There are many reasons why we stake tomato plants. Staking helps support the heavy tomatoes so they are suspended in the air and not laying on the ground, which would cause the tomatoes to rot, staking tomato plants also keeps the plants growing upward so they do not sprawl out of control. It has been shown that staked tomato plants produce larger tomatoes and they ripen earlier.

Tomato plants are one of the most popular addition to our vegetable gardens, they are also easy to grow and can be grown anywhere, even in a pot or upside down.

There are several methods for staking tomatoes

1. Tomato Stakes

2. Tomato Cages

3. Tomato Trellis

4. Tomato Stringing

Staking tomatoes is quite simple. Tomato stakes are made of metal, wood, plastic or even bamboo and are pushed into the ground to support plants.

Tomato cages are probably the most popular way to stake tomatoes. They are a functional and attractive addition to your vegetable garden. Cages are pushed into the ground around your existing plants. By using tomato cages, you do not have to prune your plants.

A tomato trellis can take many forms from a singular stake to grids to spirals, from simple to elaborate. Plants are "trained" to grow up instead of sprawling out. Using a trellis requires less space than that of stakes and cages.

Tomato stringing is a fairly new method and involves tying the base of the tomato plant to an overhead bar. The tomato plant is trained to grow up the string and like the trellis requires less space than that of other conventional methods. Clean up in the fall is much easier as well.

Which ever method you choose to stake your tomatoes, in order to have a easy and fun gardening experience, staking your tomatoes is a must.