My tomato support system has collapsed!

[Nes]

Went into the GH a little earlier to find all my tomato plants in a tangled mess on the floor . Have tried to resurrect them, but have knocked lots of toms off, and at least one main stem has split . Will try again later to finish the job off if baby will go to sleep. Am gutted, as it's my first year of having a GH and I was getting enough toms out of it for lunch every day, and loads more to come. My own fault for using string . Thought it'd be strong enough, not realizing how heavy some of the plants would get!

[Bigmallly]

If it is of any help Nes, some of my toms have fallen off the plants, I have just put them in a cardboard box in the GH & they are ripening faster than the ones still on the plants........bizzare.

[zazen999]

This late in the season, I'd slide some cardboard flattened out and leave them to it to be honest; you'll likely do just as much damage putting them back up as they made themselves falling over.

[crazii_c]

ive had problems with my tom supports too. mine are in large pots with 3 canes to support them, and they've slowly tilted further and further to one side. went to straighten them up and managed to snap the main stem on one i should have just left them!

[Dottie]

I've only got 4 outdoor tom plants on my plot, but all of them ended up on the ground. So I the other day I gently lifted sections that have toms on, onto 1' wire cages (I've collected last year about 10 hamster type cages to protect seedlings). 1 plant that is doing really well, has about 5 cages holding the toms off the ground.

I'm hoping the cages will reduce the risk of blight setting in, as it means there is lots of airflow under the toms. They looked happy enough today when I popped down to pick some blackberries.

So don't worry or beat yourself up too much, as mine have survived and doing really well without much help from me all season, other than the new addition of wire cages. Plus you have the advantage of them been in the greenhouse, so they'll be ready for eating before you know it.

Just remembered, I've got 5 green toms sitting on my sitting room window sill, 3 I knocked off when lifting them onto the cages and 2 must have snapped off when they slipped from the support cane. I don't see these as failures, but a little indoor ripening treat to check on at home.

[snakeshack]

stick green toms in a drawer with a ripe apple or banana the ethylene gas given off ripens them quicker.
bromeliad plants like tillisandra (urn plants)which you buy from a garden centre as houseplants with the huge long lasting flowers can also be persuaded bythe same sort of trick as can pineapple tops that have been grown on.
If you put the whole plant pot an' all into a large clear plastic bag on the windowcill for a week with a ripe red apple inside it will initiate flowering.

[nomis]

They will be fine on the floor, they just dont LOOK GOOD down there.

As someone said above, slide some cardboard underneath to stop them getting damp.

This has happened to me before, and trying to put them back usually causes even more damage.

Floor Toms are COOL

[gojiberry]

Mine collapsed as well. I just didn't put enough ties on the stems, been so long since I have had such a heavy crop. I have had toms falling off, tomatoes rotting on the plant and also blight. Have still had more tomatoes than I know what to do with.

Ian

[Gemmalaveen]

If they are too green to ripen you could convert them into chutney or make a green tomato curry... delicious and a very different taste experience!