Newbie help: staking an established tomato plant?

[CSquared]

Hi all!

I apologize in advance if an answer to my question has been posted elsewhere--I did a forum search and didn't turn up anything, though I could have missed it. I also apologize for my nearly complete lack of gardening knowledge--this is my first time out the gate and I know very little, though I've been learning a lot as I go along.

I am using the square foot gardening technique with a 4x8' raised bed, and so far (I think) it's going very well! My one concern at the moment is one of my tomato plants. I chose a determinate plant (marglobe) because I didn't want to deal with staking. Apparently when I put the plant in the ground it was slightly askance, and as it continues to grow it is doing so markedly diagonally.

Now of course I'm cursing myself for not erring on the side of caution and staking anyway. This obviously isn't a problem now, but I feel this will be disastrous when the plant finally starts bearing tomatoes. So I figure I should bite the bullet and try to rectify the issue by staking it, but obviously I'm worried about root damage. Will I kill my plant if I do this (it's been in the ground 2.5 weeks)? Is there a method for more safely or gently staking after the fact? Should I leave it alone and risk it? Thank you for any help or advice you can give me!

 

[GoatDriver]

Drive a stake in the ground, several inches from the plant and tie it off to the stake.

 

[headfullofbees]

Bush tomatoes have a tendency to grow like that, in my experience, and I would try to support it AT THAT ANGLE, by using three canes arranged to form a tetrahedron.
You'll have fewer problems with trusses breaking like this.

 

[Patrick M]

Ive had this happen before and the way I corrected it was just by driving a single stake into the ground a few inches from the plant and using a relatively long piece of garden twine. I tied the garden twine from the stake to the plant. I would pull the plant slightly toward the stake about half an inch, the. In a week or a week and a half go out there and tighten it up pulling it about half an inch. I kept that up until it basically straighten itself out and was also well supported.

 

[CSquared]

Thank you all so much! I'm glad to know my marglobes (probably what I'm looking forward to the most!) aren't goners for sure.

 

[GardenToad]

I'm new to gardening also CSquared and the folks here have helped me with my own tomato troubles. A really great site with a log of wonderful people. Welcomel

 

[marlingardener]

Csquared, tomatoes tend to grow as the gardener does NOT wish! I have to tie every blessed one of ours to a trellis, and I use strips of old tee shirts. The cotton can be composted when tomato season is over; it stretches so there is less chance of breaking a branch; and it is soft, so it doesn't cut into a stem. The strips would work with a stake, or two, or three, also.

 

[DeborahJane]

I've used the commercial tomato stakes, 3 plastics stakes with adjustable struts but once the tomato plants grow they're not strong enough and lean over so I'll be trying a stronger method next time. I like the shirt idea, thanks Marlingardener.

 

[CSquared]

Man, you guys really are a font of information. I actually had been using cut up t-shirts--glad to know some more seasoned folk do too!