Organic Vegetable Garden - Tomato Stakes

Now is the time and I always stake my tomatoes. I used to use hard wood stakes but the problem  was that they weren't tall enough, and sometimes they broke. So last year I decided to go with the green metal stakes. I was worried they might get too hot and hurt the plants, but since that didn't happen, this is year two with metal stakes. They are the 5 foot ones. I use old fabric or any fabric I have that has a stretch to it to do my tie ups. I cut it in long strips, approximately 1/2 inch wide and when I am tying them, I just cut them off as I go.

I usually tie them about every 12 to 18 inches and near the top. That way the plant can get tall, have a good sturdy stake, and if they get taller than the top of the stake they can gently bow down.

I make sure that I keep the grass clipping mulch under and around the plants so they don't dry out and so that rain can not splash from the dirt upwards toward the plant which can also cause early blight. When I water my tomato plants I never spray or splash them. I only soak the soil down around the base so water doesn't splash around. In the event that all my precautions don't do the trick, I cut off and dispose of all infected leaves away from the garden in those early weeks.

Sometimes people say to me that gardening is too much work with all the weeding. Well, if you use grass clippings to mulch you don't have many weeds at all. I just go through the garden each day and pull a weed here and there to keep up with the few weeds that do manage to grow.

There are baby cherry tomatoes set already and I can hardly wait!!
Happy gardening!