storing crw cages

[petty475]

hello new to the site from northwest ohio , just made 20 crw cages and was wondering if anyone stores them outside under a tarp for the winter. Or if they would rust to fast outside . They do take up a lot of room.

[BigdaddyJ]

I let mine outside all winter. They are quite rusted. The bottom rungs buried in the soil to help anchor the cages are falling off. This brittle bottom of the cage started deteriorating at about year 15. But after 18 years or so they are still usable. I may get 1 or 2 more seasons out of them and then I will buy more Texas cages which do store nicely on a garge or shed wall folded flat and never rust.

[BigdaddyJ]

Oh, and mine are not covered...

[PaulF]

I keep mine outside and not covered. My garden is surrounded by a picket fence, so I put them on their side, stack them up about four high and use a fencepost at the end so they don't roll around. When we moved from Iowa the first set was six years old and stayed with the garden. Now the second set is six years old and show no signs of deterioration; twenty years, huh? Will I last as long as the cages?

[frankkj]

My cages have been outside, sans tarp or cover of any kind, for over 20 years now. They are starting to look a little old like me, but we are still growing tomatoes together.

Hope I outlast them though.

Frank

[TZ-OH6]

I lay mine down as a perimeter around my garlic bed to keep the deer from tromping through it all winter. I also put them over my strawberries in the off season to keep the deer from eating the berry plants.

[tjg911]

Originally Posted by TZ-OH6

I lay mine down as a perimeter around my garlic bed to keep the deer from tromping through it all winter. I also put them over my strawberries in the off season to keep the deer from eating the berry plants.

of course! anyone that plants something in the fall has to protect it. i use 2 flat lengths of crw on my garlic bed but cages are fine if you have enough to fence in the bed, i don't, the bed is large.

i'm always surprised when people ask about storing crw cages. crw cages are not delicate things that will disolve in the winter air. like the rust is some kind of problem? like they aren't already rusted after 1 season? like the rust will destroy them? well maybe in 25 years but really.

i have left them in the garden all winter or sometimes put them in my barn.

[ireilly]

You can always coat them with phosphoric acid liquid or gel and that will form a stable oxide. They sell it by the gallon at BigBox stores. They will eventually start rusting again, it just slows it down. Plus the phosphorus stays in the garden if it falls off or weathers off.

For those who are concerned about the safety of this, it is in every cola you drink - not that cola is a shining example of healthy food. Just saying.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphoric_acid