Trellises for tomatoes and cucumbers — what actually holds

End of May is the moment when you decide the next four months. Tomatoes are in, cucumbers too, and both are shooting up like crazy — and right now they need something to hold on to. If you sleep through this, by July you'll be tying with clothespins to bamboo because nothing else works.

Here are the three setups I've built in Berikon over the last few years, what worked, and where I wasted money.

What trellises really need to do

A tomato carries 4–6 kg of fruit on a single plant in August. A cucumber pushes 2 metres of vine in 6 weeks. So your trellis isn't just holding the young shoot — it's holding the loaded, fully-leafed plant in an August storm.

Three failure patterns I've personally lived through:

• Bamboo stakes without depth — bamboo rots 5 cm below the soil after one season. The next year the stake snaps exactly there when the tomato is loaded. Classic.
• Metal stakes too thin — the cheap 4 mm green stakes bend under cucumbers. Looks fine for two weeks, then everything collapses.
• Tomato cages from the hardware store — useless for indeterminate tomatoes. The shoots grow out the top, the cage tips. Only works on bush (determinate) tomatoes.

What actually holds in my bed

For indeterminate tomatoes — 75 cm stakes, one per plant. I use Novatool plant stakes 75 cm green, 10-pack* — 8 mm metal pipe with plastic coating. Holds. 30 cm in the soil, 45 cm visible, that's enough until end of June. When the tomato outgrows it, I tie a second stake on top horizontally as an extension — done. No expensive system, no kits, just stakes.

For cucumbers and runner beans — taller, thicker supports. Here I use Plant supports 20-pack, green stakes* — same construction, longer stakes, thicker diameter. Cucumbers need at least 1.5 metres to climb, otherwise they collapse after 6 weeks despite the support. Beans grow just as tall, often taller.

For lazy days — cages only for bush tomatoes. If you have bush tomatoes (says "determinate" on the seed packet), a simple wire cage actually works. But that's the exception — most tomato varieties in DACH gardens are indeterminate.

My setup for a 120×80 bed

• 4 tomatoes + 4 Novatool stakes (one per plant, individually)
• 2 cucumbers at the edge + 2 long plant supports
• Beans climbing on a string strung between stakes at the back of the bed this year — cheap and works

Investment: about 25 Euros for both packs, lasts 3–4 seasons because each pack has 10–20 stakes — enough for several beds or several years.

What you can do this afternoon

1. Walk to your bed
2. Look at each tomato — still upright or leaning already?
3. For each leaning plant: stake next to it, 30 cm deep, tie loosely (jute string, not too tight — the stem still needs to thicken)
4. Cucumbers: guide upwards, loosely wrap a couple of vines around the stake. They do the rest themselves.

Whoever does this today gets the big harvest in August. Whoever waits is tying with clothespins to tomato cages that don't hold.

🦔 Stachi

---

Note: Links marked with * are Amazon partner links. If you order through them, Erntezeit earns a small commission — the price for you stays the same. I never recommend anything I don't have in my own bed.