Florida Weave

[christian1971]

Originally Posted by TC_Manhattan

This sounds like a great idea! Especially if you already have the stakes.
I tried something similar last year with a few plants for which I had no cages.
(I am gradually adding to my cage collection each year now.)

First I started by tying to each stake, then eventually progressed to running twine around the whole plant and stakes, like you describe.

BTW, I checked out those tomato cages you mentioned at Home Depot (54" high and 16" diameter, at $4.50 each). I wouldn't bother. They looked like a taller version of the flimsy cheap ones. If you can find them, Glamos Wire makes really heavy-duty cages (wire gauge at least twice as thick as the cheap ones) that are 54" high x 18" diameter. A local family-owned garden center here sells them for $9. each and I now have 14 of them. They work great for most of the varieties, and especially good for those wispy heart varieties to protect the fruits from sun scald. If you can find those, they're a good deal, but Glamos also makes a similar sized one that's not heavy-duty, and the other garden centers sell those for even more than the HD ones I bought. I add to my collection bit by bit.


I'm springing for 3 Texas tomato cages this year to try them for some larger indeterminates (Brandy Sudduth, Brandy OTV) so I can spare all the stem pruning.
I had them on 8' tall 2"x2" stakes last year and think they'll produce more in those cages.
You can buy 3 of their 6' cages with shipping for $90. That's pricey, but everyone who has them swears by them, so maybe bit by bit…

P.S. I spear each conical cage with a stake on one side to stabilize it once the plants get big and loaded.

What would you recommend I use for tieing around stakes that will hold tight?