Canes or Strings?

stompy · « **on:** August 11, 2011, 08:07 »

I have grown my tomatoes and cucumbers up strings/gardeners twine this year instead of my usual method of canes, i won't be doing it a gain.

The string/gardeners twine that i have used has rotted at the bottom and is looking rather dubiouse at the top.
I have wound the plant around the sting very well but most of the plants have slipped on the strings and are starting to bunch up at the bottom.

Never had this problem with canes so i will be going back to this method once again.

Which method do you prefere and have you had any problems with either?

mumofstig · « **Reply #1 on:** August 11, 2011, 08:20 »

tried strings, didn't like em..so back to canes

sarajane · « **Reply #2 on:** August 11, 2011, 08:32 »

always canes as easy to tie the plant to. strings look like too much fiddly work.

Springlands · « **Reply #3 on:** August 11, 2011, 08:40 »

Definitely canes - just feel that they are better at supporting a heavily laden tomato plant. In the greenhouse the canes themselves are supported by heavy string which is stretched horizontally across the greenhouse. Outside the canes are just pushed as deeply as possible into the ground.

arugula · « **Reply #4 on:** August 11, 2011, 09:17 »

String....

... tied up to the top wooden supports. Same for the cucs in the other "house".

Works a treat.

JayG · « **Reply #5 on:** August 11, 2011, 09:51 »

Canes (anchored in the growbags at the bottom and tied to a cross wire at the top) and also polypropylene string (miles of; doesn't rot!)

Lots of canes outdoors as well; I put strong canes at the corners of my block of sweetcorn and run thick braided plastic string round the outside then diagonally across the middle at about 2' high. This has kept them all upright even during the recent windy weather and is a lot easier than staking each individual plant.

Didn't use quite enough canes for the 7' high sugarsnaps though; yesterday I found the whole lot had toppled onto my blueberries, although luckily they are netted up and didn't get damaged. (The peas are now propped upright with two brooms and a rake and will have to be taken out today!)

waddecar · « **Reply #6 on:** August 11, 2011, 11:41 »

String - i use bailing twine, it's rot proof but any synthetic string will resist rotting

Growster... · « **Reply #7 on:** August 11, 2011, 12:20 »

Used strings for years, admittedly, it was orange bailer twine, which was rough and never rotted, but I noticed that they did the same at Wisley with cucumbers a few years ago, so I do them as well.

Canes need tying in regularly, which for 60 - 70 plants is a bit nauseous on the old back...

annieandjeremy · « **Reply #8 on:** August 11, 2011, 12:55 »

I've used a system of posts (3 in all) with short cross members near the top. I then have stiff wire running between the crosspieces and have tied canes to these. This seems to be a favourite method on our site. Having thought we had lost some of our plants to the strong winds near the end of May we planted back up seeds at every cane - now it is like a runner bean jungle with hosts of flowers and a steady crop of beans.

The only slight problem is that one or two plants have made a bid for the next cane and have pulled some of the canes towards each other. Very few plotholders on our site use strings; most use canes but being near the edge of Barr Beacon it gets very windy on our site.

Trillium · « **Reply #9 on:** August 11, 2011, 15:48 »

I use the poly baling twine as well. Got an almost full box very cheap at an auction. If you set the string on an angle, there's less slippage.

As for twine, it's nicely eco and all but terrible for rotting away at the wrong time.

stompy · « **Reply #10 on:** August 12, 2011, 08:47 »

I don't/won't use poly cord/string/twine on my plot anywhere.

I got absolutely fed up of digging it up from my old plot and have found loads of it in the ground in my new plot.

It as you say doesn't rot and ends up everywhere so i will always use natural twine, i find it lasts the full growing season for tieing in plants to suports and then it goes in the compost heap along with the spent plants.

It's just no good for use as a support like i needeed, lesson learned and back to canes

GrannieAnnie · « **Reply #11 on:** August 12, 2011, 09:08 »

Canes for me too, even when I had 200 tomatoes in my polytunnel and greenhouse!

stompy · « **Reply #12 on:** August 12, 2011, 09:10 »

Quote

I had 200 tomatoes in my polytunnel and greenhouse

Ohh my god

What did you do with them all?

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Canes or Strings?

stompy

Canes or Strings?

mumofstig

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sarajane

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Springlands

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arugula

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JayG

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waddecar

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Growster...

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annieandjeremy

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Trillium

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stompy

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GrannieAnnie

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stompy

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