A couple helpful thoughts I've learned (the hard way) doing this. Do not use natural string or twine. It stretches and loosens when it gets wet and does not retighten as it dries. Bailing twine works best if you can find it. Also, it's important to drive stakes in deep or they can loosen when it rains and get pulled in by the twine. Then the twine goes loose (again). I tried this after seeing Charles Dowding used this with his garden peas. Unfortunately I lost a lot of my pea crop due to the twine loosening. Urban Farmsteads how-to is fantastic. Wish I had seen it before using it on my peas. I will use it again.
Thank you Anne! Yes, that’s great advice! Natural twine can be used, but I definitely do not recommend it because of the reasons you shared. I use poly string which is listed in the video description.
@@urbanfarmstead It seems many of gardening vids out there are very informative, but too long, especially if you already have some experience but need to tweak things. Thanks for getting to the point and keeping it brief! I’ll be putting in a Florida weave this weekend.
i believe the 'weave' part of the florida weave is where you weave the string in between the plants. as you move to the next plant, weave the string on the other side of it and then weave it around the next plant, and so forth. it provides more stability. i'd use your method on maybe bell peppers because you have to be careful about their brittle branches. thanks for the video!
We started watching your last videos and noticed how your soil looks like ours, your fence looks like ours, your weeds look like ours. Now we see you are in Sacramento too! Looking forward to seeing your videos and seeing how your plants yield with all the extra care and amendments you give them. Thank you for these informative videos.
I did the Florida weave last season and while it does work, it’s a lot of maintenance work. Indeterminate tomatoes grow fast so you will find yourself weaving about every two weeks and readjusting the tomatoes vines every other day or so because the vines fall off. We had 6 40ft rows so it was a lot of work. If you have a small garden than it’s nonissue but I’m opting for something more stable this year like a cattle panel tied to T posts. It’s more expensive than string but it’s reusable year after year and is much less work. I will say that the string method looks awesome we had it tied to bamboo poles we cut and our garden looked rustic/native
Thank you for showing how to build and use such a simple tomato support method. I have been agonizing over what would work best and I have decided to use your Florida weave this year rather than overhead string trellis systems that seem confusing to me.
Really appreciate this video. This will help me a lot. I have bad arthritis and manipulating ties and fine motor skills can be hard. This looks so much easier. Every year my plants flop over and get out of control despite my best efforts. This year might be different!
looks like we’re coming into nicer more typical weather the next couple weeks thankfully🙂our tomato plants r going to be much happier! ur garden is coming along nicely!
Southern California Gardening nice! So far the weather up here in Northern California has been great for our tomatoes 🤞🏼hope it continues. Thank you! Happy gardening!
Thank you brother. I just used a version of your advice and it came in handy. I waited a bit late but it works. I wish TH-cam allowed for photo uploads.
I thought the same. Don't you think that doing it this way the plants could all fall over to the side if they heavy with toms or there was a strong cross wind?
I believe traditional Florida weave is through each individual plant. I’ll be setting one up like that this season for 60’ beds. I might try half weaving through and half just going around like him to compare, I imagine this way doesn’t support the plants as well, but I wonder if the other method restricts the plant in any way.
Thanks for the video! Getting ready for this year’s planting and look forward to giving this a try. It’s always been the cages before and they never hold up throughout the season. Appreciate your channel. It’s been a great resource. Cheers from the 916!
Great content. I was curious about the height of the middle wooden post. What do you anticipate doing once the plants are well above that height? Why not start with a third t-bar in the middle?
I had the same question! Not sure why the middle post is short...or why its a different material than the ends. Is it for aesthetic reasons or is there a reason related to growing?
This is really great idea. Luckily me watching your video before buying that wire cages. It’s really gonna saving my cost. Previously I followed your guidelines to make home garden and it’s come pretty well. Thank you for giving us inspiration to make pretty home garden 😃😃😃
Just found your informative videos and am so glad I did! Love your easy trellis system. I have everything on hand to make this work for my tomatoes this season. Thanks!
Do you think this method would work for cut flowers? I had a garden full of cut flowers but they kept flopping over. Looking for an inexpensive way to keep my plants upright! Thanks for your videos! You’re awesome!
Great video... Excellent teacher. Question: Why did you choose to use the wooden posts rather than more t-posts? I see others are interested in your response to this question too. Thanks for sharing this great idea.
Will you do the Florida weave system next year? I staked this year and pruned heavy, next year I’m wanting something different, I did not get as big of a harvest as I would have liked and my stakes were not visually appealing.
Just found your channel yesterday and it's fantastic! I have to ask, do you not prune the suckers off of your indeterminate tomatoes? Do you find the benefit simply isn't worth the time and effort required?
Growing Greens With Cam well thank you! I do feel very fortunate to have videos that people are responding well to and a channel that’s growing. No secrets really, but I feel like my experience in talking with gardeners from different parts of the world and a wide range of experience has helped me to find ways to create videos that are interesting, informative, helpful, and easy to follow for a broad gardening audience. At least that’s what I strive to do. So really it’s just been about listening to feedback and giving my audience what they want. I often get 100 messages/questions a day on Instagram etc. and I take the time to read and reply to every singe one. It’s a lot of work put it’s important to me and I appreciate my audience.
Urban Farmstead That’s awesome! I was telling someone just recently that your videos are some of the most polished and well thought out garden videos I’ve ever seen. Keep up the great work Kyle and thank you for responding to questions!
???? Very efficient method. I like your straightforward and easy instructions. I heard you mention removing suckers when using other trellises. Do you leave the suckers on when using the Florida Weave?
Megan Dennis great question, I considered talking. About tomato pruning a bit in this video but because a lot of it is preference I didn’t want to muddy the water. But yes, this method requires little to no pruning/suckering. That said, it’s a good practice to at least remove lower suckers and leaves. With staking many people will keep them pruned to just one singe stem, or a few at most.
Very nice! Are you trimming any of the suckers on these Tomatoe plants or are you just letting the whole plants grow and keeping them all tucked in the FL weave?
nice! I know I am staking my slicer and cherry type tomatoes but am gonna try the Florida weave method on my sauce tomatoes this year :D Thanks for sharing :D
In california we weave the twine in between every other plant my roads are six hundred feet long and I let them get about seven feet tall I use drip and flat bed irrigation your way actually worse better but we're supposed to conserve water Make sure you grab your post ten deep enough have a good one And we used tomato twine by the big box.
Are you still growing tomatillo’s and if so how do you support them? I used a tomato cage last year and our plants grew 6 feet tall and several branches like a pepper plant that were 3 feet long each. This year I’m trying the Florida weave and so far I don’t like it. It bunches the plant up
I’ve used the Florida Weave a few times for my tomatillos ants that’s definitely what I prefer - you can see it used in my two summer garden tour videos. This year with the garden in transition I have one in a cage, one sprawling on the ground, one up a livestock panel and one in a Florida weave. The weave still works best for me.
I just watched your fence panel trellis video and thought that was a brilliant idea, but after watching this one, I think this system is going to work better for me and my garden set up. I built 4'x8'x12" raised garden beds and put a layer of hardware cloth in the bottom, followed by a layer of rock, followed by my soil mix. The hardware cloth to prevent digging pests (we have moles and voles and chipmunks something terrible here in pa) and the rock for drainage, our yard holds water like a cup, so it was necessary also. So driving a T-Post or rebar down inside of the bed won't go very far down and won't provide much support at all. But with this method, I can drive the t-posts down on the outsides of the bed and run the string between them. Plus, it's cheaper too! I still may use the fence post trellis idea, maybe for my raspberry bed instead. Loving your channel!
with your tomato plants, could you plant 1 row left of the posts and string and another row to the right on the post and string. so doubled up sort of. with a spacing of say 10 to 20 CM's. all in the one bed.
Christopher Walker I’ve read this a few times and still can’t figure out what you’re trying to describe, but I will say that the way I have this set up is pretty maxed out and I I added more they would be over crowded.
Do you run the tomato row North South or East West? Last year we did E/W, I think the tomatoes grew predominantly on the north side of the row. The south side was mostly leaves. I'm going to try running rows North South this year.
Although I have seen people weaving through the plants, this is the correct way to do it, and yes it works great. There would be no way to weave between them once the plants grow larger and begin growing together
I have a 4x4 raised bed do I need the middle post or can I get away without it. Also can I have the twine already set up or do I need to do it as the plant grows. Thank you
Isn't it necessary to lower your tomato plants in their height as they grow so they can be as big as possible? As you mentioned in the first technique (with the thread hanging down) you also hang the tomatoes down as they grow.. how does it work in the stake and string method? thank you!
The lowering process in “lower and lean” has some great advantages in the right situation but it’s not so much about growing larger tomatoes. How does what work in the Florida Weave method?
This is great and I just set it up for my already overgrown tomatoes. The problem is that they're already taller than the wooden stakes... should I continue running string between the two end posts?
kathryn kevin without having all of the necessary information, my suggestion would be to add taller T-posts at the ends and continue to string. These are 8’ T-posts.
Hi Kyle. Loving your knowledge! I'm learning so much.. I am wondering why do you have to prune the suckers when you stake them but not when you do the Florida weave? I always thought that pinching the suckers off was so that the plant would grow better and bigger and stronger? I am also wondering with the Florida weave do they fall sideways on each other? It looked like some of your tomatoes had a slender pole stake also. Can you explain when and why you do that with the Florida Weave?
tobenrn Hi, I’m so glad you’re enjoying my videos! You never “have to” prune suckers but with staking it definitely helps in a few ways. With Florida Weave it’s still recommend to remove the lower suckers and leaves. No they don’t really fall sideways on each other. The stakes are there as temporary supports before stringing them but they are not necessary.
How did this work with your tomatillos? I will definitely be trying this method this year. How far apart do you think the posts could be in a longer row?
This is great! I couldn't find cages this year, so I just staked with bamboo and twine lol. For the middle piece, if we can't find redwood stakes, would another tee post work?
Hi Kyle ! Great clean videos. Have you decided whether you will do the cattle panel trellis for your tomatoes or the Florida weave this year? Do you prune the same for your indeterminates with all 4 methods? Or do you not prune? Thanks!
As someone who hand waters (I only have 5 tomato plants) how often would you suggest watering them during this stretch of 100+ degree days, and are there any other additional steps you would take to prevent any damage from the heat?
Jordan Steffen it seems like a simple question but there are factors to consider such as soil composition, plant size, spacing organic v inorganic, regular irrigation schedule etc. I water ours twice a week always and will continue that this week even with out 109 temps.
Urban Farmstead thanks for the response. Mine are in planters, organic compost, about 7 ft tall, I’ve watered way more often than twice a week since the leaves wilt midday and the soil often feels dry. Maybe I’m overwatering, but I think I’m less worried about the heat this week causing any lasting harm knowing you’ll continue your regular watering schedule.
Jordan Steffen it’s definitely a good idea to give them extra water before/during a heatwave, but also important to understand that wilting on a hot afternoon if a normal reaction for many plants regardless of irrigation. This heat wave will suck either way though. Happy gardening.
Thinking about trying the lower and lean system in a raised flower bed we have. I see lots of clips out there but not all that say they grab the string like you have shown. What brand have you liked for this? Also, trellising solutions for tomatoes in pots? Thanks! Love your videos
Ali Reimer great! I get my clips and hooks from Johnnys Select Seeds but I’m not sure if they are selling to the public right now so I just added a link to the description for a different source for you. Also a have a highlight section on my Instagram with more information on how I set that up. Large custom cages or tied to a single post would be my recommendation for potted tomato plants.
Hi Kyle, I'd watch this entire video if I could still grow tomatoes. We moved off grid 3 years ago and now live near zone 3A. We are in the mountains at a little higher elevation.
Nice beds and an expensive and complex irrigation. Sometimes it seems more useful, when you just have a walk through your plants with open eyes. As you can see, your tomatoes need water (05:23). An irrigation with kink in the hose won´t work.
I’m interested in your pruning techniques of indeterminant tomatoes. You MUST have to prune half of your plants just to walk through your paths. I trim mine to one vine on a string, but would love an easier option.
I e pruned to a single stem with some trellises, but with this weave I only prune to clean up the base in the beginning, then very little to none after that
We do eat and preserve a lot for our family but also host a neighborhood farm stand where we share produce with the community on a donation only basis. I also work as a firefighter and bring some to the firehouse where I cook for 10 people. And I sometimes sell/trade to local restaurants. Needless to say, I’ll never have too much. Thank you for asking!
*Thank you very much for such a thorough video! I really appreciate you making this info available. The bottom of my garden beds have some type of metal grid panel attached to it (husband did that to protect from moles & gophers), so I'm not able to use the stakes and posts you show here. Do you have any alternatives in mind for how I could support my tomatoes? Do you think bamboo stakes would be strong enough? Thanks so much for any help!*
Art and Bri you-tube used Big bamboo and made an a-frame structure to hold a cross beam to tie string from to trellis their tomatoes. Might look at theirs to get ideas. You could set up wooden raised beds and attach trellis to the wood, using arched cattle panels, big wire cages, tepees, a frames, or other supports. Could use cement blocks for your borders and use cement to hold supports uptight from the holes in the blocks. these could be pvc or some kind of pipe that your trellis supports would slide into making them removable or the supports themselves if you don't want to remove them.
This is the way we trellis our tomatoes works like a charm - happy gardening 2022
A couple helpful thoughts I've learned (the hard way) doing this. Do not use natural string or twine. It stretches and loosens when it gets wet and does not retighten as it dries. Bailing twine works best if you can find it. Also, it's important to drive stakes in deep or they can loosen when it rains and get pulled in by the twine. Then the twine goes loose (again). I tried this after seeing Charles Dowding used this with his garden peas. Unfortunately I lost a lot of my pea crop due to the twine loosening. Urban Farmsteads how-to is fantastic. Wish I had seen it before using it on my peas. I will use it again.
Thank you Anne! Yes, that’s great advice! Natural twine can be used, but I definitely do not recommend it because of the reasons you shared. I use poly string which is listed in the video description.
My local Tractor Supply gave me as much bailing hay as I wanted for free. Probably any of the stores that sell hay would.
That’s the most helpful and concise Florida Weave vid I’ve seen yet. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing this feedback, I’m glad you enjoyed it
@@urbanfarmstead It seems many of gardening vids out there are very informative, but too long, especially if you already have some experience but need to tweak things. Thanks for getting to the point and keeping it brief! I’ll be putting in a Florida weave this weekend.
i believe the 'weave' part of the florida weave is where you weave the string in between the plants. as you move to the next plant, weave the string on the other side of it and then weave it around the next plant, and so forth. it provides more stability. i'd use your method on maybe bell peppers because you have to be careful about their brittle branches. thanks for the video!
We started watching your last videos and noticed how your soil looks like ours, your fence looks like ours, your weeds look like ours. Now we see you are in Sacramento too! Looking forward to seeing your videos and seeing how your plants yield with all the extra care and amendments you give them. Thank you for these informative videos.
Awesome! to me, learning from other gardeners and farmers is very valuable, but having local sources is priceless! Happy gardening!
Yes, me too! I've been on the search for 9b gardeners with our clay soil. So glad to also find this channel AND from Sac? Awesome
Me too! I'm trying to grow veggies in Stockton. Dealing with clay soil and dreading the coming summer heat for my hydroponics.
I did the Florida weave last season and while it does work, it’s a lot of maintenance work. Indeterminate tomatoes grow fast so you will find yourself weaving about every two weeks and readjusting the tomatoes vines every other day or so because the vines fall off. We had 6 40ft rows so it was a lot of work. If you have a small garden than it’s nonissue but I’m opting for something more stable this year like a cattle panel tied to T posts. It’s more expensive than string but it’s reusable year after year and is much less work. I will say that the string method looks awesome we had it tied to bamboo poles we cut and our garden looked rustic/native
The PVC pipe trick is great!!
I think so too! Who ever came up with this was brilliant and I'm happy to share!
You are a mind reader Kyle. I was just looking for ways to keep tomato plants up. This is a cool idea. Can't wait to implement this.
Gopal Kannan perfect! I’m happy to share! I think you’re really going to like this simple and effective method.
Thank you for showing how to build and use such a simple tomato support method. I have been agonizing over what would work best and I have decided to use your Florida weave this year rather than overhead string trellis systems that seem confusing to me.
Glad it was helpful!
Really appreciate this video. This will help me a lot. I have bad arthritis and manipulating ties and fine motor skills can be hard. This looks so much easier. Every year my plants flop over and get out of control despite my best efforts. This year might be different!
Fantastic ideas , make my garden life so much easier ,thanks ever so much for sharing the video,love from The UK
Thanks for the tip! You could use a sturdy cardboard tube such as comes in heavy duty foil if you don't have a length of pipe.
looks like we’re coming into nicer more typical weather the next couple weeks thankfully🙂our tomato plants r going to be much happier! ur garden is coming along nicely!
Southern California Gardening nice! So far the weather up here in Northern California has been great for our tomatoes 🤞🏼hope it continues. Thank you! Happy gardening!
Its the best one I have seen.
Thank you!
Wow! A lot of great ideas
Thank you
Yes as we became better tomato growers they get bigger
I'm going to the 8' T post next season on panels.
Thanks for the good teaching
Sounds great!
Thank you brother. I just used a version of your advice and it came in handy. I waited a bit late but it works. I wish TH-cam allowed for photo uploads.
I totally thought you were going to weave the string through each tomato plant at first! the way you did it is def a lot less work! 🙂
Aside from being effective, the simplicity of this method is defiantly one of its perks.
I thought the same. Don't you think that doing it this way the plants could all fall over to the side if they heavy with toms or there was a strong cross wind?
I believe traditional Florida weave is through each individual plant. I’ll be setting one up like that this season for 60’ beds. I might try half weaving through and half just going around like him to compare, I imagine this way doesn’t support the plants as well, but I wonder if the other method restricts the plant in any way.
Very nice and informative video. Kyle. I love the way you explain things.
Yasinzaii thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Love this!! I will be doing this this weekend!!
Great video it makes your garden so neat and tidy!! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the video! Getting ready for this year’s planting and look forward to giving this a try. It’s always been the cages before and they never hold up throughout the season. Appreciate your channel. It’s been a great resource. Cheers from the 916!
Thank you! Yeah those cages just aren’t enough here in our great tomato growing are. Happy gardening
I hope you share your harvests this season! 🍅🌶👨🌾
I absolutely will! 🧑🏻🌾
Great content. I was curious about the height of the middle wooden post. What do you anticipate doing once the plants are well above that height? Why not start with a third t-bar in the middle?
I had the same question! Not sure why the middle post is short...or why its a different material than the ends. Is it for aesthetic reasons or is there a reason related to growing?
Thanks for the information!!! My tomatoes have been falling over as they get to big for the cages
You’re very welcome! Yeah, that’s pretty typically with tomato cages.
Beautiful! I have been binge watching your videos.
Great video How many feet are the rows in the video and how far apart are the plants?
Thank you. The rows are 10-12 feet long with plants about 18” apart
This is really great idea. Luckily me watching your video before buying that wire cages. It’s really gonna saving my cost. Previously I followed your guidelines to make home garden and it’s come pretty well. Thank you for giving us inspiration to make pretty home garden 😃😃😃
Thank you!
Awesome ideas
Thank you!
Great method great video what do we do when they go over 8feet?
Another great instructional video. 👍
72tubedmiaz thank you!
This looks great. I’m going to use this for the tomatoes on my balcony this year.
Just found your informative videos and am so glad I did! Love your easy trellis system. I have everything on hand to make this work for my tomatoes this season. Thanks!
I love your ideas! Thanks for sharing!
I'm going to do this right now!!! I hope it goes well for me
great!
Do you think this method would work for cut flowers? I had a garden full of cut flowers but they kept flopping over. Looking for an inexpensive way to keep my plants upright!
Thanks for your videos! You’re awesome!
Alexa Wright yes, definitely, a good option for cut flowers 👍🏼
Kyle, do you prune them as they grow or do you just squish them between the two strings so they can branch out that way?
Goddess in the Groove this season I’m experimenting to see how they do with no mid season pruning and so far they have done great
Great video... Excellent teacher. Question: Why did you choose to use the wooden posts rather than more t-posts? I see others are interested in your response to this question too. Thanks for sharing this great idea.
Will you do the Florida weave system next year? I staked this year and pruned heavy, next year I’m wanting something different, I did not get as big of a harvest as I would have liked and my stakes were not visually appealing.
Thanks so much for the video. Please, what keeps the string around the post from slipping down with the added weight of the vines and tomatoes?
That is the best information for me....know i apply it on my plants...
Planting for Living I so glad you found it helpful!
Sir. Nice info video. What have you planted near the wooden fence.in garden .
Sagar Jadhav thank you! That’s a hedge row of Bay Laural. I’m making an entire video of that process and it will be posted soon.
Just found your channel yesterday and it's fantastic! I have to ask, do you not prune the suckers off of your indeterminate tomatoes? Do you find the benefit simply isn't worth the time and effort required?
I have the same question
Kyle I’ve got to know, what’s your secret?? Your growth has been out of this world! Love to see the gardening community thriving on TH-cam!
Thank you, but before I answer, are you referring to the growth of my vegetable garden or this TH-cam channel?
Urban Farmstead Hey Kyle! I was referring to your channel growth, but I understand the confusion considering your plants are growing like weeds!
Growing Greens With Cam well thank you! I do feel very fortunate to have videos that people are responding well to and a channel that’s growing. No secrets really, but I feel like my experience in talking with gardeners from different parts of the world and a wide range of experience has helped me to find ways to create videos that are interesting, informative, helpful, and easy to follow for a broad gardening audience. At least that’s what I strive to do. So really it’s just been about listening to feedback and giving my audience what they want. I often get 100 messages/questions a day on Instagram etc. and I take the time to read and reply to every singe one. It’s a lot of work put it’s important to me and I appreciate my audience.
Urban Farmstead That’s awesome! I was telling someone just recently that your videos are some of the most polished and well thought out garden videos I’ve ever seen. Keep up the great work Kyle and thank you for responding to questions!
Thank you Cam! I appreciate your support!
Wow! Nice garden!
Sara's Sweet Home thank you!
???? Very efficient method. I like your straightforward and easy instructions. I heard you mention removing suckers when using other trellises. Do you leave the suckers on when using the Florida Weave?
Thank you. Yes, I leave most of them, I mostly clean up the first few at the base of the plants.
How often do you irrigate throughout the season? I would like to know in detail...
I water two days a week in summer
Do you have to prune your tomatoes differently with this method as opposed to staking tomatoes?
Megan Dennis great question, I considered talking. About tomato pruning a bit in this video but because a lot of it is preference I didn’t want to muddy the water. But yes, this method requires little to no pruning/suckering. That said, it’s a good practice to at least remove lower suckers and leaves. With staking many people will keep them pruned to just one singe stem, or a few at most.
By pruning, are you referring to taking the success off?
Suzan Sultan talked about selectively removing suckers and lower leaves, yes.
I wonder if slicing a notch in the stake would help the string from slipping down.
You said that with the stake system you have to pinch out the growth. Do you not pinch out with the weave system?
correct
Question --- Why do you use a redwood post in the center, instead of just using another metal fence post?
Do you take out the posts every year to rework the beds of do you leave them?
i do, because i also rotate my crops.
Very nice!
Are you trimming any of the suckers on these Tomatoe plants or are you just letting the whole plants grow and keeping them all tucked in the FL weave?
i dont prune them much with this method
Hello, What staking method do you use for peppers? Have you tried this one?
A modified/lower version of this works well
nice! I know I am staking my slicer and cherry type tomatoes but am gonna try the Florida weave method on my sauce tomatoes this year :D Thanks for sharing :D
Kristine Leach great! It’s always a good idea to change things up a bit every season.
In california we weave the twine in between every other plant my roads are six hundred feet long and I let them get about seven feet tall I use drip and flat bed irrigation your way actually worse better but we're supposed to conserve water Make sure you grab your post ten deep enough have a good one And we used tomato twine by the big box.
Are you still growing tomatillo’s and if so how do you support them? I used a tomato cage last year and our plants grew 6 feet tall and several branches like a pepper plant that were 3 feet long each. This year I’m trying the Florida weave and so far I don’t like it. It bunches the plant up
I’ve used the Florida Weave a few times for my tomatillos ants that’s definitely what I prefer - you can see it used in my two summer garden tour videos. This year with the garden in transition I have one in a cage, one sprawling on the ground, one up a livestock panel and one in a Florida weave. The weave still works best for me.
So do you recommend not pruning out the suckers if you’re using this system or do we still need to do this?
Ben Robinson I recommend pruning out the first few lower suckers, then after that it’s mostly preference. I’ll probably not sucker this year.
I just watched your fence panel trellis video and thought that was a brilliant idea, but after watching this one, I think this system is going to work better for me and my garden set up. I built 4'x8'x12" raised garden beds and put a layer of hardware cloth in the bottom, followed by a layer of rock, followed by my soil mix. The hardware cloth to prevent digging pests (we have moles and voles and chipmunks something terrible here in pa) and the rock for drainage, our yard holds water like a cup, so it was necessary also. So driving a T-Post or rebar down inside of the bed won't go very far down and won't provide much support at all. But with this method, I can drive the t-posts down on the outsides of the bed and run the string between them. Plus, it's cheaper too! I still may use the fence post trellis idea, maybe for my raspberry bed instead. Loving your channel!
with your tomato plants, could you plant 1 row left of the posts and string and another row to the right on the post and string. so doubled up sort of. with a spacing of say 10 to 20 CM's. all in the one bed.
Christopher Walker I’ve read this a few times and still can’t figure out what you’re trying to describe, but I will say that the way I have this set up is pretty maxed out and I I added more they would be over crowded.
2 rows in 1 bed I think. If you zig zag them and keep up the pruning.
Raelene Elford I suppose you could if you wanted to do more work for less tomatoes 🤷🏻♂️
Very good info on tomato thanks. up looking the history of biochar for gardening Kenny from northern Kentucky
Do you run the tomato row North South or East West? Last year we did E/W, I think the tomatoes grew predominantly on the north side of the row. The south side was mostly leaves.
I'm going to try running rows North South this year.
Always north/south when possible
I notice you didnt weave between the plants but just from post to post. Do you feel this works just as well? Thanks for the informative video!
Although I have seen people weaving through the plants, this is the correct way to do it, and yes it works great. There would be no way to weave between them once the plants grow larger and begin growing together
I have a 4x4 raised bed do I need the middle post or can I get away without it. Also can I have the twine already set up or do I need to do it as the plant grows. Thank you
I am going to try this. Do you have to do a lot of pruning?
Great! No, with this method pruning is optional. I did very little and it worked great last year with these.
Do you not remove the suckers with this method? You hinted that you had to with other methods, but why not this one? I thought it helped with yield.
What is the purpose of the red wood in the middle or can use anything?
Isn't it necessary to lower your tomato plants in their height as they grow so they can be as big as possible? As you mentioned in the first technique (with the thread hanging down) you also hang the tomatoes down as they grow.. how does it work in the stake and string method? thank you!
The lowering process in “lower and lean” has some great advantages in the right situation but it’s not so much about growing larger tomatoes. How does what work in the Florida Weave method?
Hi, why didn't you alternate the weave side between EACH tomato plant? Thanks for your work!
because its not necessary, and by the time they are large they grow together so its not even possible then.
Great videos! Looks like the tomatoes are about 2’ apart?
In the row? I’m pretty sure I planted the 18” apart that year. That’s my typical spacing
@@urbanfarmstead ok thank you. Hard to tell on my screen. I’m starting it today. Break in the rain! (South San Jose)
This is great and I just set it up for my already overgrown tomatoes. The problem is that they're already taller than the wooden stakes... should I continue running string between the two end posts?
kathryn kevin without having all of the necessary information, my suggestion would be to add taller T-posts at the ends and continue to string. These are 8’ T-posts.
Clearest Florida weave explanation I've seen, I got 6' T posts any advice about top trimming?
Do you stop stringing the tomatoes after they reach the height of the wooden posts?
mmm70 no. I just skip the center post.
@@urbanfarmstead thank you. Just got the materials, crossing fingers.
mmm70 great!
What is the distance between each row and what is lining your your walkways?
Hi Kyle. Loving your knowledge! I'm learning so much.. I am wondering why do you have to prune the suckers when you stake them but not when you do the Florida weave? I always thought that pinching the suckers off was so that the plant would grow better and bigger and stronger? I am also wondering with the Florida weave do they fall sideways on each other? It looked like some of your tomatoes had a slender pole stake also. Can you explain when and why you do that with the Florida Weave?
tobenrn Hi, I’m so glad you’re enjoying my videos! You never “have to” prune suckers but with staking it definitely helps in a few ways. With Florida Weave it’s still recommend to remove the lower suckers and leaves. No they don’t really fall sideways on each other. The stakes are there as temporary supports before stringing them but they are not necessary.
@@urbanfarmstead thank you so much!
tobenrn you’re welcome!
How did this work with your tomatillos? I will definitely be trying this method this year. How far apart do you think the posts could be in a longer row?
It works great for the tomatillos. I would still place the T posts about every 10-12 feet
How far apart do you plant your tomatoes for the Florida weave method?
18”
Can you use the Florida weave system for beans?
no, not really.
Thanks so much for the advice!!
Lori Valmay you’re welcome!
Hi Kyle, do you pinch the suckers when yo do this method?
Hi! Only about 10% of them with this method
This is great! I couldn't find cages this year, so I just staked with bamboo and twine lol. For the middle piece, if we can't find redwood stakes, would another tee post work?
Thank you! Yes, the middle post is a “nice to have” but not essential
Hi Kyle ! Great clean videos. Have you decided whether you will do the cattle panel trellis for your tomatoes or the Florida weave this year? Do you prune the same for your indeterminates with all 4 methods? Or do you not prune? Thanks!
I’ll do this Florida Weave again this year. I only prune a bit in the beginning
Can you use t posts in the middle instead of wood post?
moe capitol auto Network yes, definitely! It’s not necessary but will work just fine.
As someone who hand waters (I only have 5 tomato plants) how often would you suggest watering them during this stretch of 100+ degree days, and are there any other additional steps you would take to prevent any damage from the heat?
Jordan Steffen it seems like a simple question but there are factors to consider such as soil composition, plant size, spacing organic v inorganic, regular irrigation schedule etc. I water ours twice a week always and will continue that this week even with out 109 temps.
Urban Farmstead thanks for the response. Mine are in planters, organic compost, about 7 ft tall, I’ve watered way more often than twice a week since the leaves wilt midday and the soil often feels dry. Maybe I’m overwatering, but I think I’m less worried about the heat this week causing any lasting harm knowing you’ll continue your regular watering schedule.
Jordan Steffen it’s definitely a good idea to give them extra water before/during a heatwave, but also important to understand that wilting on a hot afternoon if a normal reaction for many plants regardless of irrigation. This heat wave will suck either way though. Happy gardening.
I like this idea. Great video! I do have a question though.... How do you add height when your plants outgrow the center stake?
Wondering the same
Thinking about trying the lower and lean system in a raised flower bed we have. I see lots of clips out there but not all that say they grab the string like you have shown. What brand have you liked for this? Also, trellising solutions for tomatoes in pots? Thanks! Love your videos
Ali Reimer great! I get my clips and hooks from Johnnys Select Seeds but I’m not sure if they are selling to the public right now so I just added a link to the description for a different source for you. Also a have a highlight section on my Instagram with more information on how I set that up. Large custom cages or tied to a single post would be my recommendation for potted tomato plants.
Hi Kyle,
I'd watch this entire video if I could still grow tomatoes. We moved off grid 3 years ago and now live near zone 3A. We are in the mountains at a little higher elevation.
Hi! That sounds cool!
You're using a stake in the middle instead of a t-post to cut cost?
Good easy and good job thanks
Done the same way I used Cain/ bamboo I got 122 tomatoe plants most inexpensive way I found to do many as I have
Awesome!
So what do you do when the plants out grow the post in the middle?
Any answer for this? Should I get a taller red wood post?
@@TheMakled24 you add on more
My tomatoes get over 8 ft tall. I need to figure out how to wrangle them
Awesome! Mine do too. We’re fortunate to live in areas were tomatoes grow so well
@@urbanfarmstead agreed!! ☀️ 😎 🌱
Great method
Nice beds and an expensive and complex irrigation. Sometimes it seems more useful, when you just have a walk through your plants with open eyes. As you can see, your tomatoes need water (05:23). An irrigation with kink in the hose won´t work.
Thanks, Kyle. Does the Florida weave method mean you do not prune the tomatoes?
I see you answered this below. Prune suckers on the lower level of the plant. Thanks.
👍🏼
I’m interested in your pruning techniques of indeterminant tomatoes. You MUST have to prune half of your plants just to walk through your paths. I trim mine to one vine on a string, but would love an easier option.
I e pruned to a single stem with some trellises, but with this weave I only prune to clean up the base in the beginning, then very little to none after that
I have 2 questions, 1. How far apart did you space the 3 tomatoes in each sections? 2. are those indeterminate tomatoes?
whats the name of that red hammer? i cant see on the net.
T-post driver. I’ll add one to my Amazon list in the video description, but most landscaping stores and hardware stores here sell them.
How many people in your family? What do you do with all the extra produce? Just curious.😊
Thank you for another awesome video.
We do eat and preserve a lot for our family but also host a neighborhood farm stand where we share produce with the community on a donation only basis. I also work as a firefighter and bring some to the firehouse where I cook for 10 people. And I sometimes sell/trade to local restaurants. Needless to say, I’ll never have too much. Thank you for asking!
*Thank you very much for such a thorough video! I really appreciate you making this info available. The bottom of my garden beds have some type of metal grid panel attached to it (husband did that to protect from moles & gophers), so I'm not able to use the stakes and posts you show here. Do you have any alternatives in mind for how I could support my tomatoes? Do you think bamboo stakes would be strong enough? Thanks so much for any help!*
Z Hughes you’re very welcome! What type of “metal grid product”? if it’s a thin wire like chicken wire you could drive a post right through it.
Art and Bri you-tube used Big bamboo and made an a-frame structure to hold a cross beam to tie string from to trellis their tomatoes. Might look at theirs to get ideas. You could set up wooden raised beds and attach trellis to the wood, using arched cattle panels, big wire cages, tepees, a frames, or other supports. Could use cement blocks for your borders and use cement to hold supports uptight from the holes in the blocks. these could be pvc or some kind of pipe that your trellis supports would slide into making them removable or the supports themselves if you don't want to remove them.