Tomatoe plant ?

[digger]

I got some plant's that are taller than my cages and are gonna start laying over,any of yall ever cut the top's out?I'v been told you could top them out and they'd stop growing up and bush out more but don't won't to hurt or kill my plant's.

[Seymore]

I've got that same problem. I've got some blossoms above the cage and can't do that are I'd waste the majority of the maters. Don't know why they don't build those cages bigger.

[cootkiller]

if you can get some stacking sticks from a sawmill you can zip tie 3 of them to the cage so they go up higher then run some twine around them. Or get some wire and make an extension. have done it before my self.

I have also cut them back on top and not hurt them.

[4dawgma]

I use cattle or hog panels to support my tomatoes. It's expensive at first but you will never have to replace them. Drive 3-4 6' tposts per panel on top of row. Use wire or zipties to attach panels to tposts with panel 12-16" above ground level. As tomato grows weave into panel for support. Final height at top 6+ feet so you shouldn't have to worry about tomatoes getting away from you. You can also cut a panel in half and wire the top together to make an a-frame of sorts. Great for cucumbers, etc. I've also seen structures similar to the pic below but higher. You grow climbing stuff on it in summer then cover with plastic in winter to make a greenhouse sorta thing.

[MudHog]

If you prune the height, you are potentially losing fruit. You can get you a roll of field fencing and make some extentions for your cages. What type of plants do you have?

Determinate tomatoes need no pruning other than removing all suckers below the first flower cluster, because pruning won't affect their fruit size or plant vigor. If you do any pruning at all above the first flower cluster on determinate tomatoes, you'll only be throwing away potential fruit.

Indeterminate tomatoes can have from one to many stems, although four is the most I'd recommend. The fewer the stems, the fewer but larger the fruits, and the less room the plant needs in the garden. For a multi-stemmed plant, let a second stem grow from the first node above the first fruit. Allow a third stem to develop from the second node above the first set fruit, and so forth. Keeping the branching as close to the first fruit as possible means those side stems will be vigorous but will not overpower the main stem.


In case your wondering about the types of tomatoes, see below.

Indeterminate vs. determinate
Indeterminate tomato plants continue to grow, limited only by the length of the season. These plants produce stems, leaves, and fruit as long as they are alive.

Determinate tomato plants have a predetermined number of stems, leaves, and flowers hardwired into their genetic structure. The development of these plants follows a well-defined pattern. First, there is an initial vegetative stage during which all the stems, most of the leaves, and a few fruit are formed. This is followed by a flush of flowering and final leaf expansion. Finally, during the fruit-fill stage, there is no further vegetative growth. As the tomato fruits ripen, the leaves senesce and die. Commercial growers favor this type of tomato because all the fruit can be mechanically harvested at once. The major advantage of planting determinate plants in a home garden is early harvest.

Semi-determinate plants, as the name implies, are somewhere between these two other types. Although there aren't many semi-determinate tomatoes, one of the most popular hybrids, 'Celebrity', falls into this category. I think semi-determinates are best grown to three or four stems.

[digger]

I used the cattle pannel's on 2 row's but had about 20 cages made of concreat wire that I'v had for yrs, next yr all pannels.I got several differant types of plant's,grow alot of old timey and heirloom types got 75 plant's all together and don't even eat tomatoe's.Just wondering about the pruning cause it seem's when they start laying over the limb's or top start dieing when they lay over and pinch.

[duramax]

*insert tomatoe