Choosing the Perfect Tomato Trellising Option
A Comprehensive Comparison of Three Common Methods
Tomatoes are one of my favorite crops to grow. We dedicate a ton of our garden space to them for this reason. I love canning up homemade tomato sauce, pizza sauce, spicy tomato jam and just eating them straight from the vines on a hot day while working in the garden. But they’re easily one of the highest maintenance crops most gardeners will encounter. They take up a lot of space, most require regular pruning and they need to be trellised to support their tall and sometimes jungle-like growth.
Trellising can protect the stem of the tomato by keeping it upright and by supporting it through heavy winds and rains. Trellising tomatoes also makes it easier to keep up with pruning, which can control growth, but more importantly, promotes healthy plants. Pruning for airflow by removing the bottom leaves helps prevent disease. Pruning leaves that are touching the soil can also prevent disease. Trellising tomatoes is also a space saver. We dedicate 3-4 raised beds to tomatoes every season. That’s 33% of our garden! We’re able to use that much of our garden because we trellis to save space, allow for more tomatoes per bed, and keep the bottoms of the plants pruned to allow for companion planting under the tomatoes.
Three common methods for trellising tomatoes are the single stake method, the low and lean method, and the cattle panel method. We’ve got a bed dedicated to each method in our garden this year to compare them side by side. Each of these trellising methods has pros and cons and can be adapted for different types of tomatoes or growing conditions. The following post will review each type in detail and share anecdotes from our experiment, including our failures!
Tomato Trellising Option 1: The Single Stake Method
The name really says it all for this one. The single stake method of trellising tomatoes is quite literally using a single stake next to each plant and tying the plant to this stake as it grows.
It’s a low cost and easy to implement method that just requires a long, strong stake and some garden twine. We’ve used everything from 8’ bamboo stakes to fallen branches to 8’ long 2” x 2” garden stakes. It works best for indeterminate tomatoes that are pruned to have a single leader, meaning only one main stem by removing all suckers. It’s a pretty low-maintenance method, aside from pruning the plants, as you simply have to tie up the new growth on each plant about once per week.
Every year that we use this method we inevitably let pruning get away from us and end up with a total jungle of tomatoes. While not the end of the world, this can make it difficult to spot problems with your plants. Harmful insects like tomato hornworms can be harder to spot, you may not notice rotting fruits or even signs of disease on the leaves. You’re also making your plants more susceptible to disease by reducing air flow around each plant or allowing leaves to touch the soil. We’ve also gotten in trouble using the single stake trelling methods for our tomatoes by not starting with long enough stakes. This happened this year, and while we knew it would happen, we just threw the stakes we had lying around in the ground when we planted and decided it was a problem for our future selves to solve. We ended up having to create a cage-like system around those stakes in order to add support that would be sturdy and effective for the plants that were already established. Most indeterminate tomatoes can grow up to 8 feet tall, so you need a pretty tall stake to keep them contained.
When done correctly, this method can be highly effective at a very low labor and financial investment. For best results, I recommend using the 2” x 2” garden stakes that are at least 8 feet tall. These cost a little more than the bamboo or whatever you find lying around, but will be straight, sturdy, and tall enough to support your plants to full maturity. I recommend driving these into the soil about 1 foot deep in order to keep the stake sturdy throughout growth. Because the stake is a little wider than a bamboo stick, I’d keep it about 4” from the main stem to avoid damaging any major roots when inserting.
Tomato Trellising Option 2: The Low and Lean Method
The low and lean method of trellising tomatoes is commonly used by commercial growers and in hoop houses or other greenhouses. It uses a tomahook - basically a metal hook that attaches to a solid support that is about 6-8 feet above the soil and has a single string that is planted with each plant. The premise is that the string will support the plant as it grows by carefully wrapping and clipping the plant to the string. This method is typically used in a line, so you have a straight line of tomato plants, about a foot or so apart. As the plant grows the string is lowered and the hook is moved down the line. This method requires heavy pruning since the stem of the tomato plant is exposed to the soil as it is leaned further down the line.
The low and lean tomato trellising method is definitely one of the more complicated options and requires more effort and money to create but it does have a lot of benefits. Trellising tomatoes using this method helps increase air flow, allows better sunlight to reach fruits, helps prevent disease, and makes it easy to prune the plants.
While it’s traditionally used in a straight line, we’ve adapted it for a rectangular raised bed that’s 3 feet wide by 6 feet tall. We built a frame by driving six 10-foot-long pieces of rebar over 2 feet into the ground, two rows of 3 on the long sides of the bed. We then cut and slid PVC over the top and used PVC connectors to make a frame of the rectangle at the top. There’s also a piece in the middle at the top that breaks the rectangle into two squares for added support and stability. This whole setup cost us about $80 and took about an hour to install. It’s a trellis that will be reused for many years to come so we felt comfortable making that investment.
This method is best used with indeterminate tomatoes that can be heavily pruned and will grow pretty tall. Using our setup in the raised beds we aren’t sliding the hooks down the line to lower the tomato plants but will rotate them clockwise around our trellis. The two squares at the top serve as quadrants to allow for this in addition to the support that those horizontal braces give the trellis.
Although this method allows you to plant tomatoes more intensively, you have to be really intentional about companion plants. We love incorporating companions into our garden to help fill out the space, reduce weed pressure, reduce pest pressure, and maximize our yields. The low and lean trellising method for tomatoes makes companion planting more difficult because the tomato stems will be lowered onto the soil surface and the aerial parts of the plant will be rotated around the bed. Any companions that are planted need to be clear of any future path of the tomato plant and allow room for pruning and rotating. We stuck with a few nasturtium plants in the corners of the bed and focused on our other tomato beds for more intensive interplanting with things like basil, marigolds, zinnia, lettuce and carrots.
Tomato Trellising Option 3: The Cattle Panel Method
I saved the best for last. The cattle panel method of trellising tomatoes is my favorite so far. It’s the perfect combination of all tied up and wild and this method leaves plenty of room for effective companion planting. This method uses a cattle panel or a section of heavy gauge wire fencing attached to t-stakes with tomatoes planted on both sides of it. We used materials that we had lying around to construct ours, so the investment was minimal. If you have to purchase materials you are probably looking at an investment of $50-75, but like the low and lean method, it’s a trellis that will hold up over many years of use.
The cattle panel method for trellising tomatoes shares many of the same benefits of the other two methods in that it allows for easy pruning of low leaves which helps increase air flow, allow more light to reach fruit, and helps to prevent disease. Another benefit is that you don’t need to prune so heavily, so you can allow suckers to grow into secondary vines. I have allowed them to grow if there’s an opening on the cattle panel to clip them, otherwise, I pluck them. I list reduced pruning as a benefit because we all know that come mid-July we’ve completely lost control of our tomatoes, so any method that gives us a little grace is welcome.
Another great benefit of the cattle panel method for trellising tomatoes is that it’s strong. You can use this in an arch format if you want and train your tomatoes to grow over the arch, or you can use it in a straight manner as shown in the picture above. Either way, the combination of metal t-stakes and the heavy gauge wire will be able to support a bunch of tomato plants as they grow to full maturity.
To recap how we’re using this method, it requires a piece of cattle panel fencing or heavy gauge wire fencing (not chicken wire) that is the length of your growing bed, t-stakes at each end plus a few in the middle (depending on overall length), and some zip ties to secure the panel to the stakes. We are using this method for 8 tomato plants in a 3 foot wide by 6 foot long bed. We have the t-stakes installed in the middle of the 3 foot side, so that we have split the bed into two sections that are 1 1/2 feet x 6 feet. There are four tomatoes planted on each side, staggered so that they will grow up different sections of the cattle panel. As the tomatoes grow we use tomato clips to secure them to the panel and remove all leaves that are below the lowest fruit. This method leaves us with room for a row or two of lettuce and basil on each side, plants that benefit from the shade that the towering tomato plants provide.
Side-By-Side Comparison: Choosing the Right Method
We’re currently using all three of these methods in our gardens right now, and while we have a favorite, I think each one can be successful depending on what you’re highest priority is.
Companion Planting with Tomatoes
Companion planting with tomatoes is not only beneficial for the growth and health of the tomato plants but also for the overall garden ecosystem. By choosing the right companion plants, we can enhance the flavor of tomatoes, deter pests, and improve pollination. Companion planting will help reduce weed pressure by taking advantage of all growing space. Some common companion plants for tomatoes include:
Basil: Its strong scent repels pests like aphids and mosquitoes, while enhancing the flavor of tomatoes.
Marigolds: These beautiful flowers act as a natural deterrent for nematodes and other harmful insects.
Nasturtium: These vibrant flowers attract beneficial insects, such as ladybugs and hoverflies, which prey on aphids and other pests.
Borage: Its attractive blue blossoms attract pollinators and its leaves enhance the flavor of tomatoes.
Lettuce: Take advantage of the shade produced by the tomatoes to grow lettuce during the heat of summer.
Carrots: Carrots take up very little space between tomato plants since they mostly grow beneath the soil and they will benefit from the shade produced by the tomato plants overhead.
Trellising tomatoes plays a crucial role in companion planting. By training tomato vines vertically, we can maximize space in smaller garden plots and allow for the planting of other companion plants nearby. Of the methods listed above, the cattle panel method for trellising tomatoes is the most effective for companion planting. The single-stake method works great for smaller plants like carrots between rows of tomatoes and the total amount of space available will ultimately depend on the degree to which you prune your plants. The low and lean method leaves room for companion planting as well but may require some strategic planting. To learn more about companion planting, check out this guide and workbook:
Tomato trellising offers numerous benefits for improved plant health and increased yield. To recap, here are some key advantages:
Enhanced air circulation: By training tomatoes to grow vertically, trellising allows for better airflow around the plants, reducing the risk of disease and promoting healthy growth.
Optimized sunlight exposure: Trellising helps to position tomato plants for maximum sunlight absorption, resulting in enhanced photosynthesis and optimal fruit development.
Space efficiency: Since vertically trellised tomatoes take up less ground space, it becomes possible to grow more plants in a smaller area, thereby increasing overall yield.
Easier maintenance: Trellising facilitates easier access to plants for pruning, watering, and pest control, simplifying garden maintenance tasks.
It's important to select the right trellising method based on your specific garden requirements. Consider factors such as the variety of tomatoes you are growing, the available space, and your personal gardening style. Be sure to check our companion planting guide, as it offers valuable insights to fully enhance your tomato growing experience and create an abundant garden through companion planting. Happy gardening!
