| For many home gardeners, the tomato crop
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| | cage with twine.
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| is often a source of pride. Gardeners
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| | Tomato plants are susceptible to a number
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| often compete to see who can grow the
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| | of diseases that readily spread in humid
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| earliest ripe fruit, the biggest or most
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| | conditions. You can help your plants
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| flavorful tomato. The desire for perfect
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| | avoid disease, thereby increasing your
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| tomatoes sends many gardeners to their
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| | crop, by giving your plants plenty of
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| local garden centers in search of the
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| | room and allowing for adequate airflow in
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| latest potions or products that promise
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| | and amongst the plants. Keeping them
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| to help them achieve their goals.
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| | trellised so they're not sprawling on the
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| A simple way to ensure a larger number of
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| | ground will help, but you may also want
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| picture-perfect tomatoes is to keep the
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| | to do a bit of pruning on the plants too.
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| fruit and foliage up off the ground.
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| | Keep in mind that only indeterminate
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| Tomato plants are susceptible to fungal
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| | tomato varieties should be pruned.
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| diseases that are transmitted when
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| | As your tomato plants grow, you'll notice
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| infected soil splashes up onto the
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| | that they send out new shoots above every
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| foliage during a rainfall. The fruit is
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| | leaf stem where it attaches to the main
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| more susceptible to slug and insect
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| | stem. These new shoots are called
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| damage or rot if it is allowed to rest on
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| | suckers, and each sucker is capable of
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| or near the ground. This problem can be
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| | growing into another stem on the plant
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| easily remedied by trellising your tomato
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| | and setting its own blossoms and fruit.
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| plants to keep them up off the ground.
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| | Eventually the suckers will even grow
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| You can either purchase a ready-made
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| | their own suckers, making for a very full
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| tomato trellis or cage, or you can make
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| | plant.
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| your own. Ready made tomato cages can be
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| | The first suckers that appear will be
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| purchased at garden centers, from
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| | very low on the plant, generally from
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| gardening catalogs and sometimes at
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| | above the first sets of true leaves.
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| hardware stores. Styles vary, but the
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| | Since they are so low on the plant, the
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| most common tomato cages are made of
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| | fruit produced on these suckers will hang
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| heavy wire and are either round, square
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| | low to the ground and will be the most
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| or triangular. I have found that the
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| | susceptible to slug damage or rot from
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| round cages are often too small to
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| | contact with the soil. These first
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| support a mature tomato plant that is
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| | tomatoes are also the most likely to
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| loaded with heavy fruit. I prefer the
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| | suffer from cat facing which is a type of
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| square or triangular cages because they
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| | scarring found on tomatoes that have
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| can be folded flat for storage over
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| | formed while temperatures are cooler than
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| winter, they tend to be roomy enough for
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| | tomatoes like.
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| large plants, and two cages can be linked
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| | Remove those first suckers that appear by
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| together to support one very large plant
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| | pinching them off with your fingers
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| or two plants together.
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| | before they get more than an inch or two
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| You can easily make your own tomato cages
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| | long. If the suckers have grown longer
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| with materials found at any hardware
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| | before you can remove them, they can
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| store. Woven or welded wire fencing makes
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| | still be snapped off by hand, or you can
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| great tomato cages. Choose fencing that
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| | use your favorite garden shears to snip
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| has gaps between the wires large enough
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| | them off. Be sure to disinfect your
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| to reach through to pick your tomatoes.
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| | garden shears before moving on to another
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| Use a wire cutter to cut the fencing to a
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| | plant, to avoid spreading any diseases
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| length of about six feet, bend it into a
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| | amongst your plants.
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| tube shape and use a pliers to bend the
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| | Removing the first suckers on your plants
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| horizontal wires on one end around the
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| | will encourage the plant to send out even
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| vertical wires on the other end so the
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| | more suckers. You'll want to leave most
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| cage holds its shape.
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| | of these suckers on the plants so they
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| Square or triangular cages can also be
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| | can produce more tomatoes for you. But if
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| built with lumber. Start with four
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| | your plants are becoming full to the
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| upright pieces, roughly three feet high.
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| | point where you cannot see through to the
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| Nail crosspieces on the outside of the
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| | center of the plant, you may want to
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| upright boards on all sides, one set all
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| | remove a few suckers to promote better
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| around the top and attach another set
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| | air circulation throughout the plant.
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| about 18 inches below the top boards to
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| | Your tomato plants can expend their
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| make a 4-sided enclosure with two rungs
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| | energy making lots of smaller tomatoes,
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| on each side.
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| | but if they are limited to producing
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| If you're growing a large number of
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| | fewer tomatoes, those tomatoes will
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| tomato plants in rows, you may wish to
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| | generally be larger.
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| create a large-scale trellising system,
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| | As the growing season nears its end, your
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| much like what is used to support berry
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| | tomato plants will still be setting
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| canes. You'll need some heavy gauge wire
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| | blossoms and growing fruit. But the fruit
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| and metal fence posts, often referred to
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| | that is setting near the end of the
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| as T-posts. These can be purchased from
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| | season won't have time to ripen before
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| farm supply stores. At both ends of the
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| | the first killing frost. Four weeks
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| row of plants, sink two posts into the
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| | before the first frost date for your area
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| ground, placing the posts about two feet
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| | you can start pinching off any new
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| apart, one on either side of your plants.
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| | suckers and blossom sets that appear on
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| Then attach the wire at two or three
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| | your plants. Any fruit they may have
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| levels between the posts. As your tomato
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| | produced wouldn't have time to ripen
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| plants grow, they will be supported by
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| | before being killed by frost. This will
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| the wires. If you have a particularly
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| | allow your plants to put more of their
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| long row of tomato plants, you will want
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| | energy into growing and ripening their
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| to add more posts along the length of the
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| | existing fruit, rather than spending that
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| row so the wire doesn't sag under the
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| | energy on making more vegetative growth
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| weight of the heavy plants.
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| | and blossoms that will never get a chance
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| To avoid damaging the plants, it is best
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| | to develop into ripe fruit.
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| to place your tomato cages or trellis
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| | In addition to pruning and trellising
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| around the plants while they are still
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| | your tomato plants, always apply a layer
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| small. As the plants grow taller, you may
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| | of mulch beneath the plants in early
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| have to help them support themselves by
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| | summer after the soil has warmed. The
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| gently moving their large branches in
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| | mulch will help hold moisture in the
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| position over the wires or crosspieces of
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| | soil, discourage slugs and keep soil from
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| their cages. Particularly unruly plants
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| | splashing up onto your plants.
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| can be loosely tied to the trellis or
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