Staking tomatoes

How to Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes

Part 3 – Caring for your plants

Q. Is it necessary to stake tomatoes?

A. Unless you are growing dwarf varieties, you will need to support your plants, otherwise they will sprawl everywhere and become prone to disease.

Q. What’s the best method of support?

A. There are around a dozen different methods of supporting your plants, and each has advantages and disadvantages. Methods range from using wooden stakes, to trellises, to cages to spiral rods. The method you use will depend on the plant type, space, budget and plant size. (See pages pages 28-33 of How to Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes for a detailed analysis of 11 different staking methods)


There are at least a dozen different ways you can support your plants. You need to know the pros and cons of each one to choose the most appropriate method for your varieties.

Q. Is pruning necessary?

A. This does depend on the variety, however in most cases pruning tomato plants will improve health and improve yield. Determinate varieties need less pruning than indeterminates.

Q. How do I prune a tomato plant?

A. Correct pruning can make all the difference between hard green fruits and lovely ripe juicy fruit. (See pages 34-35 of How to Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes for our full guide to pruning)

Q. How often should plants be watered?

A. Tomatoes require an even supply of water throughout the season, as an irregular water supply will cause your tomatoes to develop problems. The amount of water your tomato plot will require can be calculated by using a simple formula.

What are the two main problems with
hand watering your plants?

Q. What is the best watering method?

A. There are several methods you can use to water your tomatoes, including hand held hose, sprinklers and irrigation system. However overhead watering can cause serious problems. Irrigating is the preferred method used by professional growers and is fairly easy to set up. You can either rig up your own system or buy a ready to install system from a specialist irrigation supplier. However there are several important issues to consider to ensure your plants receive the right amount of water at the right time and to the right location. (See pages 36-39 of How to Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes for very detailed advice on calculating watering volumes and setting up watering systems for tomato beds and pots.)

How do you stop irrigation systems from clogging up?

Q. Where can you find detailed answers to these important Caring for Your Plants questions?

A. In the most comprehensive book ever written about growing tomatoes called “How to Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes“. It was written by a professional horticultural technical advisor and provides fully illustrated and detailed information on caring for your tomato plants.

It contains comprehensive photos and information on:
– 11 staking methods and the pros and cons of each
– Pruning methods
– Setting up an irrigation system
– How to calculate exact water requirements