Tomato frame success

[snohare]

Hmm, I know just where to get the wood to make a nice wee frame like that...it'll match the "goalposts" frame I am planning to build for my runners next years just braw !
(I've never successfully grown a tomato yet. This year I came close - if I'd had this frame up against my house, I reckon I might have gotten more than just flowers.)

[singleseeder]

This looks a brilliant idea and I will give it a try.

One question please - I am not clear whether or not the polythene rests on the leaves of the tomato plant at any point - if so does this cause any problems? (Is that two questions?)

Could you protect the sides and front for the first few weeks after planting out? (Sorry another question)

[zazen999]

This looks a brilliant idea and I will give it a try.

One question please - I am not clear whether or not the polythene rests on the leaves of the tomato plant at any point - if so does this cause any problems? (Is that two questions?)

Could you protect the sides and front for the first few weeks after planting out? (Sorry another question)

I'll draw a pic - the polythene doesn't touch the leaves and the plants are covered from planting through to final harvesting. Hang on, I'm just about to have my dinner....

[VirginVegGrower]

This looks good Zazen and I will experiment with this next year - any chance you could post some pics please or I could bring the coffee over and take notes

[zazen999]

Blue pipes go over the whole thing - purple represents the poly.

[singleseeder]

Perfectly clear now, I imagined the polythene laying on the strings. Thanks

Roll on next year.

[zazen999]

I actually saw a frame today in the garden centre at work that would do the job perfectly, if I see one on offer I might get it and try it out.

[donnakebab]

Bumping this as I've posted a thread about growing toms on a blight prone sight. This looks like the answer.

Zaz is it just the one row of plants or can you have two rows in a sort of A frame configuration with the two rows meeting at the top under a tunnel of polythene. Or is it better to have other plants growing under the toms on the other side of the tunnel.

I'm so excited about this idea and as I'm not very tall might try making it between 4 and 5 feet high.

[Kaiya]

I'm growing mostly bush tomatoes this year (since inexplicably I appear to have 200 seeds of them) - I'm thinking I could make something about 4' tall for them, no staking. I won't be able to do the watering from the outside though, but perhaps some strategically placed sunken bottles would work.

[zazen999]

Bumping this as I've posted a thread about growing toms on a blight prone sight. This looks like the answer.

Zaz is it just the one row of plants or can you have two rows in a sort of A frame configuration with the two rows meeting at the top under a tunnel of polythene. Or is it better to have other plants growing under the toms on the other side of the tunnel.

I'm so excited about this idea and as I'm not very tall might try making it between 4 and 5 feet high.

I had one row but that was to grow underneath. But this year I am doing something slightly different. I am growing straight in the ground, with no frames at all [not even on vines] and just making sure that when I plant the plants, they are almost horizontal with the root ball at the side of the bed and the top of the plants pointing into the middle. Then I'll cloche leaving 6 inches at the sides of the beds open to the elements [so that just the foliage is cloched] and then I can feed and water them without removing the cloche.

[donnakebab]

Ok. I think I'll just go with the original plan which excited me.

What you just said was gobbledigook to me. It sounds like the vines will be lying on the ground and the cloche will be about 12 inches high which I'm sure is wrong.

I have to walk before I can run after all.

[zazen999]

Well, think of it as being like the frame you mentioned, without the frame. So yes - lying on the ground. It's just that I grew vine toms in the ground with no frame at a place in Coventry last year and got more toms from 4 plants than the whole of my greenhouse collection.

[Bigmallly]

I had one row but that was to grow underneath. But this year I am doing something slightly different. I am growing straight in the ground, with no frames at all [not even on vines] and just making sure that when I plant the plants, they are almost horizontal with the root ball at the side of the bed and the top of the plants pointing into the middle. Then I'll cloche leaving 6 inches at the sides of the beds open to the elements [so that just the foliage is cloched] and then I can feed and water them without removing the cloche.

Am I right in thinking that the toms will just be laid on the ground or do you put straw or something underneath when they flower as you would strawberries. Just trying to get my head round it.

[zazen999]

Straw, grass, cardboard - just to stop the slugs from munching them.

If you look at the pic, which is my mulch pic - in the bottom you can see my tomatoes grown 'on the ground' - they just rambled and the only issues were some were eaten by slugs and during late sept the plants got blight. But I got absolutely tons from these 4 plants.

[Bigmallly]

Cheers Zaz, just as I imagined.