No matter which support system I choose, it's going to succeed or not depending on how much effort I put into it, I suspect. Things like proper spacing, clipping blighted leaves, and nipping back overwhelming growth for better air circulation actually count if healthy tomatoes with a neater aspect are desired.
I do know I won't allow any volunteers next year, as they turned out to be mostly uninspired cherry tomatoes. I'm not certain I'll grow cherries, at all. Sungolds are nice, but a little goes a long way, for me. I'm really a cooked tomato kind of gal, caprese salad notwithstanding.
As I was searching for those links, I was surprised to see that I'd put these tomatoes out in April. Can it really be that we have over seven months of tomato growth? Wild. I do grow, however, heartily sick of them, especially when they look as neglected as mine did.
So yesterday was the last day for tomatoes. Ellie and I pulled all the vines (she pulled when my elbow began complaining) and picked through the plants for any leftover tomatoes.
There were a lot:
This guy made me yell out loud, but the chickens will appreciate a tasty snack.
2 comments:
That last one was definitely a "yuck!" but I definitely see happy chickens! :D
I use a combo cage and ladder system but what makes it work is aggressive pruning because we get so many bacterial and fungus problems due to our cool and damp climate. Nothing works well unless I can keep it not only "up" but also dry and with good air circulation.
You did better than us, our early October deluge knocked out the last of our tomatoes. I agree though, taming them can be a challenge. I gave up on staking years ago as I clearly was not disciplined enough. At least with the cages mine stay mostly upright, but next year I need to commit to pruning them a little more I think!
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