How to Stake Tomatoes

Prune your tomato plant to no more than two stalks to make it easy to manage.

If you want to grow your own tomatoes you need to know how to stake the tomato plants. Without stakes tomato plants lean to the ground as the fruit grows. Not only do tomatoes that touch the ground rot faster, but they become an easy target for animals and become more susceptible to sun damage.

Things You'll Need

• Tomato seeds
• Wooden stakes, 5 to 6 feet long and 1 inch wide
• Twine

Instructions

1. Plant your tomato seeds. You need to plant tomatoes 18 to 24 inches apart to allow them room to grow. Wait until your tomato plant has its first bloom cluster.

2. Bury your tomato stake 3 inches from where you planted your tomato seeds. Your stake goes on the opposite side of the first bloom and at least 8 inches of the stake should remain underground.

3. Tie your tomato plant to the stake using twine. Make sure the twine around the plant doesn't sit directly under the fruit cluster.

4. Tie more twine to your stake and plant 12 inches above the previous piece of twine. Continue the process every 12 inches as the plant grows.

References

• Mississippi State University CARES: Staking and Training Tomatoes
• Master Gardeners: Tomato Staking Techniques Evaluation