Canes

[On the Moors]

Every year I plant a few seed potatoes and OH plants a few tomatoes. We use canes to keep the plants upright and tidy.

I've just seen a film about someone living on a narrow boat who didn't bother using canes on the tomato plants but just let them hang out of the pots. They seemed to grow alright and they did better than OH's did.

Has anyone grown potatoes/tomatoes and not bother to stake them up? What happens? They don't get staked up in the wild so why do we do it?

 

[YumYum]

If the limbs are laying on a wooden floor or something other than soil, they would probably be fine for the most part and since there is a breeze on water most of the time, there should be sufficient airflow through the plant to avoid fungal problems.

A gardener keep plants off the ground and pruned so that the ground and plant dries out from sun and from airflow. That way fungal problems are mainly avoided. In their case what they are doing probably works out fine.

I've grown tomato plants that laid on the soil before. Doesn't work out too good since it is very humid here in the Summer. Only did that once.

 

[Meadowlark]

I never stake potatoes...and grow hundreds of pounds each year.

Tomatoes, yes, I stake them primarily to keep the plant and fruits out of soil contact to avoid diseases which lurk there.

Hanging basket tomatoes work very well and accomplishes the same no soil contact ...not my plant

 

[On the Moors]

If the limbs are laying on a wooden floor or something other than soil, they would probably be fine for the most part and since there is a breeze on water most of the time, there should be sufficient airflow through the plant to avoid fungal problems.

That's interesting as they are both grown in tubs on hard standing.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

They don't get staked up in the wild so why do we do it?

The wild tomato is a very different plant, it had been cultivated and bred long before the Spanish got to S America. It grows a pea sized fruit, and interestingly grows in all sorts of different environments from Andean mountains to lowland rain forest and desert, very adaptable. The problem with them on the ground is infection and rotting fruit, but to produce seed to save one actually lets the pulp ferment to leave the seeds clean, nature is interested in reproducing, not staying fresh for our salads. I once worked with someone who had worked in a sewage works, he said that they used to run off a bit of fresh sewage and let it dry, and get a super growth of tomatoes and a good crop, seems going through a digestive system cleans the seeds in the same sort of way.
I am not up on wild potatoes, but I never bother staking mine either.

 

[YumYum]

I never stake potatoes...and grow hundreds of pounds each year.

Tomatoes, yes, I stake them primarily to keep the plant and fruits out of soil contact to avoid diseases which lurk there.

Hanging basket tomatoes work very well and accomplishes the same no soil contact ...not my plant

View attachment 106737

What size pot do you have those in? Enough room for roots?

 

[On the Moors]

What size pot do you have those in? Enough room for roots?

Quite large. I have successful crops from them for a few years now.

EDIT

Sorry, I thought that this question was aimed at me!

 

[YumYum]

Quite large. I have successful crops from them for a few years now.

EDIT

Sorry, I thought that this question was aimed at me!

No problem I just realized he said it wasn't his plant so I guess he wouldn't know.

 

[oneeye]

Staking is important to reduce fruit rots, sunscald, and foliar diseases. Don't wait to stake and trellis your tomatoes until they are large! It is much easier to start when they are a foot tall and you can remove suckers "fruitless vines" as you go along.

 

[On the Moors]

Just wondered about snails and slugs having easy access to the plant's leaves.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

It is much easier to start when they are a foot tall

For sure

Just wondered about snails and slugs having easy access to the plant's leaves.

In my experience tomato leaves are not attractive to them, and potatoes are vigorous enough to cope, where I have had a problem with slugs it is the actual potatoes, slugs are terrible for getting places, they can burrow really deep and swim, I don't think lifting the foliage would make a lot of difference to them.
Trouble, if they are eating your spuds, is you don't know about it until you dig them up and it's too late. Good side is there are quite a few ways of trapping or killing them, starting with a torch and a bottle of hot water.

 

[On the Moors]

In my experience tomato leaves are not attractive to them, and potatoes are vigorous enough to cope, where I have had a problem with slugs it is the actual potatoes, slugs are terrible for getting places, they can burrow really deep and swim, I don't think lifting the foliage would make a lot of difference to them.

I must have been lucky then as I've never had slugs attack my potatoes. By letting the stalks and leaves reach the ground it would provide a nice and easy way to get into the tubs.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

it would provide a nice and easy way to get into the tubs.

Missed that, yes, I get a lot less slug problems in containers. I have been trying carrots in buckets, not super successful so far, but I started late in the season and the first few were too crowded. When I grow them in the ground they always have holes in them, but the container ones are fine. Hopefully I can do a bit better this season. Have you seen Meadowlark's HK thread? I put about wood in up to about a third of the bucket, works well.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Canes provide essential support for mobility, aiding balance and reducing strain. They come in various styles, including adjustable and ergonomic designs. Proper selection and usage enhance stability. Do you have specific concerns or preferences regarding canes? Let’s discuss!

I think there is a misunderstanding here, the sort of canes being discussed are those used for supporting plants, bamboo canes, not for the mobility and balance of people. I suggest you check out the previous posts.