Tomato Staking

I am often asked what method I use for staking my tomato plants.  Well, over the years I have used cages, wooden post, and all the fancy tomato stake’s sold at  garden centers.  What I have found to be the best method is actually using ½ inch rebar.  This may not seem like the cheapest method at first, but in the long run it really is, because they last forever.

What I like about the ½ inch rebar is that it will last a life time.  The rebar is very durable, and easy to clean/ disinfect if needed.  Wooden stakes eventually rot and require more maintenance.

Another great thing about the rebar is, that they pound into the ground much easier.  This is much appreciated particularly if you have a ton of stakes to pound.

I bought some ½ inch rebar at Home Depot in 10 foot lengths for about $5.00 a piece.  If you are requiring a lot of stakes, I recommend calling around to some steel companies. Also try contacting some local contractors, maybe a stone mason to find out where you can purchase a large amount, and have delivered to your place.  Typically they come in 20 foot long sections and most companies will cut them to your desired length.  The cost will be significantly less buying them this way, and usually the more you buy the lower the cost.  It would be worth getting others involved as a group order to lower the cost even more.

The 10 foot length I found is a good size for my indeterminate plants, but for the determinate ones shorter stakes would be more efficient.  I space out my rebar maybe every 5 ft or so the entire length of a row.  At both ends of the row- which would be the very first and very last piece of rebar- I make sure are anchored securely so that they do not sag in toward the middle of the row.  Each rebar stake is connected to the next with string, rope or wire.  As the plants grow I clip them to the line with tomato trellis clips.  I repeat this process until I get to my desired height I want to keep my plants pruned at.

I highly recommend these tomato clips.  They are very easy to use and reuse every season.  I would make sure to disinfect them each year to be safe, by soaking the clips in some hot water and bleach.

I bought these handy tomato trellis clips at Johnny's Select Seed

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/search.aspx?SearchTerm=tomato+clips

Yes there are several other tomato staking methods, some which may even actually work better for you; I just found that this method works great for me.  I have seen more efficient ways of staking- particularly in High Tunnel production where String is suspend from above and anchored to the ground, but I wouldn't think that this would work great for field production.

So if you are considering different ways to stake your tomato plants this year, perhaps you will consider using 1/2 rebar.  You may have to eventually buy more rebar as you decide to grow more, but should never have to replace the rebar.