Last year I had tomatoes get so tall that I couldn't reach the tops of them. I had to extend the stakes that I used and then tie those stakes off to other stakes. It was crazy. I got really good, really big beefstake tomatoes though.
This year I didn't want to have to deal with stakes being pulled over and plants growing and falling down because I didn't have something tall enough to tie them to. So I went into the woods behind my house and cut down trees. Little ones that were 1-1.5" in diameter. Then I cut them to 8' lengths and had my son carve points on the ends with his pocket knife. After that I got out the step ladder and hammered them into the ground in the raised beds. While I was doing this the neighbors drove by and gave me the stink-eye.
I added stakes on both sides of the bed and then lashed some horizontal sticks to them to add stability. I did end up using some shorter stakes on the plants in the middle of the bed. If they get out of control I can always lash some more sticks across the bed between the tall stakes on the two sides.
Hopefully, what I have here will be sufficient for holding up all of my tomatoes. I guess I'll just have to wait and see. So far the tomatoes have been doing pretty well, unlike my peppers.
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