My neighbor's advice about tying tomatoes nearly killed my garden

My neighbor Bob, who's been gardening for like 40 years, told me last spring to use cotton string to tie up my tomato plants because it's "natural and biodegradable." I followed his advice and tied up about 20 plants in my backyard plot here in Phoenix. By late June, every single one of those knots had rotted and snapped in the monsoon humidity. I came out one morning and found six plants completely collapsed on the ground with split stems. The cherry tomatoes were fine since I used plastic clips from a kit my sister got me. Have any of you found a tying method that actually holds up through a full season?

2 comments

2 Comments

young.spencer29d ago

Bob's advice sounds like something that works great in a dry climate (like, maybe Arizona in April) but completely falls apart in actual humidity. My own uncle tried the same thing with jute twine on his cucumbers in Florida and it was a moldy mess by July. I've had really good luck with those green plastic twist ties that come on produce bags at the grocery store, actually. They're cheap (free if you save them), they don't rot, and you can just snip them off at the end of the season. Another trick I picked up from a forum years ago is using those velcro plant ties that you can buy in rolls - they're soft on the stems and you can reuse them year after year if you don't lose them in the dirt like I always do.

mason_flores2128d ago

Has anyone actually had those velcro ties last more than one season without losing their grip? In my experience, the fuzz wears off after a couple of washes and they start slipping, so I just stick with plastic clips and accept the waste.