Luckily, there are many different ways to give your favorite fruits the help they need. Let’s talk about it!
WHY STAKE TOMATOES? If you’ve ever grown tomatoes, you’ve probably noticed by now that they can grow fine without support, but keeping them off the ground has its advantages. For starters, when tomatoes are staked, they’re less likely to be damaged by insects or diseases because they won’t be in contact with soil. Second, it’s a lot easier to see when the fruit is ripe and ready for harvesting. Third, you’ll free up more growing space. And finally, staking your tomato vines gives plants more access to sunlight and increases photosynthesis while also promoting air circulation, which helps prevent foliar fungal diseases, such as early blight.
MATCH THE SUPPORT TO THE PLANT There are two types of tomatoes: determinate and indeterminate. Determinate tomatoes are compact bush-type plants that stop growing at a certain height; fruits mature at the same time for a single harvest. Indeterminate tomatoes are tall vining plants with no determined height, so they keep growing throughout the season and produce fruits that mature at different times. The kind of support to provide your plants depends on what type of tomato you’re growing. Check the seed packet or plant label to see if it is determinate or indeterminate. Cages and stakes that are 3 to 4 feet tall are perfect for determinate tomatoes, while indeterminate types require support 5 to 7 feet tall or higher.
Denne historien er fra Issue 175 - February 2024-utgaven av Garden Gate.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 175 - February 2024-utgaven av Garden Gate.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Birds & The Bees (and Bunnies)
Although I wouldn’t call my raised garden beds romantic, the rabbits in my neighborhood sure like to use them in spring for their bunny rendezvous and subsequent nests.
5 Ways to Stake Tomatoes
While it might feel early to be thinking about tomatoes, it’s never too early to start planning your next garden, especially if your tomato plants tend to look wild and overgrown by the time you remember to offer them a cage for support.
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Bee Balm
Butterflies and pollinating insects can't resist this bold summer perennial.
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Instead of ringing in the new year with champagne and balloons, why not treat yourself to a few new plants that you can enjoy through the growing season? There are a lot of interesting introductions to get excited about this year.
6 Pro Garden Design Secrets
Starting a garden can feel overwhelming. And sometimes it’s hard to know if you’ll like something until you’ve seen it. By then, you’ve spent enough hours, hard work and money that it’s tough to make a change.
Dreaming of Summer
Unless you are lucky enough to live where it’s warm year round, when winter starts to drag on, it may feel as if the garden is awash in dreary, monochromatic browns and grays. Time to close your eyes and dream of summer—a colorful season when foliage is vibrant, fl owers are blooming and pollinators are active. If you need a bit of summer inspiration, here are three colorful low-maintenance combos that will also attract wildlife. Who wouldn’t dream of that?
Native Bees Find Winter Shelter in Surprising Places
As the buzz of busy bees gave way to the rustle of fallen leaves in my autumn garden, the last of the bumblebee stragglers hit up fading mountain mint blooms. Day by day, fewer sparkly green sweat bees and dwarf carpenter bees nectared on the asters, eventually vanishing along with the fluffy field thistle seeds.
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