How to properly tie tomatoes in a greenhouse and open ground

Not all gardeners know how to properly tie tomatoes in a greenhouse or on open ground. Gardeners often wonder why a garter is needed, and what problems it can solve. This standard and, at first glance, optional procedure will protect the crop from spoilage and help protect the plants from damage. If you don’t tie up the bush in time, it will break, and tomatoes lying on the ground are easy prey for slugs.

Why is it necessary to tie tomatoes?

If such procedures are not carried out, the likelihood of the following unpleasant events increases:

1. Fruits lying on the ground may begin to rot after watering or rain; if the soil is characterized by high humidity, then tying will help avoid such problems.
2. Under the weight of ripe fruits, the bush may break, as a result of which the tomatoes will die and the yield will suffer significantly.
3. When ripe tomatoes lie on the ground, various pests will certainly want to eat them.
4. The procedures are also carried out in order to avoid a lack of sunny color, because if the fruit is in a suspended state, it receives the required amount of ultraviolet radiation and ripens faster.

So that the plant does not die, the tomatoes have time to reach maturity, and the yield does not fall due to the invasion of slugs, they resort to the help of a garter. This procedure is carried out in several ways, has its own characteristics and directly depends on the variety of tomatoes and the quality characteristics of the soil.

Attention! Tomatoes are tied up in polycarbonate greenhouses; a similar procedure is not neglected when growing tomatoes under film or planting them in the ground.

General rules and recommendations for gartering tomatoes

To properly tie a plant, you should follow certain rules:

• some gardeners advise gartering immediately after planting a tomato in the soil;
• the devices will have to be reconstructed as the bush grows and develops; make sure that it advises the growth of the plant;
• When carrying out the procedure, make sure that the device does not harm the plant stem, does not pinch it, or cause it to dry out.

The direct purpose of the device is to support the bush and ripening fruits. You will have to make sure that the tomatoes do not touch the ground and that the stem of the plant is not subjected to serious pressure.

Device for gartering tomatoes

You can use any tool that can provide support to the bush, but it is better to resort to proven devices that cannot harm the tomatoes or affect the yield.

Leg-split

This is the name of the device that is attached to the frame beams of the greenhouse. It is hooked to a bush, while the rope (the twine itself) is in a taut state, but this is a moderate tension. As the tomatoes grow, they will tend to climb up and wrap themselves around the twine, which will provide them with reliable support.

Naturally, if there are no frame beams, then it is extremely difficult to use this method of gartering; you will have to build a special fastening.

A loop

Not many gardeners use a free loop; to do this you will have to:

1. Secure the rope and use the vertical beams of the greenhouse frame as fastening.
2. Throw the rope over the fastening and form a loop so that the tomato bush fits into it.
3. If there are fruits on it, then the loop should be located under them, as if supporting the stem of the plant.

This method is good because periodically, as the fruits and the bush itself grow and develop, you can change the fastening, raising the loop higher or lowering it down. A loop can be used to connect several bushes, provided that they grow in close proximity to each other.

Clothespins

Clips are successfully used as a fixation; they can be purchased in specialized stores.A clothespin holds several bushes together and helps secure them to the support. Pegs are used as the latter.

Rods

Pegs or sleepers can be either vertical or horizontal. Let's look at the main garter options that gardeners readily use:

1. The stakes can be placed between the rajahs or in close proximity to the bush. As the bush grows and develops, it will use the stake as support.
2. You can place supports horizontally and tie tomatoes to them, in which case the device will have to be modernized and monitor the growth of the bushes.
3. Some gardeners attach ropes to the trellises and hook tomato bushes, allowing the use of a loose loop.

Methods for tying tomatoes

The better ideas of gardeners have already been brought to life; there is no need to “reinvent the wheel”. It will be enough to use proven methods; preference is given to those that have proven their effectiveness in practice.

Wire frame mounting

A structure, a structure made of wire, is placed around one or several bushes. As the bushes grow, they will use this structure as a support. It is advisable to help the plant and push the fruits through the wire rods to avoid damage.

You can build a wire structure around one bush, in which case, as it grows, it will “lean” on the structure and use it as a support. You can use both fine and coarse mesh, depending on your preferences.

Linear mount

The unusual structure is being built in a greenhouse. To make tying, you will need:

1. As the basis of the structure, we use large stakes or frame beams of the greenhouse, located in its various parts.
2. We install one or more large sleepers in the middle of the structure. We check the fastening for stability.
3. Using a rope, we connect the structure so that the result is a structure that can support the weight of the fruit.

Trellis fastening

An original way to garter tomatoes, which is not often used for certain reasons. The trellis is installed using various methods; the device can be presented in the form of a horizontal, as well as a vertical fastening:

• If you cultivate tall varieties of tomatoes in greenhouse conditions, then use horizontal trellises as fastening. Install them next to each bush;
• you can connect vertically located trellises using horizontal structures;
• At its core, the trellis method is similar to the usual tying of tomatoes using pegs, only in this case the pegs are large, which eliminates the need to change them.

Mesh mount

In a polycarbonate greenhouse, such a structure without stakes with reinforcement and mesh looks great.

You should adhere to the following scheme of actions:

1. Using a coil of wire and reinforcement, form a mount in the greenhouse.
2. The wire is placed at different heights; it can be secured from above, using a greenhouse frame as a support.
3. Place the reinforcement in the lower part, and use wire to connect the reinforcement and the upper parts of the greenhouse.
4. If necessary, use the horizontal parts of the greenhouse to form a grid inside the structure.

This type of garter is called lattice. If we are talking about tomatoes that were planted in the ground, then you can surround them with a net, then push the ripe fruits through the holes in it. At its core, this type of support resembles a corral in which tomatoes successfully grow and ripen.

You can make the mesh yourself, but it’s easier to purchase a ready-made one. It is surrounded by several bushes, so that the plants rest on the attachment areas from different sides.

On wooden pegs

Everyone knows how to tie tomatoes this way. Nowadays wood is rarely used; preference is given to special devices made of plastic.

What is the essence of the method:

• We drive a medium-sized peg next to the bush;
• make sure not to damage the rhizome;
• we tie the bush to a peg using a rope;
• As the plant grows, we upgrade the mount.

If you use wood, then decide on the height of the pegs; if the support is not high enough, you will have to change it.

Features of gartering tomatoes in a greenhouse and in open ground

It is easier to tie up tomatoes in a greenhouse or hothouse for several reasons:

1. You can use the frame of the structure as a support.
2. It will not be difficult to build a mount using available materials and greenhouse beams.

If the plant is planted in open ground, you will need to build a structure that can be used as a support for the plant.

Let's consider the preferred types of garters for various structures:

1. In a polycarbonate greenhouse or greenhouse we use trellises - high beams that rest against the arch of the structure and allow tall plants to rest on the prepared beams.
2. In a greenhouse, preference is given to the lattice method, which involves connecting the vaults of the structure with parts of the reinforcement to construct a support.
3. If the tomatoes were planted in the ground, you can use pegs and a net. It all depends on the preferences of the gardener.

In greenhouse conditions, plants grow faster, they reach 2 meters in length.As for tomatoes that are planted in the ground, achieving such heights is considered rare. For this reason, the mounts are not made high; they are of medium size - this is quite enough to support the tomatoes and achieve the required yield.

Gardener mistakes

If we talk about beginners, then they tend to make mistakes, but not only novice gardeners “sin” with this. In most cases, gardeners make standard mistakes:

1. They select low-quality material. In this case, the structure used as a support may not support the weight of the fruit and collapse under the weight of the tomatoes, crushing the bush. To avoid such problems, do not use the same mount several times, upgrade the design.
2. Monitor your blood pressure levels. If the loop strongly squeezes the stem, it will disrupt the flow of juices in it, causing the plant to dry out, as a result of which it will dry out and not bear fruit.
3. Check the reliability of the support and, if necessary, reconstruct it. A similar need arises if the bushes have no restrictions on growth.
4. Make sure that the fruits do not touch the ground, otherwise the point of carrying out such procedures is lost, and the tomatoes still remain at risk.

To tie up tomatoes, you do not need to have any special skill; this simple, at first glance, procedure will help to significantly increase the yield and avoid various problems that gardeners often encounter.