I have never trellised tomato plants before and wanted to order some of those special plastic clips made specifically for that purpose. Frugal me was asking myself what cheaper alternative can I use instead and it came to me, plastic shower curtain hooks. I'm trying to train my plants on fence panels so it is working well however if I were using string I'm sure I could make that work too.
Planting Plastic Clips For Tomato Trellis
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SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I save old towels, t-shirts, and bed sheets just to rip up for this purpose. Old pantyhose works well, too.
Martinhouse
Deceased
I take apart the old multicolored rag rugs whose threads rot across the rug but the long knit-fabric strips hold up a long time. Those long strips are already folded and nice and soft, and never cause the stem of any plant to crimp over like fine cord can do. They are really easy to untie and use year after year. I hang them out in the sun and weather for at least a month after I clean up the dead plants in the fall, in case there are any germs lurking on them from any plant diseases.
EDIT: The newer rugs of this type use a lot of strips of papery non-woven fabric. Those work just as well as the fabric ties, but usually last only a couple of years.
EDIT: The newer rugs of this type use a lot of strips of papery non-woven fabric. Those work just as well as the fabric ties, but usually last only a couple of years.
ioujc
MARANTHA!! Even so, come LORD JESUS!!!
I have used baling string left from the bales of hay....one year, I tied one end to the tomato several inches from the base, and several other times further along the stem. These strings were tied to the cattle panels arched over the beds from growing pole beans the year before.
SURPRIZED me and worked better than any other support system I have ever used!!
SURPRIZED me and worked better than any other support system I have ever used!!
Raggedyman
Res ipsa loquitur
bailing twine and hog panels . . . or alternatively if you're only doing a few plants or don't feel like wrestling 16' lengths of hog panel, 5" X 6' U posts are great https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-...Coated-Steel-Garden-Fence-U-post-Post/4780967 . . . holes for your bailing twine are pre-drilled and they last forever . . . whats not to like?
Babs
Veteran Member
I purchased this plant ribbon recently. It non-sticky, stretchy and perfect for tying tomatoes to a trellis.
briches
Veteran Member
Hubby has to build his tomato cages and panels. He uses the clips you can buy as well as string. I found some clips for him from the dollar tree this year early in the season (round and green similar to a clothespin but round). They also make tomato clips. He prefers clips over string due to time and longevity.
His tomato plants last year were taller than our roof. I’ve never seen anything like it.
His tomato plants last year were taller than our roof. I’ve never seen anything like it.
AppleJacks
Contributing Member
Why did you not keep doing it then? What happened that caused this to only be a "one year" thing?
Thank you
I use this type of clip. They are out of stock right now but there are a ton of others on Amazon. They can be reused but eventually break down if you leave them on the trellis year round. They are the quickest and most convenient for me...pretty sure I've tried them all. I go through a few hundred a year because I use them on everything. For really big plants that need support, I like the rubber coated wire from Dollar Tree but you have to get it early. I also reuse it. Those little clips have a neat feature...where they hinge on the bottom of the clip, you can slip string or cord into the hinge part and it holds it securely when you close it.