Last Updated on September 13, 2026
How to Support Tomato Plants
A tomato on the ground is a tomato with disease and pests. Here are the four supports I use, in the order I usually reach for them as the plants get bigger, plus the pruning and placement that matter as much as the support.
1. Cages, rings and stakes
Early on, sturdy tomato cages keep the plants upright. Small support rings work for small plants, and a wooden stake with the base of the plant tied to it is the simplest of all.
2. A T-post and twine cage
When the plants outgrew the cages I drove an 8-foot T-post into each corner of the bed, angled outward, ran twine around the perimeter, then wove more twine across between the outside strings to make a cage the whole bed grows inside. A big roll of baler’s twine is cheap and lasts for years.
3. Trellis up a wall
Indeterminate tomatoes can be started in a cage and then trained up a structure. Mine climb the west side of the house, where they get full sun. They need heavy pruning, but it is another option if you have a wall or fence.
4. The Florida weave
In my other garden, three 4 x 16 beds of tomatoes are on the Florida weave: a post at each end and one in the middle, and every week or so I weave twine between the plants to hold them. I run it at 4 per square foot, 16 plants in a 16-foot bed, loaded with fruit. Step by step in Mastering the Florida Weave.
Prune for airflow
Remove all the lower leaves, some of the suckers, and a good number of branches, so you can look under the plants and see through them. Cut off any diseased leaves as soon as you see them, especially after humid nights. The south side of a plant dries out in the sun and shows less disease; the north side needs the most attention.
Put tomatoes on the north side
Tall plants shade what is behind them. In this bed the peppers are in front, tomatoes behind them, and the trellised cucumbers, taller still, at the back. Plant tall crops on the north or west side of the bed. The planner does this for you.
Top them before frost
Toward the end of the season, snip the growing tips. The plant stops making new growth and ripens what it has before the first frost.
Key takeaways
- Cages and stakes for young plants; a T-post and twine cage once they outgrow them.
- The Florida weave for a whole bed: posts at the ends and middle, weave twine weekly.
- Prune lower leaves and some suckers so you can see through the plant.
- Tomatoes on the north or west side so they do not shade shorter crops.
- Top the plants late in the season so they ripen what they have.
When to plant tomatoes
These are the windows the Plan My Garden planner uses, counted from your average last spring frost. Enter your frost date on the seed starting calendar to turn them into dates.
| Start indoors | 5 weeks before to 3 weeks before your last frost |
|---|---|
| Transplant out | 2 weeks after to 3 weeks after your last frost |
| Days to maturity | about 80 days |
Questions people ask
How many tomatoes per square foot?
Four per square on the Florida weave, or one per square pruned to a single stem. See the tomato spacing page.
What twine?
Baler’s twine, a big cheap roll; it lasts years.
When do I top them?
A month or so before your first frost, once the plant has more fruit than it can ripen.
Plan the garden before you build it
Plan My Garden is free to start: it places tall crops on the north side and gives every plant its spacing, scheduled for your zip code.
Related: The Florida Weave · How to Prune Tomato Plants · How to Build a String Trellis · How to Transplant Tomatoes
