If you want top-quality tomatoes, use stakes, cages or other systems to keep the fruit off the ground, advises James A. Fizzell, horticulturist for the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service in Cook County.
Major advantages are cleaner tomatoes, less soil rot and greater exposure to sunlight, Fizzell says, and you`ll also find the tomatoes easier to spray and pick.
Here are some other tips:
The most common method of training tomato plants is to set a stake beside each plant. The stake should be about 6 feet long and 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Drive it into the ground at least 10 inches.
When plants are 12 to 15 inches high, remove all but one main stem and tie it loosely to the stake with soft twine or cloth. As the plant grows, remove shoots or ``suckers`` that develop between the main stem and the leaves, up to the first fruit cluster. Above the first fruit cluster, let the shoots develop two leaves, then pinch off the tips. Tie the plant loosely to the stake every 10 to 12 inches.
Perhaps the easiest way to train tomatoes is to plant them in a cage. You can make an ideal cage from concrete reinforcing wire. It is rigid, and the 6- inch holes are large enough to get most of the ripe tomatoes through.
You can make a cage about 2 feet in diameter and 5 feet high with a 6-foot length of reinforcing wire. Set the cage over the plant and anchor it with a steel post or a stake to keep it from tipping over. Mulch around the plant with straw.
A vigorous plant will grow up and over the top of the cage, and you won`t need to prune. -