Tomato Plant Fell over - leave it alone?

16 years ago

I have a CP plant that fell /flopped over........

Should i leave it alone? Is this because of the weight of the fruit?

the string i used to tie it up is still holding, Should i just leave it alone? Do i need to stand it back up and re-support it?

thanks

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Comments (4)

phantom_white
16 years ago
I would try and get it back up; I'm having terrible problems with mine because I didn't stake/cage them like I should have. Now they're totally out of control. It's hard to get down on the ground and search through the mass of vines and stems for all the ripe tomatoes. I gave up on mine because there's really nothing I can do now, but you should try and fix the problem ASAP.

Abby
digdirt2
16 years ago
Yes, it's the weight of the fruit. Happens to all of us but it sounds like more support was needed. ;) One reason why I prefer the uniform support of cages rather than stakes or strings.

If you can get it back up onto your supports without breaking any major stems I'd sure give it a try. If not and if there is room to let it sprawl it will probably do ok and you can either put some mulch under the main branches or prop them up on something for some support. Many grow all their tomatoes that way.

As an alternative, can you put extra stakes around it and tie off at least the major branches to them to keep the majority of the fruit off the ground?

Good luck. I'm sure you'd hate to lose it now after all your work. ;)

Dave
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windclimber
16 years ago
Agree with Phantom and dig.
Might take a helper to lift the plant up very gently and then you plunge an 8' stake about 6-10" away from the stalk. (it helps to do this after a good deep watering.)
Tie the main stalk off low then work your way up. The helper will have to hold it until all the way to the top or the branches could fold over and break or become damaged.

Good Luck
Tom
goggomobil
16 years ago
I think it's important to keep in mind that every time the plant stalk is flexed, the chances of setting back the growth of the plant is increased. I would definitely try to have an assistant on hand to help stand it back up. If there is a kink in the plant's stalk, the potential growth setback is even greater. Try to tie the stalk gently but firmly above and below the kink with something elastic, like a nylon stocking. Handle the plant like you are setting a broken bone; don't move it around any more than is necessary. Also, don't ram a stake too close to the base of the plant's stalk... I'd shoot the stake in at least 2 inches away.

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Tomato Plant Fell over - leave it alone?

Comments (4)

phantom_white

digdirt2

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windclimber

goggomobil

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