How to Stake and Cage Tomato Plants, According to Martha’s Head Gardener

Of all the vegetables you can grow in your garden, tomatoes are the quintessential crop. During summer, no other vegetable is grown as widely by gardeners for consumption than the tomato. Aside from its delicious taste and range of culinary uses, tomatoes are a popular summer crop because they love and need the heat to grow and thrive. 

On the farm, I grow more than 100 tomato plants during summer, many of which were grown from seed right in Martha’s greenhouse. One of the most important things to do as you care for your own tomato plants throughout the season is to stake them. Staking helps to control and direct the growth of the plant and keep it to a manageable size, which in turn leads to a better harvest. What’s more, staked tomatoes have fruit that doesn’t touch the ground, so it’s easier to reach and is less susceptible to animals, insects, and rotting. Staking also helps to keep diseases in check, allowing for better air circulation and water distribution.

Here are some of my best tips to keep in mind when it comes to staking and caging your tomatoes so you can ensure a delicious harvest. 

Know the Type of Tomato Plants You’re Growing 

There are many different types of tomatoes, including those used for canning, snacking, saucing, etc. However, pretty much all tomatoes can be divided into two groups: determinate and indeterminate. These categories are based on how large a tomato plant grows, as well as when and how it will produce its fruit. While you should stake both types of tomatoes, the size of the support will vary depending on if you’re growing determinate or indeterminate tomatoes. 

Determinate Tomatoes

Determinate tomatoes are more compact than indeterminate. These plants grow to about 3 to 4 feet tall in a controlled manner, and then set a lot of fruit all at once. You’ll continue to get sporadic fruiting, but most of the fruit grows within a short window of time. This is particularly true and useful for paste or sauce tomatoes. 

Determinate tomato varieties will grow fine with a simple old-school tomato cage, or even when tied to a single support stake. These supports don’t even have to be that tall, just a few feet to hold the plant up and off the ground will suffice. 

Indeterminate Tomatoes

Indeterminate tomatoes will continue to grow and produce fruit all season long until they are killed by frost. They are the wild and vining type of plants, growing about 5 to 8 feet tall, sometimes more in a more natural, uncontrolled manner. Indeterminate tomatoes fruit less at one time, but produce continually all season long for a more evenly spread out harvest. 

Indeterminate tomatoes definitely need the support of stakes, otherwise they will sprawl all over the ground, which makes the fruit more difficult to harvest and diminishes its overall quality. 

Stake Your Tomato Plants Early 

Install part or all of the support system for your tomatoes before or right after they’re planted. Don’t wait until they need it because this window is small and the plants grow faster and larger than you realize. At the farm, we actually already have the stakes and system installed before any tomatoes are planted, that way all we have to do is prune and tie as the plant grows. 

Use Bamboo and Twine for Staking

There are a plethora of materials you can use for staking tomatoes. The one you choose will be determined by a few factors: the varieties of tomatoes you’re growing, what materials are available to you, cost, ease of installation, and personal preference. At the farm, we usually use bamboo and twine.

We typically plant two long, parallel rows of tomato plants per bed, making sure all the plants are equally spaced. One bamboo stake is pounded into the ground next to each tomato plant.  Each stake is pushed about 12 inches into the ground for maximum stability. The stakes are pounded into the ground at an angle, so they touch each other in the center of the bed.

We then add two stakes at the end of each bed so they’re in the middle of the two rows of tomato plants. Next, we tie twine to each of the end center stakes and run it along the length of the bed to ensure the stakes are all centered perfectly. We then tie the top of the two touching stakes together to make a triangle shape when viewed from the side. We do the same all the way down the row. 

Finally, a piece of bamboo is placed horizontally in a line down the entire row of stakes and fastened with jute twine. We then repeat this on the other row. To ensure everything is well supported, we use extra twine as needed down the rows. 

Prune Staked Tomato Plants Often

Pruning staked tomato plants often is a necessity. Tomatoes grow fast—once they take off in the heat of summer they grow quickly. Aim to check your tomato plants weekly to see if they need to be pruned and prune them about every two to four weeks based on their growth rates. 

The general method is to pinch or prune out suckers (the sprouts that occur in the axils between the branches). Additionally, you need to prune out all of the wayward and overgrown branches and sprouts that the plants produce to help control the size and the shape of the plant. 

You can also cut off the unproductive and unnecessary leaves to help clean up the plant and keep potential diseases in check. This is especially true of all of the lower leaves on the plant—usually all the leaves from the bottom one-quarter to one-third of the plant can be removed, which will keep the plant healthier. 

Use Cages Where Necessary 

While staking is Martha’s preferred way to support tomato plants, caging is an old-school method that works well for determinate tomatoes. Simply stick the cage over a growing tomato plant and push it into the ground to the desired level. Install the cage when the tomato plants are small. 

I usually like to put the cages on immediately after I plant the small tomato seedlings, as it is extremely difficult to get a cage over a larger plant without breaking it. Once the cage is over the plant, there is little you have to do other than prune out wayward or too tall branches and not let the inside of the cage get too stuffed with leaves and block air circulation.