Staking & Support

Staking and Supporting Plants

Providing your plants with support has many benefits for the health of the plant and the yield they produce.

Staking your plants will make sure they won’t sprawl and will keep them tidy making more space for other plants to grow to their full potential too. Supporting plants on a trellis or by staking will improve the air circulation, make it easier to harvest, and reduce some pest and disease issues. We go into more depth about the benefits of trellises and all the different types here Types of Trellises.

We often use bamboo poles and string to create a supportive structure for plants to climb. Another item we often use for supporting vegetables is floral wire or garden wire. It is best to use garden wire that is either foam or soft rubber so it doesn’t cut into the plant as they grow.

Plants That Need Support

You don’t need to provide support for all of your vegetable plants but there are a few that do require support.

Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants are all plants that do well with the support of stakes or cages. These plants can often grow too tall or too fast and cant support their own weight. Their fruit can grow really fast and tends to be too heavy for the plant. Putting these plants into a cage or using a support structure will ensure they will not break under their weight. Raspberries also benefit from being supported while they grow. Staking your raspberries will make pruning them much easier. The extra support will also prevent the raspberry canes from breaking under the pressure of hungry squirrels or chipmunks climbing up for a snack.

Beans, peas, squash, cucumber, and other climbing or vining plants will need support. Their natural growth habits are to climb and their tendrils will reach out to grab onto supportive structures. They grow well on many different types of trellises that give them the space they need and the airflow to prevent diseases.

Some crawling plants will benefit from growing vertically. They need to be trained to grow this way at first. You can grow these crawling plants in a way that supports other plants. For example you can grow cucumbers over an arched trellis leaving space underneath for plants that like a bit more shade such as arugula.

There are also many flowers that require the support of a stake. Some sunflowers, dahlias, zinnias, and peonies are a few of the flowers that tend to flop over under their weight. We recently started using individual plant stakes that have a small support cage at the top. We found these work really well for supporting flowers.

Maintenance

It is important to continuously check on the plants you have supported with a trellis or stakes. Vegetable plants grow fast and will often need to be trained to continue climbing up the support. If you are using ties to keep the plants supported you will need to tie them up every 6 - 8 inches while they continue to grow. Make sure not to tie your plants too tight as it can cut into the plants and leave wounds which are more susceptible to disease.