I grow mine outside in what can be a blustery garden in Norfolk - I use big plastic pots the size of large buckets, and a bamboo cane and soft twine. I've grown all types, usually cordons, including large Russians and Marmandes as well as Sungold and large plum tomatoes.
They've withstood all sorts of conditions - if there's a very strong wind forecast I move them up close to the fence and occasionally have been known to put a loop of twine around the top of the cane and fix it to the fence so the pots don't blow over.
I think you're right Steve, in that it's the selection of pots that's important - plenty of depth gives stability to the cane and the plant roots.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
hi steve the gardening vet the way for me is allways 6ftcanes 2 in each pot when the plant grows tie them to canes .. I have a wooden g /house and at top of frame I put staples in and put string through and tie to cane to take the strain from the weight of toms sometimes I tie the trusses to string to hold up fruit as some times the weight at top of plant pulls down and snap ..as it happens I tied 2 strings the lenth of g /h and pull tight to stop any plants falling forward this morning ps lots of above work but I find what works for you is best and stick to it I have used this way for years and works for me ..
I use the biggest pots I can find , but try to avoid the ones going too narrow . I use several canes , I tie the plants to them .
Then all around the greenhouse sides I fix garden wire , like a clothes line the canes attached to these. The wire supports melons ,and cucs.when I use the pots from Morrison's I put four half inch holes .also the odd hole an inch from the base. This allows plenty drainage but enough holding power so they don't dry out.
Sometimes I have put a short cane I.n to .the compost to protrude vertically ,I tie the string to this . The string does not rot
In the conservatory (I don't have a greenhouse) I use growbags on plastic trays, with ring pots to increase the depth of soil around the plants for the roots. I tie rot resistant twine in a big loop under the tray and up the sides of the ring pot knotting it about 6" above the top of the ring pot, and then running it straight up to a wooden frame I constructed for the purpose. As the plants grow, gently wind them around the twine and they seem to stay in place just fine.
I did try pegging the twine into the soil, but like you I found it rotted, the big loop around the bottom of the trays (or pots) is working fine so far though (and worked a couple of years ago before I tried pegging)
I have far too many this year and have transferred loads of spare plants in pots (which B&Q sell as tomato pots but I suspect are a bit small) to the garden where I have built up cane based supports as described by others already. The row between the garage and the clothes line post is fully exposed to wind, I screwed a spare 2x1" (oversized) arris rail left over from a fencing project to the garage and square lashed it to the post - it forms a sturdy ridge to tie the tops of the canes to - so far none of those have fallen over in the strong winds I will remember this summer for!
Don't try to wind the plants around the canes (maybe if they are very spindly), it seems much safer to use soft ties (or similar) to support the plants against canes.
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Lou, where do those clips come from, they look very nifty?
I grow mine outside in what can be a blustery garden in Norfolk - I use big plastic pots the size of large buckets, and a bamboo cane and soft twine. I've grown all types, usually cordons, including large Russians and Marmandes as well as Sungold and large plum tomatoes.
They've withstood all sorts of conditions - if there's a very strong wind forecast I move them up close to the fence and occasionally have been known to put a loop of twine around the top of the cane and fix it to the fence so the pots don't blow over.
I think you're right Steve, in that it's the selection of pots that's important - plenty of depth gives stability to the cane and the plant roots.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
hi steve the gardening vet the way for me is allways 6ftcanes 2 in each pot when the plant grows tie them to canes .. I have a wooden g /house and at top of frame I put staples in and put string through and tie to cane to take the strain from the weight of toms sometimes I tie the trusses to string to hold up fruit as some times the weight at top of plant pulls down and snap ..as it happens I tied 2 strings the lenth of g /h and pull tight to stop any plants falling forward this morning ps lots of above work but I find what works for you is best and stick to it I have used this way for years and works for me
..
I use the biggest pots I can find , but try to avoid the ones going too narrow . I use several canes , I tie the plants to them .
Then all around the greenhouse sides I fix garden wire , like a clothes line the canes attached to these. The wire supports melons ,and cucs.when I use the pots from Morrison's I put four half inch holes .also the odd hole an inch from the base. This allows plenty drainage but enough holding power so they don't dry out.
Sometimes I have put a short cane I.n to .the compost to protrude vertically ,I tie the string to this . The string does not rot
In the conservatory (I don't have a greenhouse) I use growbags on plastic trays, with ring pots to increase the depth of soil around the plants for the roots. I tie rot resistant twine in a big loop under the tray and up the sides of the ring pot knotting it about 6" above the top of the ring pot, and then running it straight up to a wooden frame I constructed for the purpose. As the plants grow, gently wind them around the twine and they seem to stay in place just fine.
I did try pegging the twine into the soil, but like you I found it rotted, the big loop around the bottom of the trays (or pots) is working fine so far though (and worked a couple of years ago before I tried pegging)
I have far too many this year and have transferred loads of spare plants in pots (which B&Q sell as tomato pots but I suspect are a bit small) to the garden where I have built up cane based supports as described by others already. The row between the garage and the clothes line post is fully exposed to wind, I screwed a spare 2x1" (oversized) arris rail left over from a fencing project to the garage and square lashed it to the post - it forms a sturdy ridge to tie the tops of the canes to - so far none of those have fallen over in the strong winds I will remember this summer for!
Don't try to wind the plants around the canes (maybe if they are very spindly), it seems much safer to use soft ties (or similar) to support the plants against canes.