How important is it to tie tomatoes for a large harvest and how to do it correctly

Tomatoes grown in open ground are recommended to be tied up. In some situations, this technique helps preserve the harvest. Even if the tomatoes are not in danger, and they can ripen perfectly lying on the ground, there are still benefits from tying them up.

Why tie up tomatoes?

There are several reasons for staking tomatoes. When filled with juice, the fruits become heavy and pull the branches down. If there are several ovaries in the brush, the branch may not hold up and break. As a result, the tomatoes growing on it will be deprived of adequate nutrition. Of course, they will ripen, but they will grow underweight and not so juicy. In addition, the fracture site remains open to infection.

When tomatoes come into contact with the ground, they can “catch” fungal diseases. This is especially dangerous in rainy weather, since fungal spores develop most actively in a humid environment. Tying saves the crop from diseases.

When tomatoes are in a hanging position, it is easier to care for them: pick off the lower leaves, spray, weed, mulch and loosen.That is, the space under the bushes and between them remains free for action.

Pests also do better when the fruit is in close proximity to the soil. For example, they are easier for slugs to climb on.

Tomato bushes that are not tied up fall apart and lie between the rows, making it difficult to move around the beds and harvest the crop. This applies to a greater extent to tall varieties, but medium-sized ones can also cause inconvenience.

How to properly tie tomatoes

There are two methods for tying tomatoes. The first is very simple and consists of sticking a vertical pole near the stem and tying the central shoot to it. This method is good because as the bush grows, it can be tied up several more times, as long as the height of the pole is enough.

The second method is more suitable for gartering medium-sized tomatoes. At the beginning and at the end of the row, one 70-80 cm high spike is driven in, and a horizontal crossbar is attached to them. Since the crossbar goes over everything next to the tomatoes, every bush can be tied to it. If the row is very long, several crossbars are installed. The number of slingshots on which they are placed naturally increases.

For gartering, it is recommended to use wide strips of material (they can be replaced with medical bandages), which will not injure the shoots. If you use thin twine, you need to take into account that it can crush thin branches.

After the final harvest, stakes, crossbars and spears are removed from the garden, stored under a canopy and used in the next season. Of course, before tying up the bushes, they should be disinfected by spraying with Bordeaux mixture or other disinfectant.The same applies to ropes if they are reused.