How To Create A String Trellis For Your Tomato Plants
If you have grown tomatoes you know how important it is to have a good system to trellis your plant for stability. This DIY string trellis for your tomatoes is not only inexpensive but it gives you the ability to grow more in a small space! I have tried multiple ways to grow my indeterminate tomatoes in my home garden. In the past I have tried bamboo poles and garden center tomato cages. 2 years ago we made custom cattle panels which until now had been my favorite. This year I have decided to go with a vertical string trellis system to trellis tomatoes in my garden.
Growing vertical: what are the advantages?
Growing plants and especially tomatoes, vertically offers a good yield. It is easier to prune your tomatoes and provides for easier harvesting. Indeterminate tomatoes are a perfect variety to grow vertically. This provides more space in your garden to plant under the tomatoes since you are pruning the lower branches. Do not forget to use this space for companion plants which will provide more yield with your small garden space. Growing vertically is perfect for gardeners who have small gardens and want to increase their food production in their limited space!
Planting tomato plants vertically offers the ability to grow in a limited or small garden space. This is perfect for people who live in an urban setting. We are currently homesteading in an urban community. So utilizing our limited space is very important as we are working towards growing a years supply of food for our household. Growing vertically also provides for a healthier plant. You have less chance for blight or fungal diseases due to better airflow through your tomato plant.
Pruning Your Tomato Plant
Pruning branches off at the bottom of the tomato plant when branches are touching the ground helps to ward off insects and disease. This also helps to improve airflow through your plant. I will add additional information on pruning your tomato plant as the season moves on and we have our plants in the ground. You will be pruning “suckers” which do not provide you any fruit. The suckers are found at the “Y” section of the branches which come off the main stem of your tomato plant.
A note on suckers: You can plant these into a pot of dirt and propagate a new tomato plant as an insurance plan! I have done this many times and have been glad I did. This is also a great way to share what you have with a friend or neighbor in your community.
Supplies you need to create a vertical string trellis:
- (2) 3/4×10′ Conduit $9.68 each
- (2) 7′ Studded T Post $5.99 each
- Post Driver
- (2) 1 1/4 PVC elbow 2.59 each
- Garden Twine $6.99 a roll , here is my affiliate link(please note I make a small commission) https://amzn.to/3VQonUv
- Tomato Trellis Clip $9.99 for a pack of 100, here is my affiliate link(please note I make a small commission) https://amzn.to/4atkXeF
- (7) Tent Stakes 0.99 each, purchased from Cabelas
Cost for project: $60.43 and everything can be used year after year
Placing your horizontal pole
Here we used a post driver to drive the T post into the topsoil of the raised garden bed. This can be done without the post driver but we felt it was much easier using the post driver. You can pick up a post driver if you don’t own one at your local hardware store for under $20.
Next we added PVC elbows to each of the post. Our post were place 12 ” in from the edge of the raised garden. Our garden is 12X5. We planned for 10 feet of growing space for our tomatoes. Each tomato is planned to be planted at 12 inches apart. I usually plant my indeterminate plants 36″ apart in the past. This system allows for more tomato plants this year in our garden! The elbows do not need to be fastened. They stay put very well with the tension of the poles. We have also had rain and strong winds since installing this trellis and have had no damage to our system to date.
After placing the elbows on both vertical T Posts we were able to slide a piece of 10 ‘ conduit into each end and inside the elbow. The tension holds it in place and there is no need to secure this in another way. After placing the elbows on both vertical T Posts we were able to slide a piece of 10 ‘ conduit into each end and inside the elbow.
That is it! You now have your basic trellis. Next I took garden twine and looped it around the top of the trellis and tied it to the tent stakes. I temporarily placed stakes in the garden at the place I am planting my tomatoes next month!
I have also purchased tomato clips from Amazon:
Here is my affiliate link (I make a small commission if you use my link): https://amzn.to/4atkXeF
Tomato clips wrap around garden twine as well as the main single stem of the tomato plant. This will help to support your plant as it grows and moves up the garden twine on your trellis.
This system works best with Indeterminate varieties. An Indeterminate tomato will continue to provide fruit throughout the growing season. Determinate tomato plants have a specific determinate amount it will produce and then it is done for the season. With this string trellising system for your indeterminate tomato plants you will have the ability to grow a healthier plant with produces more and more fruit until the season end.
With this tomato trellis system you can plant your tomatoes at 12-18″ apart. I am planting mine 12 ” apart this year and will now get 7 plants in my small garden space. This is also a great system to trellis cucumbers as well. The string method allows for your tomato to vine more vertically and you will have tall tomatoes in your garden this year! The taller your trellis the taller your indeterminate tomatoes will grow!
Planting
I have traditionally planted my tomato plants the weekend of Mother’s Day. I am in Zone 6B and this has worked well for me in the past.
I will continue to update this blog post throughout the gardening season of 2024 with new pictures and will share our tomato crop for this growing season! I am positive I will have healthier tomatoes and a bumper crop this year!
Thank you so much for stopping by! Please share this post if you found it educational! This will help us to grow!
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