How to Stake Tomato Plants

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

Rate: (4 Ratings)

One of the great joys of summer is harvesting fresh tomatoes from your own garden. Of course, in order to harvest tomatoes, you'll need to grow them. One strategy that has been used by gardeners to grow healthy tomato plants is staking; however, in order to benefit from staking, you'll need to do it accurately.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Wooden stakes
Wood preservative
Twine
Tomato plants

Step1

Purchase 6-foot-long wooden stakes that are at least 1 inch square.

Step2

Paint the wooden stakes with wood preservative to prevent them from rotting.

Step3

Create rows that are 3 to 4 feet apart. Place the tomato plants in 3 to 4 inch holes. Be sure the plants are spaced 2 to 4 feet apart.

Step4

Pound the stakes into the ground about 3 inches away from the plant on the north side of the plant. Be sure that the stake sits 10 inches deep into the ground.

Step5

Tie the plant to the stake as it grows. Do this by tying a square knot around the stake so that the twine is secure and won't slip. Tie the remaining twine to the tomato plant using another square knot. When the plant grows, tie additional knots every 12 inches along the stem.

Step6

Prune the plant to one stem as it grows. If you want two stems, then allow one of the side shoots to grow, but continue to prune the other shoots. When the plant reaches the top of the stake pinch out the growing part of the shoot, allowing the plant's energy to focus on the tomatoes.