The Florida weave: holding up a row of tomatoes with string

The Florida weave, sometimes called the basket weave, holds a whole row of tomatoes between lines of string strung from post to post. It uses fewer posts than staking every plant and costs less than a row of cages. It suits a straight row of three or more plants, in the ground or in a long raised bed.

What you need

• Sturdy stakes or T-posts, 5 to 6 ft long. You need one at each end of the row and one between every two or three plants.
• Strong twine that won't stretch much when wet. Polypropylene baling twine and jute both work; jute can go in the compost at the end of the season.
• A mallet or post driver.

This method works best for determinate and semi-determinate plants, which stop at a set height. Indeterminate vines can be woven too, but they usually outgrow the posts by late summer.

Setting the posts

Plant your tomatoes in a straight line, about 18 to 24 in apart. Drive a post at each end of the row and between every second or third plant, 12 in deep or more. The end posts take the most strain, so make those the strongest, or brace them with a second post set at an angle.

As with any support, it's easiest to put the posts in on planting day; there's more on timing in when to put tomato supports in.

How to weave

Begin when the plants are about 8 to 12 in tall.

1. Tie the twine to an end post, about 8 in above the soil.
2. Walk down the row and pass the twine in front of the first plant, then wrap it once around the next post.
3. Continue to the far end, keeping the twine taut and wrapping it around each post you reach.
4. At the end post, wrap it twice and come back along the other side of the plants, so each one ends up held between two strands.
5. Tie off at the post where you started.

Add a new line every 6 to 8 in as the plants grow, usually every week or two. Keep each pass tight; slack twine lets the plants lean out.

Tips that help

• Weave on a dry day. Wet stems are more brittle and the twine slips.
• Tuck stray branches inside the strings as you go rather than letting them grow out sideways.
• Prune lightly if at all. Determinate plants carry fruit on their side shoots, and the weave relies on a bushy plant to fill the space between the strands.
• For long rows, a second person holding the twine ball saves a lot of walking.

At the end of the season

Cut the twine at each post and pull the plants out with the string still in them. Compost them together if you used jute and the plants were healthy. Pull the posts and clean them before storing; see cleaning and storing supports.

Where to go next

If you grow a mix of bush and vine types, you may want a weave for the bush row and taller stakes or ladders for the vines. Gardener's Supply sells ladders and stakes in several heights; farm and garden stores carry T-posts and twine.