Don't let your tomato plants become unruly. Tomato plants here need training to produce the best fruit in our hot, dry environment.
Unlike their Northern counterparts, desert tomatoes cannot afford the luxury of sprawling all over the ground, free and uncontrolled.
Yes, it may be true that sprawling and spreading tomatoes are more productive. Yields per bush can be considerably higher, but lying around on the ground is risky business in desert gardens. Tomatoes are exposed to a number of soil-inhabiting insects and diseases that can attack and rot the fruit. Most important, fruits sprawling out in the sun are exposed to intense heat, sunburn and blossom-end rot — major problems in desert gardens.
The correct way to grow tomatoes in our harsh climate is with training and discipline. All tomatoes, regardless of the type or variety, should be made to grow tall and upright, in cages or on stakes.
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Caging may be easiest, but many of the tomato cages sold in the garden, hardware and home-supply stores are too small for tomatoes that can reach 4 feet or more in size and spread. Choose the largest and sturdiest cages available. Or you can make your own using sections of fencing, rolled to create a cylinder in which the tomatoes can grow. Use stakes to hold the cages in place. The alternative to caging is to train tomatoes on stakes.
When staking, secure the main stems of the tomato plant to a pole that is placed close to the plant's base. The stake should be thick enough and long enough to hold a large 4-foot-plus plant, with a heavy load of tomatoes, in place. Stakes that are 1-by-2 inches work well, as do the larger wooden poles sold for and used to stake young trees. If you're staking a tomato plant that's been growing for several weeks, use the smaller 1-by-2-inch stake and drive it into the ground a few inches from the base of the plant. This will minimize root damage.
Tie the main stem of the tomato to the stake using plant ties. I prefer Velco plant ties because they're strong, resistant to the damaging effects of UV light and can be reused year after year. To prevent the stem from being constricted by the tie, make it secure, but not tight, around the stem. As the tomato plant grows, attach the stem farther up with additional ties.
Staked tomatoes grown in milder climates are often pruned to remove suckering shoots that grow from the main stem. Do not remove suckering shoots here. The suckers are needed to produce extra leaves for shading to prevent sunburn of the fruit. Some of these suckers may reach sizes similar to the main stem. Additional stakes should be placed around the plant to tie and support them, too.
The great advantage of staking tomatoes is conservation of space. Fruits are larger and easier to pick; however, there are fewer fruits than with sprawling or caging. Staking works best on vining types of tomatoes.
Growing tomatoes in cages may be the best compromise between letting your plants run free or staking them tightly. All varieties are suitable for caging. Yields are nearly as great as if plants are allowed to sprawl, and fruit ripens the best in hot weather, a distinct advantage in desert gardening.
● John P. Begeman is the urban horticulture agent for the University of Arizona-Pima County Extension. If you have questions, call 626-5161 to reach a master gardener.
Gardening
Advice by John P. Begeman