Supporting outdoor toms

[w33blegurl]

This is my first year growing big tomatoes (as in non-cherry-bush) and although I have millions of (green) tomatoes the stalks are all breaking under the weight of the fruit! I have them in builders buckets and had a cane in the bucket and tied the toms in to the cane....This really has not been enough. Partly because the plum tomatoes all grew as tall bushes no matter how many side shoots I nipped out and there is just loads of growth.

So...my questions i how do you support your outdoor tomatoes so that I may steal some ideas for next year?

Cheers!

[Shadylane]

I didn't - and they fell over - then they got blight. Next year I won't be doing outdoor toms. Or any other year for that matter.

How about two poles joined with string/wire/another pole, then tie string to the vines and branches pulling them upwards and tie to the top horizontal pole/wire.

[BumbleB]

I know what you mean. I have mostly kept to cherry toms but the larger plants that I have I have devised different methods depending where they are. For those planted in the ground I have rigged up a mini bean structure, similar as for runner beans. For the plants in buckets these are at the side of a fence and I have rigged up strong string from the top of the fence. I think that the weight of plants needs something stronger than a cane.