have it come down in august.
40 pounds of tomatoes per plant seems like a lot to me.
mikemansker is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 31, 2017   #8
Father'sDaughter
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: MA/NH Border
Posts: 4,917
Default

I'd be most concerned about the four uprights giving out even if they were guy wired. I've had one plant snap a hardwood stake like it was a toothpick.
Father'sDaughter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 31, 2017   #9
Nematode
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: massachusetts
Posts: 1,710
Default

Thats 40 or so single stem plants.
Their weight bent the 4 4x4 uprights and pulled the concrete from the ground on the outboard posts.
The 4x4 from the deck to the trellis seems to have stabilized it.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg IMG_20170531_50928.jpg (70.1 KB, 99 views)
Nematode is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 31, 2017   #10
adewilliams
Tomatovillian™
 
adewilliams's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 87
Default

Thanks, guys! I will pass you suggestions along to the husband. This structure is meant to be temporary. We did it last year and I need for it to come down in the fall. Otherwise, it blocks my gate and where else am I going to play basketball? I also need it to come down because I'm going to solarize the weedy little patch behind it and plant cut flowers in the fall. I'll keep you posted on any changes we make.
adewilliams is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 31, 2017   #11
imp
Tomatovillian™
 
imp's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Wichita Falls, Texas
Posts: 4,832
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by adewilliams View Post
Thanks, guys! I will pass you suggestions along to the husband. This structure is meant to be temporary. We did it last year and I need for it to come down in the fall. Otherwise, it blocks my gate and where else am I going to play basketball? I also need it to come down because I'm going to solarize the weedy little patch behind it and plant cut flowers in the fall. I'll keep you posted on any changes we make.
Not a builder myself ( not good at it at all!!), but what if you braced it by using more 2xs with those metal ,mmm, are they floor joist hangers ? so you could still take it apart when needed and put it back up in spring?

Very tidy looking, I admire that.
imp is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:49 PM.


★ Tomatoville® is a registered trademark of Commerce Holdings, LLC ★ All Content ©2022 Commerce Holdings, LLC ★