Texas Tomato Cages: help me decide 20 or 24'

12 years ago

I hate to spend this much money, but alas I give in to the fact that tomatoes need strong support. I love the feature of their folding up for storage!

I am growing in raised beds and very large containers. 24" diameter cages would fit, but wouldn't 20" suffice just as well?

For those who have used them, what do you think? I'm growing: Cherokee Purple, San Marzano, Opalka, Anna Russian, Arkansas Traveler, Brandywine and Black Krim. They're in the ground and mulches, but not yet supported. I need to get a move on to get that resolved.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

lesmatzek209
12 years ago
they are the best on the market
for the price, i have them but
the only thing i dislike about
them is even the 24 inch like i
have there is not enough room
my plants are so compressed
you can not see your tomatoes
and if you should get some
leaf decease,s you may not have
enought time to control them.

i will be making my own cages
and they will be 30 inches in
diameter and be made with 1/2
x 1/2 inch thin wall tubind
good luck.

les
ditnc
Original Author
12 years ago
The plants gets compressed? Don't the branches and leaves grow outside of the cage perimeter? I'm having trouble visualizing that....
Related Discussions
tomato spacing and cage size
Q
Comments (3)
well you must be a good gardener since they are growing so well! Your spacing sounds good for indeterminate plants - they need some breathing space. I have not used the texas cages so I cannot comment on that. But the 18 sounds good compared to 24 so you might get better air circulation between the cages. The tomato forum on gardenweb has tons of thread on tomato supports. I made mine from concrete wire mesh that is 5 feet high, and the diameter is about 20 inches. Last few years there were two staked side by side on the north side of a few of my 4'x4' boxes (shorter veggies to the south of the tomatoes so that the tomatoes would get more light. There was some blight and tomato speck last year so I rotated the tomatoes out of the SFG boxes into a different part of the garden. One tip you will learn in growing tomatoes is that it is good to get any stakes and cages in at the time of planting so you do not disturb the roots later with the stake. Plus it can be hard to get cages around plants that have grown larger. :) Rachel
...See More
24 Tomato Cages, 24 Tomatoes to choose from
Q
Comments (9)
Thanks, all, but I am quite determined to limit myself to 24 plants. No volunteers this year, no extra seedlings, nothing. This should prove more than ample for 1.25 tomato eaters (me and SomeOne who likes 'a slice' on 'a sandwich' - incomprehensible) and I am much more interested in getting a handle on my festering cesspool of disease so that they are healthier. But no one seems to think I should sacrifice my variety for science - thanks for the enabling there! I'm going to be dizzy with 24 different varieties to taste and keep track of. Dave and smithmal, thanks for the suggestions on varieties to cut. You're right, Long Keeper is at the top of the list to go (was more prone to ordering novelties in my gardening youth 4 years ago). Anna I'm surprised to hear since I thought she was generally well regarded, but she hasn't ever done much for me compared to Cour Di Bue, so she can go. Delicious might have to stay in just because it was a freebie 4-5 years ago and I haven't ever grown it because it's always been high on the cut list. I don't store my seeds for longevity so I might be running out of time on that one. Lucky Cross I have grown before but I don't think it did well - I don't seem to have a recollection of it -so it might need to stay in to get properly evaluated. So between new varieties I want to try, freebies I really should try, and returning players who fill a specific position, I might be down to Sungold or possibly Jersey Giant for my last cut. I've grown and liked both, but haven't come even close to consuming the Sungolds other than for some snacks in the garden, so they just make a mess. Jersey Giant has a sweetness that I enjoy, but has been rather low production and I have all my other 'Jerseys'.
...See More
Help me decide....tomato support
Q
Comments (9)
I grew 18 tomato plants last year in ground and one in a big pot (for comparison). I was almost sold on making CRW cages, but the mesh around here was not cheap and it was only 5' and ... just didn't appeal to me. I bought 20 seven foot steel stakes that were painted green at around $2 per. Should've bought 8 foot ones, but shipping was much higher and by the time I found a coupon on the internet for a flat shipping fee from that company, they already shipped them. I pounded them in the ground about a foot and a half deep in two rows (row of 11 and a row of 9). I had some 22 gauge steel wire laying around so I cut that up, had enough to make bottom set of rings. Then I bought a roll of 18 or 19 gauge wire and made two more sets of rings. So I ended up with a cross between tomato cages and those flimsy tomato rings on a stick. Only rings were supported by two sticks and they were all connected to the others in that row. Worked out pretty good. I had a few plants that grew about 12 feet tall, folded over and grew all the way back to the ground. And some of the bottom rings got bent a bit by the end of the season.
...See More
Tomato Cage Size
Q
Comments (41)
Since we've got CRW cages, and PVC cages here, I was wondering if anyone has tried this: three or four bamboo sticks (say 5-6ft tall above ground) with galvanized steel wire hoops attached to them somehow every 10 or so inches up the poles. The wire would be that heavy guage, rust-free stuff you can buy in coils for like $6 or so. I have a lot of .5 in thick bamboo pools which I got for free. I am only going to plant about 4 or 5 indeterminant plants that would need these tall cages in my limited space, so I figured this was more cost-effective than buying a huge roll of remesh, or concrete remash mats for $7 each. Do you think that bamboo stakes with steel hoops attached would make a decent cage? If tying the hoops would be weak, maybe drilling holes in the bamboo and threading the wire through it? Then again, that might split the bamboo. Whatever, If it works out, I'll try to get some pics of these contraptions.
...See More
ditnc
Original Author
12 years ago
Obviously, my post above should have said 20 vs 24" (not feet)...
bigdaddyj
12 years ago
I love my Texas! All 12 of mine are the largest size and they work fine. I never prune except for a few lowest branches. If you are a non pruner like me I'd go with the larger diameter. BUT, I do have some CRW cages and some are 20 to 24" and they work too so personal choice and mine would be the larger. CP I would stick in a 20" and Brandywine I'd go 24". But like I said, all could go in 20 if need be. I put what I think are going to be my mega-monster sized plants in my Texas and normal monster sized ones in the CRW's...;-)
lesmatzek209
12 years ago
the stems that do not grow highter
thant the round rings tend to bunch
up closer to the main stem to give
the shorter stems a bush type look.
but i feel they are worth the money
but i would use only the 24 inch,
good luck.

les
tatton95
12 years ago
Just curious if those who have used Texas Tomato Cages would recommend the 2 foot extensions?

Thanks,

Brett
bigdaddyj
12 years ago
I never needed the extensions Brett. The plants grow up about a foot or 2 taller than the cage and then start growing back down again.
californian
12 years ago
I haven't used the extensions myself but I read on one thread that they make the cage unstable, plus it is hard to reach tomatoes on the top of the cage without a ladder.
Since the extensions cost half the price of a full two piece cage, and only add two feet, economically you might be better off buying complete cages and splitting them up and adding the bigger sections onto your existing cages if you really need a taller cage. That way you would be adding three feet instead of two. If you ask them when ordering, they will include a handfull of extra connectors that you could use for this purpose for free in the shipment. They already sent me some extra tubular connectors with my last order. Tell them you need them because the ones you have are getting rusty, and they do rust because they aren't galvanized on the inside.

Texas Tomato Cages: help me decide 20 or 24'

Comments (8)

lesmatzek209

ditnc
Original Author

Related Discussions

ditnc
Original Author

bigdaddyj

lesmatzek209

tatton95

bigdaddyj

californian

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Texas Tomato Cages: help me decide 20 or 24'

Comments (8)

lesmatzek209

ditncOriginal Author

Related Discussions

ditncOriginal Author

bigdaddyj

lesmatzek209

tatton95

bigdaddyj

californian

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

ditnc
Original Author

ditnc
Original Author