Is it too late to tie up this tomato plant?

[OuiOuiMonAmi]

A few weeks ago I planted my last little tomato plant and I assumed it wouldn’t grow because it was in a really shady corner so I didn’t bother putting in a support structure. I went away for a few weeks and have come back to a massive plant with loads of green tomatoes on it! Trouble is, it's sprawled all over the ground and is smothering my nice new ceanothus bush! So, my question is - is it too late to put in some sort of support now? The stems are really thick and heavy (and a bit tangled) - will they just snap if I try and tie them up?

If you go gently they'll probably be OK. My experience is the other way round - I come home to find that I haven't kept up with the tying in, and a stem has bent double just above the last tie. It doesn't snap, it just bends double, and the hollow stem goes flat where the bend is. I gently lift it up and tie it in higher up and all is fine.

Even if you don't think you can get it vertical, it would be worth supporting it horizontally or at an angle 6inches above the soil, to offer some protection against slugs.

I would tie them up. You might break one or two but tomatoes on the ground will be eaten/rot. When you've tied it up give it a feed too. The forecast for this weekend will help ripening!