[Amilo]

As my grape vines are taking more roof space in the green house now I have decided to reduce the hight of the tomato's that grow in buckets underneath them, but I would like to keep the same crop size as I am used to. I normally grow one plant per bucket but with the reduction in hight I am thinking of either grow two plants in one bucket or let one plant have  two cordons. What do you think?

[mumofstig]

making them double cordons works for my Rio Grande 

They get a cane either side and the strongest shoot, from low down, gets trained as if it was another main stem

[Kleftiwallah]

When my toms are approaching the roof, I unwind them and then lay them on the ground before sending them up a convenient cane (much like sweet peas).

Cheers,   Tony.

[Kirpi]

How do you make a double cordon? Is it the main stem plus allow one lateral to grow and train them up separate canes? This happened by accident this year with a couple of laterals I missed when pruning out.

[mumofstig]

It's as easy as I described above................ just let a strong low side shoot grow and treat it as if it was another tomato plant, with regard to tieing in to a cane and side-shooting

[Kristen]

I would layer them too, as they do with commercial tomato crops.

Or perhaps train them on strings at 45 degrees, rather than vertical, but I can't get my brain around whether that gets you more "crop" or not.  It gets you more trusses per plant ... but perhaps no more crop weight for a given area.

I presume its a solid floor?  Otherwise lowering the floor, or sinking the pots into the ground, would gain you more cropping height. I have "lowered beds", rather than raised ones , in my greenhouse for that reason, and I also plant the Toms under the ridge for max height (and crops of shorter plants near the eaves)

[Kirpi]

It's as easy as I described above................ just let a strong low side shoot grow and treat it as if it was another tomato plant, with regard to tieing in to a cane and side-shooting

Thanks Mum - I don't know why I didn't read that into your earlier post - I just repeated what you said and asked if that's what you said! It's been a long day/week/year.

[mumofstig]

any excuse eh?