Trellis like a PRO with the low & lean method | How we use this commercial system in our home garden
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- The low & lean method is used commercially for a reason! Save space & time and maximize harvests with this method. We love this method for our indeterminate varieties to keep things neatly organized & secure.
We learned this method from Josh Sattin, and it's an inexpensive way to manage your tomatoes well. Pick up a few basic items from your local hardware store and a few Tomahooks (buy here: sandiegoseedco...) & you're all set to go!
Depending on what variety you grow, this method may or may not work best. We encourage you to try different methods and find out the best setup for your garden.
Get your tomato seeds here: sandiegoseedco...
I just started this system on my raised beds after watching it in a greenhouse for years. I absolutely love it. Next time I won’t put so many plants together.
Thank you for the comprehensive tutorial! I LOVE buying my seeds from you!!! My Peruvian ground cherry seeds I bought from you are just about ready to produce fruit they have their first set of flowers and I am so excited to try them for the first time.
Thanks for the love! You HAVE to make a Peruvian ground cherry jam. It's to die for! We also love dehydrating them and adding them to trail mixes.
This was an “ah hah”moment for me in the most killer way! I have about 100 of those Zoodle hook things that I bought before I got hurt, I knew they were for tomatoes but couldn’t remember where I got the idea 💡 from or how to use them. You guys really and truly are helping me in so so many ways, you have no idea.
YES - Thank you for the comprehensive tutorial! This is just what I need to see to better understand this system, so I can try it out this season.
Thanks for sharing this video with us. I have been trying to figure out how to make a lean and lower system using my conduit trellis without spending a lot of money on materials. I appreciate the idea of using a zip tie or piece of twine to make a loop to attach the tomato twine tomahawk to the conduit without modifying the trellis or the tomahawk. Thanks for the idea of attaching to the bottom of the plant also.
You are very welcome!
Wish I had watched this video before I got all my tomato plants in the ground. Will try it next year. Florida weave for this year!
That's ok! Florida weave a good option. We used that for years. Next year you can try this.
Thank you for this video.
Would you then have to sow 1 plant per week, to carry on with this system?
I'm only asking for my veggie garden, where I will probably only have 5 or 6 big tomato plants.
Thank you.
Our ind toms are loving this form of trellising. This method also works well for easily draping bird netting over the entire crop. We like feeding the birds, just not with our tomatoes ;) #StraightOuttaCraftworks lol Thks agn
Great point about the bird netting!
Game changer!🤯🤯🤯
Thx fir for the video! I appreciate the passion you share. It’s contagious! What do you do when u grow multiple varieties and one plant is ready to L&L but the ones next to it aren’t? For example, plant A is growing quickly and reaches the tomahook. Plant B is growing more slowly and is only halfway to the tomahook. The first set of fruit on plant B is pretty low so if you L&L it to make room for plant A’s sliding over, the fruit will be on the ground. Hope that makes sense.
No sure I understand the question but if I am reading it correctly, you would just not lean the slower grower as soon as you do the quick one. Does that make sense?
@@SanDiegoSeedCompany thanks for replying. So, you might have a leader/vine growing sideways until it reaches the tomahook and is ready to be lowered and needs more string?
@@kellirichsd5821 yes that is correct!
I'm interested in trying the T-post + Conduit + string/tomahook method, but wondered if instead of the low and lean, if you thought it possible (or even wise) just just let the vine grow up and over and back down. I hope that's not a dumb question, but I REALLY liked the idea on your other video of it going straight up, and looking so much more neat and tidy. (I'm slightly OCD and know I need to be flexible, just loved the initial idea of straight up and maybe this would help for it being taller than any trellis out there.)
Not a dumb question at all! You do run the risk the plant bending too much & breaking.
I had thought of this, too, but think that the weak point would be where the plant stem hangs over the top, with all that weight pulling on it as is goes down the other side. I have seen veggies grown upside-down, but that bothers my OCD even more! Good luck with whatever you decide.
@@SanDiegoSeedCompany makes perfect sense
@@siameezerlady yes, i think you're right.
It's mentioned to use 3/4" (pvc?) Pipe on upper support- is that what was used at base, bc I'm halfway thru vid and haven't heard it mentioned. I saw it mentioned to use 9-10ft length - so by adding the green T-post it's strong enough to sustain the full length of 9-10 ft?
Great vid. I'm definitely going to try this. BTW I love your shirt.
Thank you!!! You can get a shirt from us! sandiegoseedcompany.com/product/tools-and-merchandise/straight-outta-compost-t-shirts/
Hello Brijette. Watched your video as you suggested. Lots of good info. I laugh though because I'm coming from Zone 8b with 5 months of growing season, 3 of them are cold. Whereas you are in San Diego and have 8, most of it hot. My supports are around 7ft as yours are. It will take to September for my plants to get that high. By then we are entering cooler weather and less hours of daylight. Any flowers at that height won't produce any fruit so I pinch out the growing tip. Even in my green house (plastic house, high tunnel), the season is extended a little but not a lot.
The video I watched several years ago I THINK was in Tennessee in a high tunnel. They stretched out a tomato plant just to see how long it was. 12 FEET long! Yes most of it was bear from pruning as you have shown. We don't have time to grow a plant that long. I will say, last summer I did harvest a vine ripened Amish Paste tomato from eye level at about 5 ft.
That's rad! If you grew in a protected tunnel I am sure you could get it 12 feet long. We will see how long ours go this year! So excited!
@@SanDiegoSeedCompany It only protects so much. I could probably get to the end of October. But after that it will definitely freeze solid. I had a few "solid freezes this spring. fortunately it was mostly brassicas.
Very interesting. I grow a huge variety of tomatoes and have seen a modified version of this method but have never used it myself. I always let mine get really big and bushy. Has there been any testing or comparisons done in regards to the number of tomatoes generated using this method versus letting the plant get bush-like? It would seem that the more branches there are on a plant the more tomatoes it will produce. Yes, I realize those tomatoes will be smaller than if the plant has fewer tomatoes but I'm just wondering about the quantity? It's not something I can afford to do right now. Even though it is "inexpensive" for some, if you're short on money then anything is expensive. It's something I might consider in the future if the number of tomatoes is the same as or at least close to the number of tomatoes that would be achieved if the plant were allowed to just go crazy for lack of better words.
One thing I like about letting my plants get bushy is that if I have a plant that gets insect infested or shows sign of disease I can cut branches completely off and the rest of the plant will take over as the main plant. With the lean and low method, you only get one chance. I realize the openess cuts down on disease risk but it is still a possibility even with the best of maintenance. Your thoughts?
You make some very good points but after years of growing, we find this method to be a vast improvement from letting tomatoes grow wild. We like to keep them clean and neat and rarely have disease issues but we also spent almost all our time in the garden so we catch things early.
@@SanDiegoSeedCompany tomatoes are versatile and quite forgiving. As long as they have good soil, lots of sun and free of disease, they will grow. It can be wild and bushy or lean and neat, they will grow regardless🍅
There are many methods.
I don't look at any method as right or wrong - just different. It's all about individual preference and what works best for each person and their setup.
Why not root up some of the branches for "free" plants. I am also on a limited budget. When I cut off, stick in a bottle of water, easily roots. Just be sure to label, so you'll know what it is. TFS
@@serenakoleno9338 I live in a climate where the growing season is short (120 frost free days) by the time many of the suckers are big enough to be grown into another plant, it's too late in the season for the plant to grow to where it could form fruit before the first hard Frost or freeze
Thanks for the awesome idea! I was thinking, shower curtain hooks would work to hold those tomahooks as well, pretty cheap too. I was wondering, how far apart are you t-posts and how far apart are your rows? Thank you!
Great idea on the hooks. Distance depends on your rows but the conduit is only about 9-10’ so your T-post have to be at the ends of the conduit to keep them up. Does that make sense ?
Love your earrings. I make beaded earrings and bracelets.
Those are one of my favorites! Thank you!
this is good, but i still have a question what to do when the tomato finally out grows the vertical distance? do you clip the top or do you let it hang down?
Clip the top and lower the string, remove any branches that hit the ground. Repeat for 40ft or until your season ends 😀
@@SanDiegoSeedCompany thank you, but see if i understand, i just keep lowering the tomato and let the vine (without any leaves or branches)curl up like a rope and keep growing the top? i had never thought of this, but makes sense. thanks again. i want to try this, and i have a lot of bamboo i can possibly use instead of conduit. last year my tomatoes were a big mess(first time grower). i had a 10 foot high wall of bushes with hardly any tomats.
Instead of using a cable tie for each, why not bend the hook on the end of your "tomahawks"(?), to match the radius of the overhead tube?
It will be less likely to move, unless you move it.
Awesome video-thank you! I just put my system in today. I went with 7' poles & I did not think they looked high enough after driving them into the ground. Oh well, it's a journey of learning! Thank you again for all you help. My family loves visiting San Diego. What is the name of the tree in the background with the purple blooms? We see them when we visit and have wondered what they are? (sorry I know you are busy)
Jacaranda. But what's the tree with all the red flowers?
What kind of "tomato" string? Never heard of it? Loved this video. Thank you.
Starting over as all my hardened off starts were doing well till our 80/90° days disappeared 2 weeks ago and tge cold and wicked winds killed it all. Left 9b CA 8/2020. 1st winter in 35 years. Have to learn growing all over again. Boohoo
Tomato twine is what we used but any poly string that will not breakdown quickly in the sun is great.
@@SanDiegoSeedCompany thx
Where is your hat from? It’s so good!
Don't laugh at me. It's from Indiana Jones ride at Disney land. I LOVE Indie (major crush)
Awesome! Why couldn't you have the vine grow up to top then back down instead of doing the 'Low and Lean' technique?
You potentially could, what makes it hard is the vine will be likely to break.
Thank you for the excellent tutorial video. Particularly helpful are the pruning tips. We have a small garden with only access to small spaces and access to one side of the trellis. Like the system, would have to adapt to a very small space like along a driveway. Please tell me what the periwinkle flowers are behind you? Do you sell seeds for this flower?
Glad you liked it! Those are our cornflower. They look so great in the garden. sandiegoseedcompany.com/product/flowers/polka-dot-mix-cornflower-seeds/
@@SanDiegoSeedCompany thank you - will look for these seeds at my garden center.
They are super easy to start from seeds too!
We just set our system up - your video was very helpful. Question - do I need to prune between the first and 2nd set of fruits/flowers? We are making sure to keep just one main vine. Thanks again.
Pruning varies by type of tomato, but you shouldn't need to do much extra unless your plant is struggling to ripen fruit
@@SanDiegoSeedCompany Thank you!!
Our garden is thriving because of your videos. It's our happy place. We ONLY buy seeds from our company - so happy we found you.
How far apart do you plant your indeterminate tomatoes with this system?
Do you have a specific clip you recommend?
We follow the spacing recommendations which is usually about two feet.
We use these plant clips, but any will do the trick: sandiegoseedcompany.com/product/tools-and-merchandise/garden-plant-clips/
They likely won't last more than one season, so we look for things that are compostable.
Do you continue to completely prune up the tomato plant through out the season? Like above the tomatoes, once you harvest, do you prune off the leaves up to the next set of tomatoes?
Bump 😆
Yes we do! We try and keep it tidy.
I've setup a similar lower and lean tomato trellis, but I'm confused about how to use the trellis. Some tomato vines are growing slower than others. When a tomato vine is short compared to a long vine before it, how do you deal with the longer plant. The longer plant needs to be lower and leaned more than the shorter plant. But doing that would make you go right past the shorter plant and vines start to cross over each other.
Great question. The vines can cross each other. By pruning the lower leaves, they will not shade each other. Does that makes sense?
@@SanDiegoSeedCompany I decided to take down all the tomato vines. I put them stretched out on the ground and tried to make some sense of it all! I decided to make plant vines go towards the right on one side and the left on the other side. It seems like as long as vines are parallel to each other things seem to be relatively organized.
That was fantastic! Do you sell seedlings? I was wondering because of your channel’s name.
They sell seeds
We just sell seeds. Wish we sold seedlings.
I know you're not doing it in this video, but would you recommend this with cherry type tomatoes?
You could but a cattle panel works good too. The most important factor is that you use indeterminate tomatoes.
Thank you for the fantastic explanation of lower and lean Bridgette (spelling?)! I've purchased all the items needed and am ready to set up my garden here in PA as soon as this Winter is over. My question is: in lieu of sliding the tomahooks down the pipe and letting the stems all lean in the same direction, is it possible to curl the stems on top of some weed cloth underneath the tomatoes as they grow?
You can but the stems become woody and less likely to “curl” nicely. You don’t want to snap em.
@@SanDiegoSeedCompany Thank you! That’s what I assumed - I think I may try a very loose, oblong coil on one plant this Summer to avoid snapping the stem. My cherry tomato plants will be planted in a 10 foot row so I’m worried about running out of lean room. Thanks again!
@@egviking1 we cross cross them when we need too.
@@SanDiegoSeedCompany ❤️
Hi what is the distance between your tomato plants¿? thanks
18in if you choose to have one main stem. 2ft for 2 stems.
Can you do this on a hill side?
You could! Just make sure it's secure in the ground.
Not sure why this video isn't/wasn't taking off.
The past years and recently there's been a ton of attention to the Florida weave, which is fine but I feel the weave is inferior to tomahooks.
So why isn't it getting more attention? Is it just that "new" of a method?
I don't have to cap the plants and get vines beyond 10 foot with tons of tomatoes. What is there not to love?
Love your videos, you're keeping it real.
Greetings from Germany
Here on behalf of the obligatory fiber enthusiast/gardener language-detail-freak overlap: That's wrapping and unwrapping, not raveling and unraveling.
That said, this is a trellising system I've been meaning to try, so it's great to see an example.
Really.... Gardening is anything but politically correct. The language associated with it is no different. Twisting, twining, raveling, wrapping, hoisting, people who watch the video understand what was being said.
@@connecticutwormsgardens Um… not sure what you're saying. Can you expand that, please?
@@lexica510 are you replying to the right person? I didn't say anything
Let us know what you think!
What size PVC tees are you using? I watched Josh’s video and he recommended 1 1/2 inch. After buying 8 of them i realized that they didn’t fit on top of my posts.
We use any size we can get for cheap. Anything over 1.5”
I've been following the lower and lean technique with my indeterminate cherry tomato plants. I see lots of conflicting information on how to prune cherry tomatoes. Currently, I let 1 to 3 leaders grow and then string trellis each. Others say to use cattle panels to really let them grow wild. Not sure what would be best?
For cherry tomatoes we let them go wild on cattle panels. This system is the most useful for large indeterminate tomatoes. Does that make sense?
@@SanDiegoSeedCompany Yes, makes total sense! I had no idea I should be doing it that way instead of the string lower and lean. I realize there's no perfect answer, but the cattle panels would be much less work.
Please shut off the music. I'm trying to focus on your instruction.