Tomato Tunnel Trellis

What a great year 2017 was for Tomatoes

Planted Tunnel

The weather was perfect for tomatoes last year. Even in the hottest period temps dropped low enough for fruit set. Normally we have a month when no fruit will set because of high evening temperatures. Rains came regularly and our crop did very well on a tunnel trellis.

Established planting

All of our determinant tomatoes were planted next to the tunnel. The structure is made of T posts and 16 foot fence panels. The panels are stuck into the ground on one side, attached to the fence post, bent over and attached to the other post. It offers 6 1/2 feet or more of head clearance. Each panel is tied together with wire to make a solid unit structure. This year we will plant peas and cucumber on the trellis to rotate crops. I hope the trellis will last 10 years as a permanent fixture in the garden.

Training vines

It is important to train the vines up the trellis. At first we pruned the vines to a single leader to promote better fruit. This really worked as our first clutches of fruit were exceptional. For heavy fruit varieties this is especially important. Later in the season we did not train or prune the vines and many vines slumped off the trellis because they were so heavy with fruit.

Still we had good success keeping most of the vines well supported in the trellis. Our favorite cherry tomato, Gardner’s Delight, went crazy with growth. With only 3 vines it covered one end of the trellis and grew 12 feet long and produced without pause all summer.

Vines covering tunnel trellis

You can see the vines covering the entire trellis. It was a real pleasure to stand inside and harvest fruit.

harvested tomatoes

We harvested box after box of tomatoes. Most went to the food pantry. This load of goodies went to the LeMay family gathering on July 4th.