Growing Food and Kids

Everyone’s in search of the perfect tomato. Even before vegetable gardening got groovy again, it seemed like just about every other household had a few tomato plants in pots on the back porch. I’ve heard plenty of non-gardeners passionately argue the benefits of Better Boys, Early Girls, or some other favorite tomato variety.

And just as we all have our favorite tomato varieties, many of us have strong opinions about how to best grow them. Conventional wisdom, at least around here, says that tomatoes must be staked or caged in order to yield the best crop. But we’re not so sure.

Scenario #1: In 2006, the first year we planted a garden, Lee and I bought long wooden dowel sticks to stake our tomato plants. My father-in-law, who was visiting for the weekend, said his grandfather used to tie his plants to the stakes with his wife’s nylon pantyhose, which were stretchy enough to allow for growth without bending the plants. As the woman of the house, it seemed I was expected to come forth with plenty of pairs of worn-out nylons — but since I haven’t worn pantyhose in at least 10 years, that was a stretch. After some digging, I came up with a few pairs I’d been required to buy with bridesmaid dresses over the years in colors like Pearl, Hazelnut and Barely There. Lee and his dad roped the tomatoes up with the ultra-sheer Hanes, and we were ready to go. The hose kept the tomatoes off the ground and we harvested what seemed like tons of tomatoes, but many of them cracked and splintered in the sun.

Scenario #2: Last year, we decided to forego staking our tomatoes (or just procrastinated until it was too late). Instead of growing up, the plants sprawled across the garden, dripping with red bulbs. We did lose some tomatoes – a raccoon or something got to a few of them, and a few others rotted in the dirt when we neglected harvesting for a couple of days. But we still reaped loads of them, and they were smooth and round, not broken and splintered by the sun, because they’d been shaded so well under the foliage. And it made for a prettier, more natural-looking garden.

This year, we’re staging a contest of sorts. Half of our tomato plants are caged with wire, and the other half are being left to roam free. According to the Mississippi State Extension Service, the caged plants may not produce ripe tomatoes as early as staked plants would, but they should produce more tomatoes that are less likely to crack or sunburn. We’ll see which of our plants become the best producers.

What’s your vote – caged or uncaged? How do you grow your tomatoes?

Photo credit: Nancy Mann Jackson