My tomato plants have outgrown their cages. They are almost two feet
above the tops now. What can I do? I don't want to cut them off.

Thanks,

Dan

Add stakes and start tying'em up.

Mine are over the top of homebuilt 6ft tall cages already and loaded with
fruit.
I see lots of canning in my not-so-distant future.

Keith

NE Georgia Mountains

wrote in message
oups.com...
My tomato plants have outgrown their cages. They are almost two feet
above the tops now. What can I do? I don't want to cut them off.

Thanks,

Dan

What I did last year was to buy some rebar at Lowes and cut it down to
about 7 feet. drive the rebar home inside the cages. Don't be too
afraid of getting close to the plant, the roots you cut won't have an
impact on the plants. Tie the cages to the rebar.

I didn't use cages this year. Bad idea for me. The sun is a killer in
Dallas this year and the lack of shade from trimming them back to stay
on the stake is killing them.

Next year, I'll make my own cages. Or, just pull everything out and
make a big watermelon patch.

Thye will bend over when they get heavy enough, I just let them do that.
Mine too are about 8 ft tall.

John!

wrote:
My tomato plants have outgrown their cages. They are almost two feet
above the tops now. What can I do? I don't want to cut them off.

Thanks,

Dan

On 21 Jul 2005 05:42:47 -0700, "FriscoSoxFan"
wrote:

What I did last year was to buy some rebar at Lowes and cut it down to
about 7 feet. drive the rebar home inside the cages. Don't be too
afraid of getting close to the plant, the roots you cut won't have an
impact on the plants. Tie the cages to the rebar.

I didn't use cages this year. Bad idea for me. The sun is a killer in
Dallas this year and the lack of shade from trimming them back to stay
on the stake is killing them.

My tomatoes are getting badly sunburned here in the Central Valley,
CA. As well as my bell peppers. No relief in sight from the triple
digits.

Sue


Next year, I'll make my own cages. Or, just pull everything out and
make a big watermelon patch.

wrote in message
oups.com...
My tomato plants have outgrown their cages. They are almost two feet
above the tops now. What can I do? I don't want to cut them off.


1) Don't cut them off. If they fall over the side, it's not the end other
world. You can just leave them be and still get plenty-o-tomatoes.
2) Better yet, erect a teepee made from 8-10' poles over the cage(s) and
tie the vines to it.
http://www.easternuswx.com/bb/index....=post&id=13854

mine are outgrowing their 4' cages i built from field fencing, check 'em
out!

http://home.earthlink.net/~brickled/...arden05007.jpg


wrote in message
oups.com...
My tomato plants have outgrown their cages. They are almost two feet
above the tops now. What can I do? I don't want to cut them off.

Thanks,

Dan

Mine are outgrowing the 8 foot 1x 2s that I put 4 inches into the
soil. Some will grow to 9 feet. I better stop fertilizing!

The problem with letting them grow without tieing them is that some
significant branches will break when they bend. I broke a few
myself, while putting in the 1 x 2s.

The 1 X 2s were $1.15 each at Home Depot. Does anyone know how much
rebar costs? Someone suggested making a teepee for each plant out of
8 foot rebar. That's a pretty good idea, if the rebar is not too
expensive, won't rust and you have a way of tieing the three poles
together, without your being a 7 footer.

On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 18:13:55 GMT, "brickled"
wrote:

mine are outgrowing their 4' cages i built from field fencing, check 'em
out!

http://home.earthlink.net/~brickled/...arden05007.jpg


wrote in message
roups.com...
My tomato plants have outgrown their cages. They are almost two feet
above the tops now. What can I do? I don't want to cut them off.

Thanks,

Dan

wrote:

Does anyone know how much rebar costs?

I do not know about rebar but thin walled electrical conduit was
$1.29 for a ten foot pipe the last time I checked. It is galvanized
so it does not rust much. It will probably last longer than the
wood you have been using.
--
I just heard a TV commercial about an automobile that has a rear
entertainment system. I immediately wondered exactly how would an
automobile entertain one's rear and would it be safe to drive while
one's rear was being entertained.