Damage control
imgur.com/a/RxTOB
imgur.comPosted Aug 1, 2015, 2:08 PM UTC
24819
imgur.comThat's not a potato picture.
Its a tomato picture.
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Thanks for posting this, and your pictures. Tomato branches are going to start to get heavy from now to the end of the season. Many people don't know that this can be done to save a branch on tomatoes that seems doomed. Lucky you, my tomatoes have never gotten ripe before the middle of August, except one or two varieties of the cherry type.
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They might still be OK. If not, tomatoes will continue to ripen even if you pick them when they're green. You can pull them off, store them in a cool, dry place (not the refrigerator) and they will ripen. Check them every few days. In Fall right before the first hard frost we pull all our green tomatoes off the plants and store them in the basement where they slowly ripen over the course of a few weeks.
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Did you look at all the pictures? I think you missed the end part. They are fine.
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I did miss the end picture...
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I assume they don't become as flavorful as those ripened on the vine, right?
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No, but the difference is fairly minimal. We use them to make batches of pasta or pizza sauce, so you really can't tell.
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I had a few entire branches that snapped off the tomato plant on my deck yesterday...just stripped some leaves and stuck in back in the container. Tomato plants are pretty awesome
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Leave it, as long as they're still connected to the plant they'll be fine.
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Next year put tall wood stakes about 2.5 feet apart then nail a wood stake across the top. You can tie the tomato plant to each stake as it grows with mason string or cheaper twine. Once it gets tall just tie it to the top horizontal stake, that usually keeps it from top heavy tipping. I find using wire and string trellis flimsy. I use to have them snap all the time. Beautiful looking matoes tho
2
My cherry tomato plant overgrew wire fence that was 4 ft tall and then hung down about that distance, bending almost 180 degrees. Where the branches have rubbed on the fence, it's bare and damaged, but the plant itself is still going strong. It's actually bearing fruit on the overhanging branches which make picking easy. It's wonderful how resilient these plants are.
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Yes indeed! I grew some indeterminate cherry tomatoes and have them in nearly 6 foot cages....they grew over the top, folded down, and nearly touched the ground again by the end of the season.
Other than the cold, tomatoes are tough.
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Tomatoes are shockingly hardy. My plants broke completely at their base after a heavy rain before they had support. I taped them back together with a splint and they're now 5 feet tall.
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Is there a better tape to use than duct?
I had exactly the same thing happen to one of my plants' branches and I just wrapped it in tight paper, then taped the paper (I wasn't sure if the glue from the tape would affect things). Mine grew back fine but I wondered if there's a better material to use :)
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I only had masking take available and it worked fine. I'm sure there's a tape made for the purpose, but don't know how much better it is. I did have to remove the tape after two weeks as it started to construct the growing stem.
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Timely post!! We were out kayaking all day, came home to find a big branch with a cluster of 4 Better Boys had snapped. Was fine when we left, who knows how long it had been laying there. Soft coated wire & duct tape have been utilized. Had this happen with one last season, albeit a much smaller branch. It was fine. Fingers crossed!
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Nicely done
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Do I see fried green tomatoes in your future?
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"If it should move, but doesn't, use wd-40.
If it shouldn't move, but does, use duct tape."