'Mater Cages

[SuntannedSwede]

Hello all,

I have eight Cherokee Purple plants, eight Indigo Rose plants, and eight Striped German plants in the garden right now. They all seem to be pretty sturdy but as indeterminates I know they'll need some support sooner or later. What size cages should I be looking for for these varieties? Or should I use stakes instead?

Thank you kindly for your time

[AlittleSalt]

There are so many choices to buy. For Cherokee Purple and Inido Rose (That I have grown) - just about any of these cages on this link would work. https://www.google.com/search?q=stur...w=1152&bih=553 It is your personal choice.

If you want to make some supports that do well - the sky is the limit. There is one type that I would like to try and it is made of concrete remesh. https://www.google.com/search?q=stur...=1497155141667
You can make the cages whatever size you want both wide and high.

[SuntannedSwede]

Boy there sure are a lot of great designs out there. Using rebar sounds like a great idea, I'm not the handiest guy in the world but it would be a fun project. Do you think I could get away with just a 'standard size' cage for now? I was just wondering if any of those cultivars were particularly monstrous and would require a heavy duty solution

[AlittleSalt]

After seeing your reply, I would go with the remesh. 2' circle / 60.69CM .

[salix]

Hello SS - as a fellow dweller in zone 3, perhaps you will have as much luck as I do with the larger, sturdier cages that can be found in C. Tire, Home Depot etc. Then I take a 5 foot 2" x 2" stake and stake the cage securely. In my experience, in our growing conditions, the vines are not going to get terribly long, and by the time late August rolls around it is generally time to top them because anything flowering will not have time to develop/ripen anyway. The only problem I have ever had is keeping up with keeping everything tucked into their cages before they get too long and develop a tendency to snap off... Of course, I am generally growing 60 or more plants, so you'd probably be able to keep up better than I.

[Rockandrollin]

Zone 3a.....Brrrrr!

I've had good luck with concrete remesh cages. If you go the the tomatoville forum "The Workbench: BIY, the very top sticky, "Making tomato cages from concrete remesh" is a good guide in making the cages. Using a small bolt cutter makes it a lot easier cutting the remesh. You will need to anchor the cages somehow.

I wrap the cages (about 2/3 of it) with shipping wrap to warm and to protect the plants from wind in the spring. I also add water containers inside the cages for extra heat mass to make it through the cold spring nights.

From your tomato plant list, I've only grown Cherokee Purple.

In general, pull the leaf branches out, and push the growing tips inside the cages. Tomatoes outside the cages tend to break the stems and get whipped by the wind.

[Worth1]

Tomato cages can be the downfall of a tomato plant.
You are making them grow in a crowded unnatural way that needs to be tended to.
As hard as it may seem you need to keep the inside cleared out of all extra growth.
It may look fantastic but soon will end up a nasty mess of bad diseased leaves.

In all honesty I feel four poles in the ground would do just as well with four main stems going up one on each pole.
These stakes or poles can be positioned as far apart as you want to open up that space.
I have 36 2 foot wide Texas Tomato Cages and will never buy another one.
Save your money and get ten foot lengths of 3/4 inch EMT conduit and put them 1 to 2 foot in the ground depending on what type of soil you have.

Worth

[carolyn137]

I made my own cages out of concrete reinforcing wire that came rolled up.It sure was fun since I had to measure how much to cut to get what diameter,while keeping one foot on it so it didn't roll back up.

The wire was terrible to to cut, I finally had to buy some thick asbestos gloves to stop getting cut my self trying to bend the wires back to enclose the circle.

But they were beautiful cages,yes beautiful wonderful cages,and they lasted for many years.

Did I grow all my tomatoes in cages,no way,most were grown inground and sprawled.Only at two places did I have to do that,up here where I am now at Steve Rascher's place, and also when I was out in Denver when I had little room and had to make those cages for the first time ever.

Carolyn

[bryanccfshr]

The Only problem I have with my Texas tomato cages is that the plants get so heavy with fruit and foliage that they become leaning cages later in the year. Thism damages the cages, and in addition cleanup of the plants can be difficult. I am in a dry climate so keeping the foliage dense in thecage is beneficial, finding all the fruit can be a challenge.
I tried sprawling thinking that would effectively protect plants from the wind and the dry ground would not be a rotting risk and it did work for that, but the juicy fruits, were always eaten before they could be picked by squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, mice and just about any thirsty animal. I may try again, being stubborn.
In central Texas season 1 was effectively over by now in cages, with the plants degenerating from disease and fungal infections and fruit sets having stopped due to heat and humidity.

[imp]

I always have let the plant "stick out" of the cage, mainly just keeping the main stem inside and going up wards. No disease pressure, though I also use a T post to make sure everything stays upright.

[SuntannedSwede]

Thank you all for your helpful tips, sounds like I will have to try a few different ways and take some notes.

[oakley]

Even with deep pockets and money to burn does not necessarily give you the best system
for your needs. Short seasons like us up North, needs creative testing, so don't put all your money on one solution.
Took me a couple years to find what fit my environment,
garden space, and time willing to spend on tending.

Your plants are in and how far apart they are, prepared soil, fertilizer plan....all should
be considered. Most have all that ready and in place before planting so not to disturb the
growing root structure.

Tempting to purchase the basic support but most are junk. Same dollar for the rolled
reinforcing wire, just a bit of struggle to build. I never did that. I did not have internet
and Google image to chose from 20 yrs ago, (thank some soul for that). I had a few magazines and
OrganicGardening books. Way to many choices now. And $$

I don't get 7-8 foot tall plants except for some feathery leafed cherries. IndigoRose for
me was horrid, a 2 out of 10 last year. Pretty, and tons of fruit that were rock hard
for weeks. In mid Sept, with so much fruit, i cut the top, scooped out the flesh, mixed
with herbed goat cheese and baked them. Incredible so i'm growing it again. It loves a
kiss of heat.

There is a recent 2017 thread just about supports systems, and every 6 months or so.
So keep searching and try some things that seem reasonable for your climate/garden/budget.

A picture of your garden set-up of tomatoes would help.

[clkeiper]

We do the concrete wire cages. A roll costs about 100.00 and you get about 33 cages. 3 buck per cage is a bargain for a heavy duty cage. you can make themtaller if you want and it will reduce the number of cages you will get but you still can't go wrong with the CWM cages. bolt cutters and zipties make them fairly fast work.

[oakley]

Here is the other recent thread...more ideas if the link worked

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...hlight=staking

[Worth1]

Folks I think we need to sit back take a deep breath and ask ourselves.
What would Martha Stewart do?
Worth