Improved cheap tomato cages idea

16 years ago

My first year back growing tomatoes and I bought lots of those small cheap wire tomato cages(36" I think), and they work fine for smaller determinates, but for the larger indeterminates they are too short and fall over.

My idea is to take two of the cages and and connect the big ends(big end to big end) with zip ties. This ought to give the height needed. Then to stabilize it, I thought, I could use a cheap electrical fence rod pounded in the ground to support and hold the cages from falling over.

Total cost should be about $3.50.

Any thoughts?

thanks,

Dean

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Comments (4)

tdscpa
16 years ago
I don't know your weather, but where I live, I have found the only way to grow tomatoes is to build cages from concrete reinforcing mesh, approximately 2' diameter.

Every cage must be supported by at least two 1/2" diameter concrete re-bars pounded at least 18" into the ground, wired to the cage, and at least as tall as the cage.

It is almost impossible to stand upright a tomato plant and tuck it back into the cage after a 70mph wind has flattened the whole deal.

I feel really slighted that Kansas hurricanes do not get the media attention gulf coast hurricanes get.

Tom
john_com
16 years ago
Hi Dean

I did the exact same thing this year. The toms maxed out at about 7' tall. I improved the setup by laying some scrap lumber 1"x1"s 4' long, horizontally across the circular wire supports. Zip tide em' on, 4 on each hoop, perpendicular to each other. Sounds like I'm writing a technical manual eh?

Anyway it works good.

I ate too many BLT's yesterday.
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Commercial growers worry about things like ease of harvest and uniformity of fruit size, and they tend to have much more intense disease pressures than hobby growers. People who cage generally just let the plant grow as it will. Pruning is reserved for dying or diseased leaves, aside from aggressive removal of leaves from the bottom of the plant to keep foliage away from the soil. Some people will prune off growing tips once the end of the season gets near in order to try to ripen up the fruits already on the plant before frost. Others don't bother and say it doesn't make much of a difference. Some will cut off the tops once the plant grows as tall as the cage, but others will let the vines flop over the top of the cage and continue to grow and hang down. Regardless, the leaves are where the plant produces the sugars and other nutrients that go into making the fruit, so there's some logic to the idea of keeping as much of the foliage as possible. Disease is what you have to weigh against that, so it's a balancing act. Length of growing season is also a consideration. Is there a point in letting a plant get huge and wild and produce a gazillion flowers and set a ton of fruit if you don't have the time for those fruit to mature before frost? Also, if you want to plant a lot of varieties but have insufficient space to let them all grow into huge, caged plants and are OK with a smaller harvest from each plant, you could prune enthusiastically and grow the plants closer together. It's really a matter of what your goals and needs are.
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Sure! I wish I had a picture to send, and a scanner to send it with! Sorry, you will have to use your imagination but I can assure you that it's quite simple. Just go to the craft store and look for embelleshments. I like all kinds of beads, be it glass or wooden, but there are so many different things you could attach. And as far as the wire goes, a local home improvement store should sell all kinds. I've even used a thin, copper wire that looked nice. And don't forget about paint. You could paint the cage any color using Krylon paint suitable for metal. I need to work on getting a scanner hooked up, as I have so many pics I'd like to post. Maybe if I wasn't so busy growing plants and doing craft projects I'd get it done, lol! Well, give it a go and let me know how it turns out. Have fun!
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I use jute twine I thought I paid under $3 but here it is at https://www.walmart.com/ip/TWINE-JUTE-HD-NAT-190FT/19870337 Amazon, HD, and garden centers will also have it. I described it here but the link is below. <gumby_ct(CT it says Z5) I have been using the string method for quite a few yrs now, I wouldn't do it any other way now. I use jute twine - it ALWAYS lasted the entire season and can be composted. I used nylon and other synthetic products the 1st yr. - until I found out how time consuming it was to remove the string or wire twisted around a plant stem to save for next yr. Esp. if you till the garden soil. I can't imagine trying to have the roots grow into the string. What I do is wait until the plant has a couple branches then wrap the jute one complete wrap the main stem under a branch, doesn't matter where the stem/branch is located, really. The higher up the plant the less string you will need. The roots will hold it in the ground. So 1 complete wrap around the main stem then tie a loose knot - I can't esplain how to tie knots so pick whatever YOU know how to tie, it doesn't matter, really. It is the action of twisting the string around the plant as it grows that will hold it. So after you've tied the knot then twisted the string around the plant and between the next branch on the way up. I use a clockwise direction - do what you see fit just keep going in the same direction. So after you've got the knot and a couple twists around the plant - take the jute all the way up to the crossbeam, wrap then tie it with the knot of your choice. There that wasn't hard now was it? I was surprised to find that this string method held the tomato, cukes, watermelon, or whatever plant you want to trellis UP better than the cages and stakes I used esp. and during a hurricane while the plant is loaded with fruit. I was impressed. NOW, when you are out there watering, weeding, or just walking by and see a plant has grown, give it a twist or two around the string and the string will hold it up. Now there might be times esp. w/cukes or if you don't pinch off the suckers, you will need to run another string or two. I just pinch sucker with thumb & forefinger when I am out there. Cukes are esp. nice cuz once they get up off the ground they will grow nice n straight and are much easier to harvest. The hardest ones to find are the ones on the ground before the plant goes UP. IF you used just jute twine and no other plastic pieces or parts - you can just remove the plant and throw the whole thing into the compost or trash, if you want. HTH > http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2192037/vertical-string-method
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gonefishin
16 years ago
Many years ago I made a mistake and made the first tomato cages that I ever made out of Concrete Reinforcing Wire too short. The mistake was cutting the wire in half horizontally first before cutting it off to curl up to make the cages. Consequently, they were all too short for indeterminates, but I have made do with them by also using tall bamboo stakes along with them, until this year. I made tall CRW cages out of a big roll and they are working beautifully. Some of the tomatoes are now taller than the cages and some are drooping over to grow back down toward the ground but I do not think that any will reach the ground. If it looks like they will, I will figure out something to do like putting a few bamboo poles horizontally through the cages and tying the tops of the plants on to them.

I am using the old short cages for smaller tomatoes and also for pepper plants as shown below.

They are easy to stack and tie together which makes them more useful. I started late with my peppers, they had a struggle with over two months of torrential rains, and grass growing up around them but have finally started bearing abundantly. Several branches loaded with peppers have broken off and they are getting too tall for the short cages so I decided to start stacking them. I just did that one this morning and the plant will soon straighten up like it should be.
Bill P.
{{gwi:103980}}
barrie2m_(6a, central PA)
16 years ago
You pretty much get what you pay for. In my younger days my mother read me a story about three little pigs. While I'm not sure that the story was meant as a lesson for tomato growers, it makes perfect sense to allow tomatoes to achieve their full potential, even if they grow to 20 feet or more. The only system that I'm aware of allowing one to support unlimited vertical growth is the wrapped stringline support using an overhead framework. It may cost a bit more initially but how many of you drive a car instead of pushing a wheelbarrow to do your grocery shopping?

Improved cheap tomato cages idea

Comments (4)

tdscpa

john_com

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gonefishin

barrie2m_(6a, central PA)

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