What and How Much Do You Want to Grow? - Backyard Farming: On an Acre - page 51

We secured the rope at the top of our solid privacy fence and staked it into the ground. These indeterminate
tomatoes grew well up the slanted rope trellis.
Arbor. A permanent structure like an arbor is a classic solution for growing grapes. I've also seen
adorable vegetable garden entrances with gourds and cucumbers growing over the top of an arbor.
Fence. Don't ignore the already-existing structures in your backyard. Fences can be a great asset for
backyard farming. You can create a trellis on a solid fence, as I did with the tomatoes in the previ-
ous photo. You can also use the fence itself as a trellis when you have something like hog panel,
chain link, or other open fencing types. Do keep in mind, when you're using fencing as a trellis,
that you'll need to have a fencing material sturdy enough to support the plants.
Cage. These are a staple of the classic vegetable garden, most often seen with tomatoes. Traditional
two-tier cages tend to work best with determinate tomatoes versus indeterminate tomato varieties.
See Chapter 8 for details about growing tomatoes in the backyard farm.
deFinitiOn
determinate tomatoes are typically bush form plants that reach a specific height (say 4 to 5 feet tall), then
flower and produce fruit all at once. Determinates should not be pruned by removing the suckers at the
stems or fruit will be diminished. These are best suited for cages and fruit is often used for canning, paste,
or sauce making in large batches. indeterminate tomatoes are typically vining plants that grow continu-
ously throughout the season, flower sporadically, and produce fruit steadily until first frost. They can grow
as tall as 12 feet or more and will dwarf (or topple) a traditional tomato cage. Indeterminates are usually
considered more tasty and flavorful.