What do I do if my tomato plant outgrows the cage?
What Should I Do If My Tomatoes Outgrow Their Cages?
- Staking.
- Pinch Off Or Trim.
- Cut Back Fertilizer.
- Get Other Cages.
- Look At The Pvc Cage Design.
- Top The Plant Before It Grows Too Tall.
- Follow The Planting Recommendations.
Should I stake the tomato plant or the cage?
Usually, it’s one tomato cage per plant. If staking, I tend to space them with a stake every two plants. If it’s a tomato that I know needs support (like a ‘Cherokee Purple’ or ‘Sungold’), I might put a stake after every plant.
Do tomato plants need wire cages?
Why Use a Tomato Cage Tomato plants inevitably need support. Their tall and relatively flexible stems cannot stand upright on their own, especially once they’re heavy and laden with fruit! Without staking and the support from a tomato cage or trellis, tomato plants will succumb to their own lankiness and weight.
Can you cage tomatoes after they’ve grown?
If you neglected to put a tomato cage around your plants when they were small, it’s not too late to wrangle out-of-control stems back into an orderly form. In fact, it’s a great time to get out there are support your plants.
Why are my tomato plants so leggy?
The most common cause of leggy seedlings is lack of strong, overhead lighting. Tomato plants become long and spindly when they are reaching for the light. Another cause of leggy plants is too much fertilizer in the soil. If the levels of nitrogen are too high, then the seedling will become leggy.
Do you need tomato cages for cherry tomatoes?
Supporting Cherry Tomato Vines They are vines and can get to be quite tall so they need to be supported. Forget about an ordinary tomato cage, they will outgrow it in no time. You’ll have to get creative.
What happens if you don’t cage a tomato plant?
Without some attachment to a stake, fence or cage, most tomato plants will flop onto the ground where slugs and other pests may chew on the leaves and later feast on the fruit. Getting those plants up off the ground also allows air to circulate through the foliage of the plant, helping to prevent disease.
Why are my tomato plants so tall and spindly?
The main reason for tall, spindly tomato seedlings is a lack of light. As the plants strain toward the light, they grow taller, thinner, and more fragile. The spindly stem will sprout roots and become part of a deep, strong root system, and the top part of the plant will quickly grow to make up for it.
How do you keep a tomato plant short and bushy?
To grow vining and semi-bush tomatoes as short, bushy plants, prune the central stems when the plants reach the desired height. Wipe your pruning shear blades with a cloth dipped in rubbing alcohol, then prune the stems above the second set of leaves that lie beneath stem tips.
What is the best tomato cage?
The Griffith Creek Designs Ultimate Plant Grow Cage is the highest quality tomato cage on this list, but you’ll pay the price for that distinction. This cage folds up when not in use, stands 50 inches high and will never rust, rot or degrade over its lifetime.
Where to get tomato cages?
Varieties of Tomato Cages. There are a variety of cages on the market that you can purchase at Home Depot, Lowe’s Garden Center, or from most hardware stores. A tomato cage design can range from a wire cone shape, telescopic spiral cage, tomato tower, as well as triangle or lattice framework.
What is the size of a tomato cage?
Tomato cages are usually available at your local home improvement store or garden center. Whatever style of cage you choose, you need to make sure that it is tall enough and strong enough. It needs to be at least 4-5 feet tall and at least 18 inches in diameter.