On Feb 24, 2022, at 12:18 PM, Taylor Mendell <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Hi Veg and Berries,

I started an email with a few growers who are using the Qlipr trellising system to try to problem solve some common issues. If you're interested in joining this conversation, please see email below and send me your name, your farm name, location, crop and leaders per plant, and issues experienced. (examples below)

Thanks!

Taylor

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Hi Everyone,

Thanks to all who responded. Sounds like many of you are interested in the system, but here for information only. (That's fine!) Many of us are having similar issues, so I reached out to Farmers Friend, who sells the system, to see if they have anyone who could join the conversation. Here's a link to their Qlipr info pag e , but no info that will help with the attached questions. I'm also going to reach out to the New England Vegetable and Berry Growers Association listserv to see if anyone there has some insight.

Here are the issues below, if you have solutions or ideas please respond to the whole list (replyall) with the info that you have.

Thanks!

Lily, Dooryard farm, Camden Maine

Cherry tomatoes/slicers/heirlooms

Two leaders per plant, for the most part

Plants too heavy, so some leaders break out of clips and fall on the ground (fruit on ground) 

From Taylor: have you tried wickets? Those can help hold some of the weight, and we've also found some plants need 3 clips. The Farmers Friend website advises 3 clips for slicers.

Alyssa, Plenty Wild Farms, Pemberton BC Canada

Long English Cucumbers, Cherry Tomatoes, Slicing Tomatoes

Single leader per plant 

We've only used the Qlipr system for one year.

Last year our cherry tomato yield was shockingly low. We had some transplant issues at the start of the season and intense heat throughout the summer both of which were obvious factors in our overall yield. However, it also seemed like every time we lowered the plants a lot of fruit (ripe & unripe) would fall off and I wonder how significant of a contributing factor that was as well?

From Taylor: we started using shade cloth on our tomato, pepper, and cucumber houses on super crazy heat wave days. It seemed to help with loss of some flowers due to heat. 

On a similar note, although we found it ergonomic to work with the plants for pruning & trellising we always found ourselves crawling or crouching low to harvest. Similar to your experience, it felt like we never got the hang of lowering - the ripe fruit often seemed to end up on the ground or close to it. 

We also found it difficult to get the clips around thick plant stems - notably with our slicing tomatoes.

Eli, Abundant Acres, Centre Burlington, Nova Scotia, Canada. 

Cherry Tomatoes

2 leaders per plant 

Ripening fruit on ground, fruit splitting on ground.

From Taylor: two things I have heard, but not tried: 1. prune off the first flower brack before fruit sets so that ripening starts higher up the plant. 2. fold fruit bracks over the stem of the plant so that the plant holds the fruit off the ground. We also found that wickets helped, but not with varieties with long fruit bracks.

Kristy, Bascom Road Blueberry Farm, Newport NH 

We don't use that exact system. I thought it was a generic term for all clips when I saw your post. We use standard strainers with black clips for all of our vines in the GH - tomatoes, cherry toms, cukes and peppers. 

Tomatoes and cukes - one leader 

Peppers - two 

We also struggle with fruit on the ground initially. We do the best we can to prop up vines and lean when we can to get them up but have not perfected by any means. I wondered if even if we are different system if I could still learn a technique or two. 

Jessica, Sugar Top Farms, Clermont, FL

Cherry tomatoes + slicers - both grafted

1 leader per plant

Foam clips getting stuck to early transplants. We use overhead irrigation in the early days and the moisture causes the transplants to root to the foam. Coming out of FL summer, drip won’t cut it until transplants are fully established.

Also same with fruit on the ground.

Taylor, Footprint Farm, Starksboro VT

Cherry tomatoes

2 leaders per plant

Ripening fruit on the ground, even with wickets

Super thick plant stems early on that won't fit in the Qlipr clips

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Taylor Mendell

Footprint Farm

Starksboro, VT

www.footprintfarmvt.com

On Fri, Feb 18, 2022 at 10:25 AM Taylor Mendell <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Hi all, and thanks for being part of my Qlipr resource sharing group!

I'm not sure the best way to do this since there are a lot of you and probably a lot of both questions and tips to share. Let's try email to start, then if this chain gets too wild maybe we switch to a cleaner method? Ideally there will be one big flurry of emails, then we'll have a set of resources and we can check back in during the season if anything comes up.

So what I'd love for you to do is email me back (do not reply all!) with your name/farm name and location, crop you're using Qlipr for (differentiate between cherry tomatoes and slicers), leaders/heads per plant, top 2-3 complaints/issues/questions about the Qlipr system.

I'll start as an example:

Taylor, Footprint Farm, Starksboro VT

Cherry tomatoes

2 leaders per plant

Ripening fruit on the ground, even with wickets

Super thick plant stems early on that won't fit in the Qlipr clips

I'll compile and send back out, then if you have a fix or idea that works for an issue, reply all with your tips. Photos are a helpful bonus if you have them!

Thanks everyone, and here's to a bountiful season for all.

Best,

Taylor

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Taylor Mendell

Footprint Farm

Starksboro, VT

www.footprintfarmvt.com