How to stake tomato plants in pots are steps you should know because stakes allow more airflow around plant vines. With the presence of stakes, you can help prevent your plants from getting diseases and control them easily. If you want your tomato plants to grow rapidly and healthily, stake them in pots with the steps below.

How to Stake Tomato Plants in Pots for Tidier Looking Garden

  1. Understand Why You Need to Stake Your Tomato Plants
    First thing first, you should know some reasons why you need to stake your tomato plants. One of the important reasons why stakes are required is because you can protect them from garden pests and insects. Staking tomato plants will also help you to keep them organized so your garden will look tidier.
    Not staking tomato plants often leads to the plants developing diseases, so by staking them, you give your plants protection. Stakes are proven to reduce the risk of your tomato plants getting rotten and getting attacked by dangerous diseases. Accessing all parts of the plants is also much easier, especially when it comes to trimming and harvesting.

  2. Understand Two Types of Tomato Plants You Grow
    When it comes to staking tomato plants, it’s better for you to figure out what type of tomatoes you plant. There are two types of tomatoes that you might want to grow and stake. The first type is determinate tomatoes that will grow to predetermined sizes and they don’t need much help when staked.
    How to stake tomato plants in pots indoors or outdoors can be done in more confined places. Determinate tomatoes’ growth will be more optimal when they’re in confined places because they have smaller vines. These tomatoes are indeed more suitable to grow and stake in pots, unlike the other type.
    Indeterminate tomatoes are the other type of tomatoes bearing more and heavier fruit that you can grow and stake. If the determinate tomatoes will bear all fruit only in a two-week time period, indeterminate ones are different. You’ll usually get a larger harvest because indeterminate tomatoes can produce fruit until the first frost non-stop.

  3. Stake the Tomato Plants by Using Cage or Classic Stakes
    Find the best method you want to apply to your tomato plants, the caging one or the classic staking one. If you prefer a caging method, you need a tomato cage first, but classic staking is much less expensive. The classic staking method requires you to carefully tie the vine without causing damage.
    For indeterminate stakes, you can use sturdy wooden stakes (because it’s more affordable) with 6-7 feet tall. If you want to stake your determinate tomato plants, use sturdy wooden stakes 3-4 feet tall. Push the wooden stakes at least a foot into the pot; you can also use bamboo, steel, or plastic stakes.

  4. Choose the Right Staking Method

  • Single Stake
    Tips on how to stake tomato plants in pots can be easily done by applying a single stake method. When tomato plants grow about a foot tall, it’s time to stake it by tying the stakes to the vine. This method is the most recommended for potted tomato plants and you can re-tie the plants every six inches.
  • Double Stake
    Double stake can also be applied to the potted tomato plants you want to stake. For the heavier tomatoes in larger pots, use a double stake to support them by placing two stakes opposite sides. The twine can be tied around the plant stem and keep doing this method until your tomatoes grow more.

How to stake tomato plants in pots might be tricky, but it’s possible when you follow the steps above. After doing the right method to stake your plants, make sure you prune away the weak parts of them. The weak parts are the parts that never produce fruit and these should be pruned for better air circulation.