View Single Post
  #2   Report Post  
Old 20-08-2006, 01:58 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
gonzo gonzo is offline
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Aug 2006
Posts: 59
Default Ultamato ultimately doesn't work

An easy home-grown alternative if you don't mind the rustic look:

a single concrete reinforcing mesh panel (I forget what the dimensions
are, but it stands 4 feet tall). Available at any home DIY store, I
think I shelled out 4.50 each for the 3 I have a couple years ago.
Roll into a cylinder, and wire up or bend the panel ends over to keep
the cylinder shape. I've seen some books recommend just snipping off
the end and sticking the cylinder into the ground, but I'm sure my
plants would topple that. I use a metal stake pounded into the ground
and wire/string the cylinder to it.

Openings in the mesh are 4-6 inches, just right for harvesting tomatoes
when the plants reach up and over the top. My plants can look me right
in the eye, and I'm just 6 foot. No special plastic mulches, etc. The
plants seem to love it.

Added bonus: wrap the cylinder in early spring with plastic for a
mini-greenhouse.

Now I have a handful of those silly little commercial tomato cages that
I see everywhere in the spring I use for marking special plants,
holding up peppers, etc. Tomatoes get the support they need with the
heavy duty cages