GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

30-08-2003, 05:02 PM

writes:

g Serves you right!

LOL!!! Go on vacation and come back to tomatoes that went on vacation
too, love it!

I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that I'm either
going to use a rebar (rebar mesh) cage for tomatoes or prune
them and trellis them in the future.

This year, we used 'tomato cage wire' to make our tomato
cages. We used pieces of rebar (the bar kind, not the mesh
kind) to brace the cages, as last year the tomatoes broke
their wooden stakes and collapsed their cages.

We pounded the rebar down into the ground as far as we
could, then dropped the cages over it, to get the effect of
having woven the bars through the cages. This is strong
stuff: iron, I suppose. Iron rods.

The tomatoes have STILL managed to collapse their cages.

I have found my cages work well though I'll also be adding to the mix next
year. What I've done as a semi-permanent maneuver is use field fencing
which is made from a heavy gage wire and is designed in 6-inch or so
squares. The top and bottom wires require heavy duty lineman cutters to
cut and aren't the easiest thing to bend back into loops to made the
circle, but the cages hold up well. The intermediate wires are still heavy
but easier to manage. The plants go over the tops but haven't collapsed
them. This year, I also have the lemon cucumber plant on one and the
prolific thing is doing well on it. To secure the cages in the ground, I
use four 8-inch long fabric staples on the bottom wire; it works very well
this way; the cages would surely tip at some point when one side of the
plant became heavier with fruit than the other if that weren't done.
Pat's rebar application would work very well for holding them upright also
and there'd be no stray staples to get caught in the rototiller the
following spring which invariably happens with dozens of cages.

Initially, cutting the wire in different lengths, varying one square each
way, allows nesting three cages to take up less winter storage space.
While they could be flattened, sort of, for more efficient use of storage
space, it would be a frustrating experience.

What I added this year is a cattle panel which is really heavy duty stuff
and will not be bent without the proper tools and a strong hand. I just
drove two 7-ft fence posts into the ground and fastened it against them to
hold it vertical which is more than adequate with the heavy wire involved.
It would be akin to "sheet" of rebar material. The "mesh" is 6-8 inches.
It can be bent, but not easily. I'm going to be moving all my berries to
the east side of the garden on the south end this fall and will be putting
in cattle panels for them to climb on, trusting the metal will not conduct
too much heat for the branches. It has not seemed to bother the half
dozen tomato plants I have growing on one. Unfortunately, due to a delay
in help to set the panel in place for the tomatoes, it's not exactly like
I wanted since we had to work around 4-ft high plants already fruited, but
putting it in with the initial planting will resolve that. Of course, the
tomatoes are intermixed on the panel as the vines grow. Since I planted
unlike cherry-type tomatoes on it, that's not a problem. There's a bit of
a difference in a ripe Sun Gold and Sweet 100 and Yellow Pear. :-)

The panels are 16-feet long and 52 inches high and are not easily handled
by one person. They are also rather heavy, remembering these are *cattle*
panels designed to keep cattle contained. Most farm stores would surely
cut them into shorter lengths for you; these were carried on a full-size
pickup bent back over themselves which left a curve in the middle which I
was not able to get completely straight again but that beat having to have
them cut for hauling. They cost just under $20 each and will be a good
investment over the years. One of the advantages of them is that if you
want to make a really tall cage, you can . . . that is if you have the
resources to cut and bend. I'm thinking a triangular design would be the
easiest, given the heavy gauge of the wire. (I call it wire but it's
really more like lightweight bars when you're working with it, no sagging
there! g)

I stumbled upon the cattle panels while actually visiting various
farm/garden stores looking for hog wire. The hog wire of my youth isn't
being sold around here so I don't know if it's even manufactured anymore.
All I've seen this past few years is old stuff purchased many years ago;
field fencing was the closest thing I could find. The cattle panels have
the same "mesh" pattern but are much heavier and are not sold in rolls
because of the heavy wire gauge. You would not believe what I would find
when I got to a store after being told via telephone they had hog wire!
One would think even a new employee would understand lawn fencing and hog
wire might not be the same thing even if they didn't figure out that
2x4-inch squares are *not* 6-inch squares. Not many people put hogs on
their lawns. Oh, well. Maybe some don't know what a hog is, ya think?

One day, I'll get my web page updated from a year ago and include the
tomato cage stuff on it. Obviously, that hasn't been a top priority for
me or it would already be done. One thing about our gardens, they don't
leave a lot of "fluff" time, do they? But ain't it great?!

Glenna