Tired of flimsy metal cages that keep breaking every season or topple over from the weight of your plants? If you want an easy and inexpensive way to trellis tomatoes, let me introduce you to the Florida weave. Also known as the basket weave method, it goes up fast and uses everyday supplies you might already have around the yard.
But it’s actually an effective method of trellising (staking) tomatoes if you plant your tomatoes side by side in rows.
Many small-scale farmers and commercial growers employ the Florida weave method (also called the basket weave method) because it’s fast, simple to set up and maintain, and uses space efficiently during the growing season—as well as after the growing season when there’s so little material to store.
I first learned about the Florida weave over 12 years ago when I was deciding how to support my 14 tomato plants in raised beds.
That first summer, I caged all my tomatoes with the metal conical cages you typically find in garden centers. While the conical cages worked okay in the beginning, I managed to obliterate a few (mostly while uprooting old plants) and didn’t have enough for all my sprawling indeterminates that season.
I also found that my plants became too top-heavy for the cages as they grew taller—and while I’d like to think I was an awesome first-timer at growing tomatoes (haha), the simple fact was that my plants easily outgrew those small cones.
So rather than buying more cages (too much money for something that wasn’t durable) or constructing my own towers out of rebar and cattle panels (too much work), I started looking for tomato supports that were inexpensive and effortless.
That’s when I discovered the Florida weave technique!
The Florida weave used everyday supplies I already had around the yard (stakes and string), and with a little help from my handy husband (who has all the fun tools), I had all my plants neatly trellised in no time at all.What is the Florida weave?
With the Florida weave method, the idea is to “sandwich” your plants between lengths of twine. The twine gently holds up the plants without the need for additional stakes and clips.
Overhead view of tomato stem being trellised by hemp twine in a Florida weave
Close-up of tomato stem supported on both sides by green twine
Ideally, you start trellising tomato plants when they’re under 2 feet tall and easier to manage. (I do mine shortly after I transplant my tomatoes in a trench, but before I mulch my beds.)
Larger plants become unruly and difficult to weave around the branches. You also run the risk of driving stakes into the roots of more established plants. So, start early with this system!
Large tomato plants trellised in a raised bed using the basket weave technique
What kind of tomatoes can you support with the Florida weave?
The Florida weave works especially well for determinate tomatoes, since they never grow more than 5 feet in height. This makes it easy to contain the plants within the weave and have them be fully supported, especially if you’re using wooden stakes and natural-fiber twine.
However, I’ve always trellised indeterminate tomato plants with the Florida weave and never had issues. In raised beds, my plants typically grow 8 to 9 feet tall, so any part of the vines that grow beyond the stakes simply drape over the topmost twine like a bed sheet on a clothesline.