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Cottage Gardens

Steven... sprial tomato poles???

15 years ago

Hi Steven, I remember that you used the growing spirals for your tomatoes last year. Can you give some feed back on how they worked for you. I know you grow indeterminate tomatoes, and they get sooo darn heavy. Did the spirals stay upright through the summer? How deep do your's go into the ground?

Anyone else care to give feedback on the spiral tomato poles?

Thanks,

MeMo

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Comments (7)

kailleanm
15 years ago
I am using them this year for the first time. So far, so good - and they sure look nice!

I have both determinate and indeterminate varieties. My plants are all about 3' high right now with good sturdy stalks. I sank the stakes into the ground about 12-14" I'd guess. The tomatoes are tiny yet, but so far they seem to be bearing the weight well.
debbieca
15 years ago
I am not Steven but I am using them for the second year. Last year I had determinate plants though. This year I have indeterminate and so far so good. I have a grape Roma type tomato and a big boy type and they both are producing. Both vines are at the top of the spiral so I do not know what to expect next.
I really liked the ease of getting the plant off the support last year!
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Steveningen
15 years ago
Hi MeMo! I use mine in conjunction with sturdy cages. Those inderterminates do well until they start spilling out the top of the cage. Using these spirals acts as a central spine and allows the plant to get girth and height without squashing the fruit below. My plants are unbelievably fruitful this year and I think I'll be in serious harvest mode by July 4th holiday.

BLT! BLT! BLT!
lorna-organic
15 years ago
Spiral poles are being sold at heirloom.com I can't remember whether they are $7 or $7.99. Lorna
memo3
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks a lot for your feedback, everyone. I have been eyeing the spiral poles for a couple of years but then I would look out the window and see my plants all laying over on the ground while in the sturdy cages. I tried several types of cages and the same thing happened with each of them. I just couldn't picture a single pole holding everything upright, especially when they were heavy with fruit. So I think I'll get a couple based on your good luck with them and see how it goes. Thanks!

MeMo
natal
15 years ago
How tall are the spiral poles? I used 5' tall cages for years, but got tired of the rusted, bent frames. Started using 8' poles (plastic-coated metal) a few years ago. Only problem is the Sun Gold cherry tomatoes grow 9-10 feet tall and tying them to the pole means climbing a ladder, then climbing again to harvest. That's getting old.

This year I put one of my old obelisks in the garden and planted one Sun Gold inside of it. It's sort of taken on it's own vining form and I'm thinking that may be the way to go in the future for those tall plants. Plus, it looks nice in the garden. The 8' poles work fine for all the other tomato plants.
memo3
Original Author
15 years ago
Bump!

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