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Grow & Tell

Interlochen Public Radio's biweekly look at gardening with the seasons in northern Michigan. New episodes every other week from springtime through the harvest.

Grow & Tell: Trellising Tomatoes with Twine

Interlochen Public Radio | By Dylan Kulik,

Ellie Katz

Published June 13, 2025 at 5:48 AM EDT

Your tomatoes have adjusted to being outside. Now, it's trellis time. Here's why I go for tomato twine instead of cages.

Grow & Tell is IPR’s biweekly gardening segment to guide you through the growing season. In each episode, I’ll walk you through gardening tasks tailored for northern Michigan’s climate and soils — whether you're working with raised beds or patio pots.

Have gardening questions you want Grow & Tell to answer? Email me at dylan.kulik@interlochen.org.

Today’s tip: Trellis your tomatoes for a stronger, more productive plant

We’re out in the garden today with our Jasper cherry tomatoes. Right now, they’re about 12 to 15 inches tall, with several healthy leaf branches and one strong central stem — the star of the show today.

With the right support, that main stem will thicken over the next two months, eventually covered in fan leaves, blossoms, and sun-ripened red fruit. That support is what we're focused on today.

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Tools of the trade. Tall tomato cages work well, of course, but I prefer to run some twine from a tall shepherd's hook for tomato support. That gives the tomato structure while still allowing flexibility.

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Once you have your twine running down from a vertical anchor, gently wrap it around your tomato — almost like the stripes on a candy cane.

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As your tomato continues to grow, go into your garden and wrap the few inches of new growth around the twine. Make sure to pluck blossoms and suckers — new growth coming out of the side of your plant.

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Your support twine should look like this after wrapping. You can leave it loose at the bottom — no need to tie it off.

Step 1: Remove blossoms and suckers

We want this tomato variety to grow tall. To do that, we need to remove its blossoms and suckers.

It may feel counterintuitive, but removing early flowers helps the plant focus on growing strong stems and leaves now. We want blossoms in July, August, and September — not in early June.

It's a similar thing with suckers — those new, little shoots of growth that come out of the side branches. Allowing suckers to grow will make our plant bushy and wide. We don't want that with this cherry tomato variety.

Step 2: Pick your support system

These plants will get tall, so we’re going vertical.

I use twine hanging from a vertical anchor — it's simple, cheap and allows for natural airflow and movement. This mimics how tomatoes would grow in the wild, leading to sturdier stems.

Shepherd's hooks work well as vertical anchors for your twine trellis.

I'm in a hoop house, you I run twine from the rafters. If you're at home, try a tall shepherd’s hook (around 80-90 inches is perfect) or attach a hook to a nearby fence or trellis.

Step 3: Wrap your tomato gently

Once the twine is in place, grip the tomato stem about two inches from the top and start gently wrapping the twine around the stem, working downward in a loose spiral.

Leave about one inch between each wrap. Don’t tie it off or make knots — the goal is support, not constriction.

This method lets your tomato plant grow tall while still swaying naturally in the breeze, which strengthens its structure.

Step 4: Keep it growing

Tomatoes grow fast. Every few days, come back to pinch off suckers and blossoms and to gently guide the new growth around the twine as the plant keeps climbing.

This helps avoid the stem flopping over and ensures consistent support all season long.

I like to think of it as a little tomato jig:

Blossom? Pinch.
Sucker? Pinch.
Wrap it around the twine. Repeat.