Quote:
Originally Posted by vash
i hate those cages. seems most branches end up not supported anyways. until it comes time to dispose of the plant. then they seem securely supported and tangled.
i had a few unbroken cages, and stuffed them over my ROMAS. the rest, are unbridled. will stakes work? with the cool weather, they are growing so slow anyways.
how does a tomato farm do it? they cant be staking a billion plants, can they?
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They grow determinant plants that have been bred to resist fungus and disease, ripen at the same time, and "travel" well.
You presumably want to grow tomatoes that taste good. You need to keep the vines up off the ground so air can circulate and keep the vines dry. Hot wet conditions promote the growth of all kinds of fungi and diseases. Romas aren't particularly resistant to anything, so they need to be kept dry.
I followed a tomato truck on the way to the Campbell's plant in northern Ohio once when a tomato fell off the truck, hit the road, and bounced clear up over my car. That's the kind of thing they breed commercial tomatoes to do.