Sunday, August 7, 2011

August Update

The verdict is in and I vote for trellised tomatoes. This year was the first time I grew my tomatoes against a woven wire fence.  I have about a 20 foot row of old fashioned Rutgers tomatoes growing on woven wire fence (left over cattle fence) wired to metal T posts I slammed in to the ground with my post driver.

Usually I let my tomatoes sprawl on the ground because the conventional wisdom says that sprawling plants produce more fruit. That may be true, but I can tell you they also produce a lot of rotten and blemished fruit. Tomato fruits left on the ground are prey to slugs and rot and all kinds of problems.  Trellised tomatoes are up off the ground hanging on their vines securely tied with old knee high stockings to the wire fence. No slugs can get to them and since they do not touch the wet ground, they don't rot. I have more than enough tomatoes to eat fresh, can, and make into tomato jam.

No comments:

Post a Comment