I’ve had a fantastic crop for the second year running from my Tornado outdoor tomato bushes but have the same problem (if heavy production can be called a problem) this year that I had last. The bushes only grow about two and a half feet tall and are so heavily loaded that the bush literally tears itself apart.
I have tried supporting with canes but short of tying each branch to a cane I’m at a loss to know what else I can do.
Any ideas please? Thanks Lance
I've seen this and will try to describe it ...
You can get heavy galvanised wire mesh frames to put over e.g. sprouting peas to keep the birds off. They are about 1 ft high and 2-3 ft wide, length seems to vary. The mesh is large - 1 or 2 inches. I've seen what I assume were bush toms grown through these and the toms sit on top of the frames.
Some of the peeps on my plot use sheets of the same mesh bent into a 'u' shape to protect their young plants, and this might be another option - but growing through the mesh frames meant that the trusses I saw were sprawling around on top of them, so you might need a larger area which the frames would provide ::)
Thanks Supersprout. Tornado is such a good do'er and the toms are thin skinned, good flavoured and plentiful so I will be growing them again next year. I had no blight problems either year. I'll go with your frame suggestion next year. Cheers. Lance
sound good Lance, got any seed you can spare?