Is it really necessary to stake tomatoes?
A. It is unless you like sore backs and rotten tomatoes. There are lots of ways to keep tomatoes off the ground without staking. Old fencing made up of large squares, wooden frames, and plastic pails with the top and bottom cut out all do fine as supports. I still like stakes. Me, I drive a six-foot metal pole—only metal will do—into the same hole and at the same time I plant my tomatoes. As the plants grow, I tie them to the stake with pieces of nylon pantyhose, not rope or twistums. I use metal poles and nylon because they attract static electricity, which makes stronger, greener plants, and deeper fruit.
