Tomatoes out of control

QUESTION: I grow tomatoes every year, and in the past I have used cages – first the round ones commonly available at the big box stores, and later some of the square type. Even with the square ones the plants always overcome the cage. They get leggy and end up coming out of the cages on the sides and then bend over the wires. This year I tried staking the plants and did not use cages, but I encounter the same issues, the side growth spreads out and I have to tie them every which way. What am I doing wrong? — Wayne

Tomato plants quickly overwhelm flimsy wire cages.

Those flimsy wire cages – the round ones – must be some kind of joke. Anyone who grows tomatoes knows that they don’t do much to support a full-size plant. Even if the vine doesn’t grow out over the top, the weight of a bumper crop of ‘Better Boys’ will topple those supports. The square cages are a little better, but they still won’t contain all those wayward limbs.

If you want to use cages, the best bet is to build your own, using sturdy wire fencing (or some suggest panels of concrete mesh, which has openings large enough to reach your hand through). Using the cage in addition to a tall, sturdy stake should keep the tomatoes standing upright and within bounds a little better.

Still, if the tomatoes are indeterminate varieties – that is, they continue to form tomatoes throughout the growing season — it helps to do a little pruning. As the plant grows, it will develop “suckers” in the angles between the main stem and the side stems. You should pinch or snap or cut these suckers off to keep the plant from getting too bushy. As the tomato plant grows taller, tie the main stem loosely to the stake.

By the way, it’s best to install stakes and cages at planting time. It’s surprising how quickly a tomato plant can grow out of control. Keep that in mind for next year.

Events

June 2: Seeds of Hope self-guided garden tour. Six gardens in Belle Meade, Green Hills and Oak Hill, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Tickets $25; proceeds benefit Monroe Harding programs for children. www.monroeharding.org.

June 3: The Nashville African Violet Club meets at 1:45 at the Green Hill Women’s Center, 10905 Lebanon Road in Mt. Juliet. E-mail Julie.mavity@gmail.com to learn more.

June 9: The Robertson County Master Gardeners are hosting a garden tour of some of the most beautiful gardens in theSpringfield area. Visitors will see garden ponds, a greenhouse, garden sculptures, and woodland settings and some unique plants in these private gardens. Hours are10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; tickets are $5 per person, $8 per couple and will be available on the day of the tour on the pavilion of the UT Extension Office on the square inSpringfield, and at the Potting Shed in Greenbrier.

June 9: Plan a road trip to Rugby, Tenn., for an all-day event at Historic Rugby Cumberland Plateau Gardens. The day begins at 9 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) with “Rugby Landscape Gardening From 1880 to 2012” by Rick Murphy, followed by  “Garden Design Sun to Shade” a workshop by Bob Washburn of Wolf River Valley Growers. Lunch, garden tours and a British Cream Tea round out the schedule. The cost is $40, and advance reservations are required. Proceeds benefit Historic Rugby. Information, 888-214-3400.

June 10: The Tennessee Gesneriad Society meets in Cheekwood’s Botanic Hall at2 p.m. Program is a Mini Show. Contact Julie at 615-364-8459 to learn more.

June 15 – 16: The American Hosta Society is convening in Nashville this year, and the public is invited to visited the National Hosta Show at the Nashville Airport Marriott Friday, June 15,2  – 5:30 p.m., and Saturday June 16,9 a.m. –noon. Vendor areas will be open during those times, as well. This is expected to be one of the largest hosta shows in recent history with more than 800 entries expected. Visitors to the show will have the opportunity to see a wide range of sizes and colors of hostas, displayed as single leaves, hostas not yet on the market, hostas grown in containers, and hostas used in artistic designs. Read more about the convention here.

Boxwood pruning, and May fairs, sales & tours

If boxwoods need trimming, try to get the job done in late winter or early spring, before new growth begins.

QUESTION: Our boxwoods have a few limbs at the bottom that have lost their leaves and appear dead. Is it safe to trim boxwoods at this time of year?

If the limbs are dead, cut them off. No matter what time of year it is, dead limbs serve no useful purpose. If the rest of the shrub seems healthy, those lower limbs may have died because they haven’t received enough sun, or from mower damage. “But boxwoods are pretty good about repairing themselves,” says Randall Lantz, a horticulturist who has a lot of experience with these popular landscape shrubs.

The ideal time to trim boxwood is late winter or early spring, before new growth begins. It’s not a good idea to trim late in the summer. New growth that may follow the trim will not have a chance to harden before winter, and tender new leaves could be killed. Pruning out dead limbs now shouldn’t be a problem, thought. “They’re very forgiving shrubs,” Lantz says.

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Garden events

Take a break from digging to enjoy these garden-related events this month:

May 12

* First Unitarian Universalist Churchof Nashville’s Herb & Craft Fair. Shop for herb seedlings, heirloom tomatoes, native wildflowers, handmade aprons, sachets, soaps and totes, pressed flower cards, homemade breads, spice mixes, vinegars and more. 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.1808 Woodmont Blvd. www.firstuunashville.org.

* Robertson County Master Gardeners plant sale. Locally grown perennials, herbs, annuals, shrubs and small trees, 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.at the UT Extension Office pavilion on the square inSpringfield.

* The Middle Tennessee Hosta Society sale. More than 200 varieties of hostas for sale at the parking lot of Maryland Farms YMCA in Brentwood, 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.For a list of plants, visit www.mths-hosta.com.

May 19

* Gardening A to Z, a gardening workshop presented by the Davidson County Master Gardeners. The day includes four gardening lectures (including Jeff Poppen, the Barefoot Gardener), question-and-answer booth, plant sale, and Jr. Master Gardener White Elephant Sale, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.at the DCMG Demonstration Garden at Ellington Agricultural Center. Admission is free; lectures are $2 each or all four for $5. Information: http://dcmggardeningatoz.weebly.com.

*The Mid-South Chapter of the Lupus Foundation’s Down the Garden Path garden tour and plant sale May 19 and 20. Visit nine gardens in Belle Meade, Green Hills and Franklin. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.Saturday, noon– 6 p.m.Sunday. Tickets are $20 prior to the event, $25 on tour days, and proceeds benefit the Lupus Foundation of America, Mid-South chapter. www.lupusmidsouth.org.

Looking ahead

Plan a road trip on June 9 to Rugby, Tenn., for an all-day event at Historic Rugby Cumberland   Plateau Gardens. The day begins at 9 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) with “Rugby Landscape Gardening From 1880 to 2012” by Rick Murphy, followed by “Garden Design Sun to Shade” a workshop by Bob Washburn of Wolf River Valley Growers. Lunch, garden tours and a British Cream Tea round out the schedule. The cost is $40, and advance reservations are required. Proceeds benefit Historic Rugby. Information, 888-214-3400.

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It was a roller-coaster spring, weather-wise. But now it’s suddenly summer, and time for serious gardening. Check out the May Landscape & Garden Calendar in today’s Tennessean and at Tennessean.com here and here.