For your Too Tall Tomatoes: They are not getting enough light. You said "They are shooting up quickly, but there are only 1 or 2 tiny bud clusters that didn't start til about 4ft from the ground". Sounds like tall, spindly plants that are light starved. I've grown most the varieties you mentioned. They should be much more bushy and have multiple flower clusters starting a foot off the ground. You also said there are "trees shading them starting around 1pm". Tomatoes need 6 hours of mid-day sun to produce well. I'm sorry to say that you will probably get very little (if any) fruit with only morning sun. You may want to consider relocating your garden or growing plants that are more tolerant of low light (leafy greens, herbs, etc).

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Well, if you have tall, skinny tomatoes, just bury them up to their leaves and they will be fine. Wait until they have their second pair of true leaves, then either plant them in the garden, or bump them up to a bigger pot. Lay them in a shallow trench, and bury them up to their bottom leaves. Water well, and that is all there is to it. The tomato will make roots down the length of the buried stem, and will have a much better root system. This is the way I plant all my tomatoes, even those I have purchased. Best of luck. Janie

Nice plants! If you want to add some extra support, you could buy some 8 foot sections of 1/2" thick rebar and drive one next to each plant to use as a stake. They need to be driven at least a foot into the ground to remain stable. Just get some twine or nylon string and loosely tie the escaping branches to the rebar, and you should be able to get a few extra feet of vertical growth before they flop back over. I think that would be the least intrusive way to add support to your plants at this stage if you choose to do so. Happy Gardening! Michael