Comments on May Dreams Gardens: Tomato Growing Lessons

Having a Golden Retriever that is still very much ...

2009-04-25T17:34:00.000-04:00

Having a Golden Retriever that is still very much a puppy, cages are my only option, to keep him out of the plants. Smaller pests are much easier to deal with.

Many thanks for sharing your dad's tomato growing ...

2008-05-24T06:54:38.714-04:00

Many thanks for sharing your dad's tomato growing tips.

As usual, I'm late to the party.I'm a cager. I had...

2008-02-28T21:06:12.055-05:00

As usual, I'm late to the party.

I'm a cager. I had no parent or friend to teach me the way. So when I saw tomato cages in the store, I thought that was the way to go. It took me just a single year to realize those flimsy tomato cages were for some miniature fairy tomatoes. My tomatoes needed REAL cages. Texas Tomato Cages. Even those get overwhelmed by my tomatoes!

Robin at

Nicole, I hope you can get your stakes in soon. I ...

2008-02-27T22:41:40.819-05:00

Nicole, I hope you can get your stakes in soon. I set up my stakes before I even plant the tomatoes.

Anonymous (Susie), I use green plastic tape, but I would think pantyhose would work too, as Nicole pointed out.

Dee/reddirtrambling, Yes it does sound like we grow our tomatoes in much the same way, except no cages for me!

Bill Stanley, Your welcome!

Mary Beth,

My dad's a staker - but I'm a cager. Guess that m...

2008-02-27T21:55:00.000-05:00

My dad's a staker - but I'm a cager. Guess that makes me a rebel - but really it's just that I'm a lazy gardener! Maybe when I grow up, I'll be a staker, too!

These are great tips. Thanks!

2008-02-27T19:07:00.000-05:00

These are great tips. Thanks!

I'm late to the party but I'd like to add my two c...

2008-02-27T17:18:00.000-05:00

I'm late to the party but I'd like to add my two cents worth-I'm a trelliser. Due to lack of space in my tiny urban garden, I nailed trellises to the fence then tied the tomatoes to it. Does this qualify as a staker?

I've never liked those cages, besides they rust after awhile. We grew lots of tomatoes on the farm when I was young and we always made teepee stakes out of sticks.

Carol, I've staked and caged. Like Jane in Edmont...

2008-02-27T17:02:00.000-05:00

Carol, I've staked and caged. Like Jane in Edmonton, I pretty much cage the determinants and stake the others. It works. I also plant them very deep and use the best compost. I also pinch out the suckers. Guess we grow them mostly the same, although I use big sturdy cages quite a bit. I then end up tying the tomatoes to them too.~~Dee

Anonymous: pantyhose is by far the recommended tie...

2008-02-27T13:06:59.047-05:00

Anonymous: pantyhose is by far the recommended tie for staking tomatoes.

Once again I will try to comment. We too stake ou...

2008-02-27T12:44:07.265-05:00

Once again I will try to comment. We too stake our tomatoes, never found cages strong enought to support the plants. Tying up the plants is sort of tricky and hard to find fabric that does not injur the stems. What do you use? Your grandpa did not stake his tomatoes, just let them grow naturally, but he had much more space in his garden.
Thinking of your dad and hard to imagine he would

Carol: I already follow all your great advice! Wis...

2008-02-27T10:57:24.425-05:00

Carol: I already follow all your great advice! Wish I had it 4 years ago when I first grew tomatoes. I haven't put in the tomato stakes as yet though the plants are 2 feet now, as PottRott currently spends his nights pulling trellises and stakes out-often with the plant-so my tomatoes might be "sprawlers" this year.

Curtis, looks like we were posting comments at the...

2008-02-26T21:32:46.553-05:00

Curtis, looks like we were posting comments at the same time. What's a staking platform?

Dave, Wouldn't steak and fresh home grown tomatoes...

2008-02-26T21:31:26.870-05:00

Dave, Wouldn't steak and fresh home grown tomatoes taste great right now?

Leslie, Me chastising you? No, not really, but it is nice to read you are going to try one staked tomato.

Jane in Edmonton, I do agree that if you grow a determinate tomato, caging is probably okay. I grow almost all indeterminate varieties.

Matt and Jen, Good for you starting out with stakes.

My dad is a cager and I use both cages and staking...

2008-02-26T21:17:34.681-05:00

My dad is a cager and I use both cages and staking platforms.

I guess we've always tended to be stakers rather t...

2008-02-26T18:17:04.282-05:00

I guess we've always tended to be stakers rather than cagers, Carol, but the tall wooden stakes are connected to each other by cross timbers with the stems tied on horizontally ... guess that would be "scaffolders"?

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Your Dad raised a fine woman and gardener.We have ...

2008-02-26T15:02:24.460-05:00

Your Dad raised a fine woman and gardener.

We have always been stakers. A few years ago we tried to be cagers but it didn't work out. We gave them away because it's too hard to reposition a cage without damaging your plants.

Good info, Carol!

My Dad was always a stalker, too, and he grew some...

2008-02-26T14:32:49.275-05:00

My Dad was always a stalker, too, and he grew some of the best tomatoes. :) Great post!

I've used cages but didn't like the result as well...

2008-02-26T11:23:37.399-05:00

I've used cages but didn't like the result as well as staking.

Yolanda, I gardened last fall at a house where they had those spiral thingies. I'd never seen them before. It looked like a good idea - easier than tying, and with finials on the top, they were pretty in the garden.

Great post - as someone who's about to grow tomato...

2008-02-26T10:55:03.290-05:00

Great post - as someone who's about to grow tomatoes for the first time I found itreally useful - and the article you linked to. If I promise to stake, will you do some on-going posts on tomatoes, showing what point yours have got to and how you're treating them at each point?

Alright, I admit it...I am a cager. I like the id...

2008-02-26T10:10:13.393-05:00

Alright, I admit it...I am a cager. I like the idea that once I put the cage on, I am done, other than pinching suckers. When I have tried staking, the tomatoes always get away from me and end up sprawled all over the garden!

Yikes, a stake in the eye! We use a cage made fro...

2008-02-26T05:55:54.166-05:00

Yikes, a stake in the eye! We use a cage made from concrete reinforcing wire, because we had some left over from construction, that are six feet tall by two feet in diameter. Then a stake is driven to hold them in place. Guilty as charged to not suckering with the cages. I always thought we didn't need to do that pinching since our growing season is fairly long, we aren't in a hurry to get

I'm a staker and a cager ... and once I was an ups...

2008-02-26T05:53:23.047-05:00

I'm a staker and a cager ... and once I was an upside downer too!

Boy, the soil in that garden must be really good s...

2008-02-26T04:17:41.458-05:00

Boy, the soil in that garden must be really good soil. Whoever gardens in that garden today must be really lucky.

Keep on staking Carol! Great advice on how to grow...

2008-02-26T03:29:27.312-05:00

Keep on staking Carol! Great advice on how to grow tomatoes. I use those spiral thingies and twirl my tomato plants around them. Works a treat. When mine get to be 6 feet tall I top them, enough is enough. :-)

A nice tribute to your dad, Carol!

It's got to be caging for me. Before I grew my fir...

2008-02-25T23:21:47.752-05:00

It's got to be caging for me. Before I grew my first garden my neighbor leaned over to look at her tomatoes and stuck herself right in the eye with one of her stakes. I just can't get that day out of my head.

Oh well, I still enjoy those tomatoes :-)