"Irene" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi! I occassionally lurk here, but haven't posted in a long, long
time. My name is Irene, and I garden in Zone 5 (far northern Illinois)

Anyhow, I have a couple of questions:

Has anyone tried Burpee's Tomato Towers? They look like they'd be nice
& space-saving if they work, and very annoying if they don't. Or, do
you have a preferred staking method for indeterminate tomatoes?

I can't answer the question about the pumpkins, but I have strong opinions
about ready-made tomato cages: Avoid them. The Burpee item looks sturdy, but
they give no indication of how deep the things go into the ground. So,
consider this time-tested idea:

Buy a roll of galvanized fence wire. If you can get the plastic covered
stuff, use that instead of the bare wire version. It's smoother against the
plants' stems. You want the kind that's 5 or 6 feet wide. The width becomes
the height of your cages because you're going to cut pieces and shape them
into cylinders. While you're at the hardware store or home supply, head to
the electrical department and buy a package of nylon cable ties, medium or
large width. You'll need 10 ties per cage. And, for each cage, you'll need
two metal stakes, the kind that have notches for the wire. They're usually
in the same department as the rolls of wire. If you buy 5' wide wire, buy 6
foot stakes. One foot of each stake goes into the ground. You want the
above-ground part of the stakes to reach at least 2/3 of the way up each
wire cylinder. Incidentally, don't use the notches in the stakes for their
intended purpose, which is for permanent fencing. I'll explain why later.

Cut the fence wire in pieces long enough that when it's rolled, the diameter
is about 4 feet. After cutting, use needlenose pliers to twist the cut ends
to the other side of the piece you've cut, fastening it into a cylinder.
Stand the cylinder on its end. Drive two stakes into the ground opposite one
another. If you can pull them out by hand, they're not deep enough. Keep
hammering. Use the nylon cable ties to secure the cylinder to the stakes.
4-5 ties to each stake should be enough. If you put the stakes deep enough,
the only way to knock these cages over would be to hit them with a car.

Now, back up a step. Plant the tomatoes, THEN secure the cages to the
stakes. The holes in the fence wire won't be large enough for your hands, or
to remove large tomatoes. You'll need to use wire cutters to make a few of
the holes larger. The access holes will be hard to see when there are masses
of green sticking out the fence wire. So, tie pieces of white cloth or
brightly colored ribbon at the spots where you've enlarged the holes.

At the end of the season, just cut the cable ties to release the cages from
the stakes. If you had used the stake notches, you'd have a hell of a time
removing the cages. That's why you use the cable ties - they're quickly and
easily cut with pruning shears or wire cutters. Grab the stakes, rock them
back and forth a few times, remove, knock off the soil, and store. The cages
can be pressed flat for storage and bent back into shape next season.

This sounds like a lot of work, but you only need to build these things once
every ten years, unless you leave the cages outside to rust through the
winter. The stakes will rust a bit, but they're pretty thick, so it doesn't
matter. Mine are 20 years old.