Rebar?

John!

www.georgiapinball.org

ge wrote:
After an embarassing number of years, we've come to the conclusion
that home-improvement store type tomato cages don't work, at least for
us and indeterminate tomatoes.

Is there some recognized 'good' support? Cost is an issue;
construction (including welding) isn't.

TIA,
George

Rebar?

John!

www.georgiapinball.org

ge wrote:
After an embarassing number of years, we've come to the conclusion
that home-improvement store type tomato cages don't work, at least for
us and indeterminate tomatoes.

Is there some recognized 'good' support? Cost is an issue;
construction (including welding) isn't.

TIA,
George

"ge" wrote in message
...
After an embarassing number of years, we've come to the conclusion
that home-improvement store type tomato cages don't work, at least for
us and indeterminate tomatoes.

Is there some recognized 'good' support? Cost is an issue;
construction (including welding) isn't.

TIA,
George


I agree about the cages. One, they're not tall enough. And two, they fall
over.
This year I'm going to use those cheap metal fence posts and 6" x 6" wire
mesh, the kind you submerge in wet concrete. It comes in sheets or rolls, and
I'll cut it in half length-wise to make a five foot tall fence. Then weave
the plants through it. The mesh is big enough to where you can reach through
it to pick tomatoes.
Ken

In article ,
ge wrote:

After an embarassing number of years, we've come to the conclusion
that home-improvement store type tomato cages don't work, at least for
us and indeterminate tomatoes.

Is there some recognized 'good' support? Cost is an issue;
construction (including welding) isn't.

TIA,
George

I use wire mesh. Here's one way to do it...

http://houseandhome.msn.com/Garden/T...Supports0.aspx

I think I got my directions from Kitchen Gardner a magazine that is
unfortunately no longer in print. Their directions also had you cut the
bottom horizontal wires so that you had "spokes" to push into the ground
to keep the cage from tipping over.

marcella

That is odd, the reply never showed up for me... it sent before I was
done. Oh well.

If you are staking rather than caging, 8-10 foot piece of rebar, for a
stake.

Otherwise the reinforcing wire they use for concrete. Get at least 6
foot tall though. Our tomatoes can go up, down and up again in one
year. As someone else suggested make a couple of prongs on the bottom
and put at least 4 bricks acrosss the bottom wire. Nothing like a six
foot cage of tomato geeting blown over and ripped out by the roots.
(experience)

Good Luck!

John!



ge wrote:
I've heard rebar before; but, I don't have the picture. Is it like, a
'rebar fence', or a horizontal surface, or ...?

The only rebar I'm familiar with is 4' rods; does it come in some kind
of mesh?

Thanks,
George

On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 14:02:58 -0500, GA Pinhead
wrote:


Rebar?

"ge" wrote in message
...
After an embarassing number of years, we've come to the conclusion
that home-improvement store type tomato cages don't work, at least for
us and indeterminate tomatoes.

Is there some recognized 'good' support? Cost is an issue;
construction (including welding) isn't.


I use a combination of cages and tee-pees. Cages are cheap -- less than $2
each -- and 7' oak or maple samplings cut from the woods for the tee-pees.

Cages provide early support, then when the vines began to outgrow them, I
lash the poles together with twine over each cage.

OK, I'll try to explain this without a diagram. First you need to go to
a lumber yard or home improvment stroe and get a roll of concrete
reinforcemet wire and a set of heavy duty bolt cutters. Now cut the
reinforcement wire into 6 foot lenghts leavinging the spikes of the
wire on one end, these will be used to wrap around the other end of the
six foot lengths to bend them into a cylinder. After you have made the
cages into a cylinder, you will use the bolt cutters at the bottem to
remove two rows of the horizontal wires thus providinging the stakes to
anchor into the ground. Supplemental two foot rebar can be used to
anchor the cages by driving into the ground and wiring the rebar to the
cages. HTH

On 3/21/05 10:21 AM, in article ,
"ge" wrote:

After an embarassing number of years, we've come to the conclusion
that home-improvement store type tomato cages don't work, at least for
us and indeterminate tomatoes.

Is there some recognized 'good' support? Cost is an issue;
construction (including welding) isn't.

TIA,
George
This is the easiest, most effective way I have ever seen. I saw it done on
an organic farm and duplicated it last year with great success. It is a
simple cheap way to support tomatoes:
I plant my tomatoes in a row...I pound a 8' 2x2 into the ground at one end
of the row and another one at the other end. A third 2x2 is put on top of
the two in the ground...use long screws to secure the horizontal one to the
ones in the ground. (one screw per). Now above each tomato plant tie some
hay bale string (a coarse cheap twine) and let it hang down to the plant.
Leave extra lengths on top (wrap it around the horizontal pole). Tie the hay
twine to the base of the tomato plant. As the plant grows 'roll' the new
growth around the string...
My rows are longer than 8 feet so I have to put another vertical post in the
middle...
That is the general idea. Because there is no wire mesh in the way the
tomatoes are easy to harvest, to prune...etc. etc.
Gary

ge wrote:

After an embarassing number of years, we've come to the conclusion
that home-improvement store type tomato cages don't work, at least for
us and indeterminate tomatoes.

Is there some recognized 'good' support? Cost is an issue;
construction (including welding) isn't.

TIA,
George

Hi George, I can appreciate your pain. What we did is DH built wood
trellises. The first consists of two 2" x 2" poles that lean against a
building, wall, or fence depending on your set-up. Set the poles about
5' apart. At 1'-2' intervals add a bracket and string a pole in
between. The result is like a very wide ladder. Simply tie up your
tomatoes as they grow. The second design is like a hobby horse. Each
side is 7' tall. These are screwed into each side of our raised beds.
Then, 1" x 2" slats run up in between. The result is like a swing set
with the slats running up the long sides. Inside the rectangle is a
frame of slats. The tomatoes are tied as they grow. This support was
designed so it can be dismantled for storage. HTH

I found this out last year, the largest cage they offer is acceptable for
determinates... I find concrete reinforcement wire too difficult to work
with. I use 6 ft steel fencing. its lighter.
"ge" wrote in message
...
After an embarassing number of years, we've come to the conclusion
that home-improvement store type tomato cages don't work, at least for
us and indeterminate tomatoes.

Is there some recognized 'good' support? Cost is an issue;
construction (including welding) isn't.

TIA,
George

I found this out last year, the largest cage they offer is acceptable for
determinates... I find concrete reinforcement wire too difficult to work
with. I use 6 ft steel fencing. its lighter.
"ge" wrote in message
...
After an embarassing number of years, we've come to the conclusion
that home-improvement store type tomato cages don't work, at least for
us and indeterminate tomatoes.

Is there some recognized 'good' support? Cost is an issue;
construction (including welding) isn't.

TIA,
George

Check this out. I've never used these, relying on cheaper concrete
reinforcing wire, but these appear to be galvanized, come in groups of six
and fold up for storage.

http://www.tomatocage.com/

Ken

"ge" wrote in message
...
After an embarassing number of years, we've come to the conclusion
that home-improvement store type tomato cages don't work, at least for
us and indeterminate tomatoes.

Is there some recognized 'good' support? Cost is an issue;
construction (including welding) isn't.

TIA,
George

Florida Weave! Im trying it tomarrow.
"ge" wrote in message
...
After an embarassing number of years, we've come to the conclusion
that home-improvement store type tomato cages don't work, at least for
us and indeterminate tomatoes.

Is there some recognized 'good' support? Cost is an issue;
construction (including welding) isn't.

TIA,
George

"ge" wrote in message
...
After an embarassing number of years, we've come to the conclusion
that home-improvement store type tomato cages don't work, at least for
us and indeterminate tomatoes.

Is there some recognized 'good' support? Cost is an issue;
construction (including welding) isn't.

TIA,
George


We have used the rebar and welded it together.
We made our's 6ft tall and 2ft square and put eight cross bars in each side.
This was our first experience at made a workable tomato cage.
I think a 5ft tall by 2ft square cage would actually be a little better.
But the out come for us has been very good.
It was definitely worth making our own tomato cages.

GC