(Frank Miles) wrote:


I've _always_ staked, and never had this sliding problem. Maybe it's my
choice of stake -- I rip 2x4's into 2x2's, and there's plenty of roughness.
Just tie around the stake before tying the plants. Only problem is when
plants get 6' tall and up, and loaded with tomatoes, they can really stress
the stake. Sometimes I've had to guy the stakes to relieve the stress.
Using other materials could cause sliding difficulties if they have slick
exteriors.

I've tried cages but (personally) don't like them as much -- they take up
lots more room both in the garden and storing over the winter. Gardening
The cages I used are stackable, square, metal and fold flat for easy
storage. They were more expensive, but I think they will be a good
investment for the future.
in the city is always a space-challenge, even when you devote nearly all of
your non-house property to the garden.

-frank

DiGiTAL ViNYL (no email)
Zone 6b/7, Westchester Co, NY, 1 mile off L.I.Sound
1st Year Gardener

On Tue, 09 Sep 2003 13:50:15 GMT, DigitalVinyl
secretly encoded this message:

I can see that--you manage quantity for variety. I might be curious
about different varieties, but I have limited space so a few is all I
can do. Next year I'm thinking a early cherry in a hanging basket
would be a good addition.

Consider trying currant tomatoes, especially the yellow
ones. I've grown them in hanging baskets off and on for
years. They do wonderfully, and are very tastey. Cook's
Garden www.cooksgarden.com used to carry them.
Um, looks like they still do.

I used to drop a few of the tiny tomatoes into the basket
at the end of the season, and they would volunteer the
next spring. Sadly when I moved two years ago they
didn't make the move.

Note to self: Get off your arse and get some currant
tomatoes started next spring.

Pam


--
Tact is just not saying true stuff. I'll pass.
-Cordelia, BtVS

On Tue, 09 Sep 2003 13:50:15 GMT, DigitalVinyl
secretly encoded this message:

I can see that--you manage quantity for variety. I might be curious
about different varieties, but I have limited space so a few is all I
can do. Next year I'm thinking a early cherry in a hanging basket
would be a good addition.

Consider trying currant tomatoes, especially the yellow
ones. I've grown them in hanging baskets off and on for
years. They do wonderfully, and are very tastey. Cook's
Garden www.cooksgarden.com used to carry them.
Um, looks like they still do.

I used to drop a few of the tiny tomatoes into the basket
at the end of the season, and they would volunteer the
next spring. Sadly when I moved two years ago they
didn't make the move.

Note to self: Get off your arse and get some currant
tomatoes started next spring.

Pam


--
Tact is just not saying true stuff. I'll pass.
-Cordelia, BtVS

In article , DigitalVinyl
wrote:

(Pat Kiewicz) wrote:

DigitalVinyl said:

I had both and I really prefer the cage to a stake. tying them
appropriately requires more than a stake..a stake with nails studding
its length would work better. I and my neighbor both found the wieght
of tomatoes to eventually slide down collapsing some on the ground and
other plants

I've never had this happen. I use plastic-coated metal stakes (which have
a slightly knobby texture) and stretchy plastic ties (which can be placed
snug,
but still have enough give to allow the stems to grow).
Sounds like the same stakes I used (purchased at home depot). The main
stem grew very thick and pretty much supported itself for the first
few feet. It was the top and secondary vines that kept sliding. Maybe
with a different tie. Once they do slide I don't like to touch them
because I can seem the sharp bends in them and don't want to do
further damage.


I drive a small fence-post type stake deep, then use plastic cable ties
(zip ties) to attach a post like they describe. That way I wound up
with an over 7 foot tall stake with no chance of falling over. I then
zip tie a loop around the plant stem, then attach it to the post with a
tie. Works great. I have a couple of Romas with at least 30 lbs of
fruit per vine, 3 plants per stake. Solid as a rock. I have 8 raised
beds, eash about the size of a double bed, and the 4 with tomatos each
have 8 plants. Staking cuts the yield, but the VARIETY kicks butt.
And all the posts will last for years of use.

Phaedrine Stonebridge wrote:

In article ,
(Frank Miles) wrote:

In article , hawk wrote:
Every time I have staked tomatoes, the weight of the tomatoes causes the
plant to slide down the stake and the result has been the same as no stake.

Regards, hawk

On 8 Sep 2003 08:11:50 -0700, James wrote:

I grew a few tomatoes without stake or cage this year. Seems like
it's a better method. You get a lot more tomatoes because the stems
root themselves on the ground and multi-stems also increases the
number of fruits.

So is the one stem on a stake method just a waste of time?

I've _always_ staked, and never had this sliding problem. Maybe it's my
choice of stake -- I rip 2x4's into 2x2's, and there's plenty of roughness.
Just tie around the stake before tying the plants. Only problem is when
plants get 6' tall and up, and loaded with tomatoes, they can really stress
the stake. Sometimes I've had to guy the stakes to relieve the stress.
Using other materials could cause sliding difficulties if they have slick
exteriors.

We use the same kind of stakes but clip the tomatoes at the top when
they become a problem. I like cages (the heavy gauge, farm-grade,
stackable ones, not those dippy things that bend) for certain tomato
varieties, especially ones that have a tendency to produce huge
tomatoes. I like some of my tomatoes not so huge lol and caging them
accomplishes that. But we stake three times as many as we cage.

I like the sound of the farm-grade cages. Where would a person find such a thing?

I've done caging and staking, and now do a combo-variation. I put cages over the
plants in the spring. They grow in a single row in a slightly curved bed. When they
start to spill over their cages, I build a bamboo/plastic tie seal uber-cage around
the whole row. As the season grows on I can add more horizonals and diagonals as
needed. Very sturdy and lightweight. I sometimes build them for my English Roses as
well. It's hard to describe, but I have pictures of the tomatoes in their uber-cage
throughout the season on my Edibles page:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/great/tempee.html

For the past few years I've visually documented my garden. Each month I add
pictures of some of the highlights. There are links to the flower garden from the
Edibles page if anyone is interested.

EV

In article , EV wrote:

Phaedrine Stonebridge wrote:

In article ,
(Frank Miles) wrote:

In article , hawk
wrote:
Every time I have staked tomatoes, the weight of the tomatoes
causes the plant to slide down the stake and the result has been
the same as no stake.

Regards, hawk

On 8 Sep 2003 08:11:50 -0700, James
wrote:

I grew a few tomatoes without stake or cage this year. Seems
like it's a better method. You get a lot more tomatoes
because the stems root themselves on the ground and
multi-stems also increases the number of fruits.

So is the one stem on a stake method just a waste of time?

I've _always_ staked, and never had this sliding problem. Maybe
it's my choice of stake -- I rip 2x4's into 2x2's, and there's
plenty of roughness. Just tie around the stake before tying the
plants. Only problem is when plants get 6' tall and up, and
loaded with tomatoes, they can really stress the stake.
Sometimes I've had to guy the stakes to relieve the stress. Using
other materials could cause sliding difficulties if they have
slick exteriors.

We use the same kind of stakes but clip the tomatoes at the top
when they become a problem. I like cages (the heavy gauge,
farm-grade, stackable ones, not those dippy things that bend) for
certain tomato varieties, especially ones that have a tendency to
produce huge tomatoes. I like some of my tomatoes not so huge lol
and caging them accomplishes that. But we stake three times as
many as we cage.

I like the sound of the farm-grade cages. Where would a person find
such a thing?

IIRC, I think we ordered ours from Lee Valley. Some were purchased
locally but the sturdy ones are really hard to find.


I've done caging and staking, and now do a combo-variation. I put
cages over the plants in the spring. They grow in a single row in a
slightly curved bed. When they start to spill over their cages, I
build a bamboo/plastic tie seal uber-cage around the whole row. As
the season grows on I can add more horizonals and diagonals as
needed. Very sturdy and lightweight. I sometimes build them for my
English Roses as well. It's hard to describe, but I have pictures of
the tomatoes in their uber-cage throughout the season on my Edibles
page: http://www3.sympatico.ca/great/tempee.html

For the past few years I've visually documented my garden. Each month
I add pictures of some of the highlights. There are links to the
flower garden from the Edibles page if anyone is interested.


Your pictures and website are fantastic! I don't understand the
uber-cage, unfortunately, but maybe my DH will when he sees it.

In article , EV wrote:

Phaedrine Stonebridge wrote:

In article ,
(Frank Miles) wrote:

In article , hawk
wrote:
Every time I have staked tomatoes, the weight of the tomatoes
causes the plant to slide down the stake and the result has been
the same as no stake.

Regards, hawk

On 8 Sep 2003 08:11:50 -0700, James
wrote:

I grew a few tomatoes without stake or cage this year. Seems
like it's a better method. You get a lot more tomatoes
because the stems root themselves on the ground and
multi-stems also increases the number of fruits.

So is the one stem on a stake method just a waste of time?

I've _always_ staked, and never had this sliding problem. Maybe
it's my choice of stake -- I rip 2x4's into 2x2's, and there's
plenty of roughness. Just tie around the stake before tying the
plants. Only problem is when plants get 6' tall and up, and
loaded with tomatoes, they can really stress the stake.
Sometimes I've had to guy the stakes to relieve the stress. Using
other materials could cause sliding difficulties if they have
slick exteriors.

We use the same kind of stakes but clip the tomatoes at the top
when they become a problem. I like cages (the heavy gauge,
farm-grade, stackable ones, not those dippy things that bend) for
certain tomato varieties, especially ones that have a tendency to
produce huge tomatoes. I like some of my tomatoes not so huge lol
and caging them accomplishes that. But we stake three times as
many as we cage.

I like the sound of the farm-grade cages. Where would a person find
such a thing?

IIRC, I think we ordered ours from Lee Valley. Some were purchased
locally but the sturdy ones are really hard to find.


I've done caging and staking, and now do a combo-variation. I put
cages over the plants in the spring. They grow in a single row in a
slightly curved bed. When they start to spill over their cages, I
build a bamboo/plastic tie seal uber-cage around the whole row. As
the season grows on I can add more horizonals and diagonals as
needed. Very sturdy and lightweight. I sometimes build them for my
English Roses as well. It's hard to describe, but I have pictures of
the tomatoes in their uber-cage throughout the season on my Edibles
page: http://www3.sympatico.ca/great/tempee.html

For the past few years I've visually documented my garden. Each month
I add pictures of some of the highlights. There are links to the
flower garden from the Edibles page if anyone is interested.


Your pictures and website are fantastic! I don't understand the
uber-cage, unfortunately, but maybe my DH will when he sees it.

writes:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/great/tempee.html

Those are great photos! My favorite is the one at the top (of the plums).
There's something about its composition that is very appealing.

Thank you for sharing. :-)

Glenna

Phaedrine Stonebridge wrote:

In article , EV wrote:

Phaedrine Stonebridge wrote:

In article ,
(Frank Miles) wrote:

In article , hawk
wrote:
Every time I have staked tomatoes, the weight of the tomatoes
causes the plant to slide down the stake and the result has been
the same as no stake.

Regards, hawk

On 8 Sep 2003 08:11:50 -0700, James
wrote:

I grew a few tomatoes without stake or cage this year. Seems
like it's a better method. You get a lot more tomatoes
because the stems root themselves on the ground and
multi-stems also increases the number of fruits.

So is the one stem on a stake method just a waste of time?

I've _always_ staked, and never had this sliding problem. Maybe
it's my choice of stake -- I rip 2x4's into 2x2's, and there's
plenty of roughness. Just tie around the stake before tying the
plants. Only problem is when plants get 6' tall and up, and
loaded with tomatoes, they can really stress the stake.
Sometimes I've had to guy the stakes to relieve the stress. Using
other materials could cause sliding difficulties if they have
slick exteriors.

We use the same kind of stakes but clip the tomatoes at the top
when they become a problem. I like cages (the heavy gauge,
farm-grade, stackable ones, not those dippy things that bend) for
certain tomato varieties, especially ones that have a tendency to
produce huge tomatoes. I like some of my tomatoes not so huge lol
and caging them accomplishes that. But we stake three times as
many as we cage.

I like the sound of the farm-grade cages. Where would a person find
such a thing?

IIRC, I think we ordered ours from Lee Valley. Some were purchased
locally but the sturdy ones are really hard to find.

I've never seen them around here. They sound great.

I've done caging and staking, and now do a combo-variation. I put
cages over the plants in the spring. They grow in a single row in a
slightly curved bed. When they start to spill over their cages, I
build a bamboo/plastic tie seal uber-cage around the whole row. As
the season grows on I can add more horizonals and diagonals as
needed. Very sturdy and lightweight. I sometimes build them for my
English Roses as well. It's hard to describe, but I have pictures of
the tomatoes in their uber-cage throughout the season on my Edibles
page: http://www3.sympatico.ca/great/tempee.html

For the past few years I've visually documented my garden. Each month
I add pictures of some of the highlights. There are links to the
flower garden from the Edibles page if anyone is interested.

Your pictures and website are fantastic!

Thank you very much, Phaedrine. I'm glad you enjoyed them. :-)

I don't understand the
uber-cage, unfortunately, but maybe my DH will when he sees it.

Sorry. I was hoping a picture would be worth a thousand words. :-)

Basically, the uber-cage consists of 8 ft. bamboo poles that I sink into
the ground as deep as I can, at about 2.5 ft. intervals. Then I 'weave' 6
ft poles horizontally through the uprights and tie seal them to the
uprights just above notches in the bamboo so they don't slip. You can see
the first horizontals in June Ediblbes section. I also add bamboo 3-4 ft.
lengths that go across the enclosure, again tie sealing above notches
wherever possible. These seperate the various plants in the uber-cage.
Then I add horitzontals as the plants grow, to keep them growing up. I
sometimes add sticks on a diagonal to keep major tomato branches seperate
and supported. You can see the second row of horizontals up in the August
tomato bed shot. It looks flimsy, but it actually holds up really well. I
had no tomato damage during 70 mph gusts we had during the storms on the
weekend. The trees lost branches but, luckily, the cage held. The season
is about a month behind here in southern Ontario. Looks like I'll be
making alot of green tomato relish.

Ether

Glenna Rose wrote:

writes:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/great/tempee.html

Those are great photos! My favorite is the one at the top (of the plums).
There's something about its composition that is very appealing.

Thanks! The rotten squirrels took that last quart or so off the tree in the
past 2 days. It was pouring rain, so I didn't go out to pick them. Ack! They
ate the last plum cake potential. It's the best plum crop I've ever had. Had
the tree since fall 96, and it never had more than 2 or 3 successful fruits
.... and every year I threatened to kill it if if didn't bear a decent crop.
Last summer I cut down the other plum because it was throwing suckers up out
of the rootstock. This one must have seen it and realized that I meant
business! ;-)

Thank you for sharing. :-)

Glenna

Thanks for the kinds words, Glenna. :-)

Ether