FAQ FRIDAY: PLANT SUPPORT
MAY 3, 2024Calling all recovering chaos gardeners: how plant support = more blooms and a happier gardener
Plant support is something to start thinking about long before you plant a single plant.
Many plant varieties, especially when placed in an urban garden with limited space, require support to keep them upright, out of walkways, and provide you the longest straightest stems on flowers (and veggies that haven’t been visited by critters!)
Plants should be supported at about 1/3 and 2/3 their mature height. Often that is at a 12-18” point, and again 2-3’ from the soil level. Two or three layers of netting, spaced a foot to a foot and a half apart will keep your plants tall and strong, no matter what winds or storms come through.
The supports I use in my garden and when:
Netting: this is the method I use most often in my garden because it is efficient for the way I grow (in blocks of a single crop). Netting typically comes in four-foot widths, with six inch repeating squares. You can trim either the length or width to fit your needs. Don’t forget this netting can be saved and rolled up season after season to reduce plastic waste. To install netting, you drive stakes deeply at the corners of each bed, and stretch the netting so it is taught. If your bed is longer than 6’ long, you may want to drive additional stakes so that the middle of the bed doesn’t sag.
Stakes + Clips: This method is great if you’re growing just a few plants, or need the ability to support each plant in a specific way. Drive a sturdy stake (bamboo, cedar, pine) or a ladder style cage along the base of the main stem. Then, use clips to attach the stem to the stake, adding more each week as the plant gets taller.
Stakes and Twine: This option is great is you would like to support an entire bed without using plastic netting.
Tomato Cages: while you’ll never catch me using a tomato cage on a tomato plant (I prefer Gardener’s Supply Ladders or Texas Tomato Cages), I do love to use tomato cages on interplanted dahlias.
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