Making Tomato Cages from Concrete Mesh - Page 11

whoose · August 30, 2015

Just make an additional cage of the desired length and snap tie it to the top of the original. Leave the bottom row with "Legs", cut the horizontal pieces. Works great and you can have any height over 5'.

Durgan · September 6, 2015

I have made cages out of concrete wire. They are almost useless as are most tomato cages. I use them in an emergency but am never a happy traveler.

I use rebar eight feet in length and tie the tomato plant with strings overhead. I don't sucker and maintenance is minimal also the fruit does not get crowded. http://www.durgan.org/URL/?HPJUS 4 May 2014 Overhead Tomato Support Structure
A support structure for 24 tomato plants was constructed from rebar, fence posts and plastic ties. The structure is slightly over 6 feet high. The plants are tied via 1/4 inch soft rope as required.The plants are free to grow unimpeded.

For some plants a simple 4 by 8 concrete mesh is used and the plants string tied to the horizontal support. This works well for cherry type also for normal plants. http://www.durgan.org/URL/?VARPU 22 May 2014 Three Lemon Boy Tomatoes planted Three Lemon Boy plants were purchased and planted outdoors. This hybrid produces many palm sized tomatoes, bright yellow in color and usually perfect form, with no imperfections. The plants will be allowed to free reign and supported by strings along the trellis, which use to be for luffa plants, which I no longer grow.

Usually I have under 50 plants. For many plants horizontal strings along the plants is probably necessary. I notice the big field commercial growers use strings along both sides of the plants to keep most of the fruit off the ground.

dirtdobber · April 19, 2016

I made some mater cages from concrete wire but wanted taller than the 5ft width, so I cut the wire at 6ft long and 5ft wide so I would have 6ft tall cages and you could do that for how ever tall you wanted them say 7-8ft tall and I use hog rings to hold them together. my only thought is how long will the hog rings hold.

whoose · April 19, 2016

Bend over the ends of the metal or use plastic snap ties.

Worth1 · April 19, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by whoose

Bend over the ends of the metal or use plastic snap ties.

Are you asking what a hog ring is?
Worth

whoose · April 19, 2016

Worth. No just giving some alternatives.

MacDuff · April 19, 2016

If you use a hook, you can open them up at the end of the season and place one inside the other for storage.

dirtdobber · April 19, 2016

doing it the way I'm talking about there are no free wire ends to make into hooks you could always cut the edge wire off and do it that way though. Yeah I didn't think that storage thing through. I guess I can find some use for them I the winter.

Worth1 · April 19, 2016

Leaf collection cages.

Worth

PhilaGardener · April 19, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

Are you asking what a hog ring is?
Worth

Now I know. Always good to learn something new every day

dirtdobber · April 20, 2016

Worth I'm building a vermacomposting bin out of a 275 gallon tote for that!

Emeoba69 · May 10, 2017

Question. I bought a 5'x150' roll of crw and I am debating what would be the best set up to cut this into. I'd like to cut it length wise so I can make them as high as I want. If I cut the width in half I'd get 30 inches for circumfrence and about 9.5 inch diameter. This would work space wise given my garden, 12'x14', that has to be fenced for deer. I am wondering if the rewire would be strong enough at this smaller diameter? I plan on anchoring each chage in the ground to a 4' t bar style fence post. Anyone try anything similar? Thanks for any suggestions!

Gerardo · May 10, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emeoba69

Question. I bought a 5'x150' roll of crw and I am debating what would be the best set up to cut this into. I'd like to cut it length wise so I can make them as high as I want. If I cut the width in half I'd get 30 inches for circumfrence and about 9.5 inch diameter. This would work space wise given my garden, 12'x14', that has to be fenced for deer. I am wondering if the rewire would be strong enough at this smaller diameter? I plan on anchoring each chage in the ground to a 4' t bar style fence post. Anyone try anything similar? Thanks for any suggestions!

Small circumferences are harder to put together, bending it will be fun fun fun.

JRinPA · May 11, 2017

My brother tried taller cages that way last year and I'm not sure how well it worked. They were full width, so about 18" w/o overlapping one square. I think they got top heavy at 6+ feet. Without overlapping a square, CRW cages are not nearly as stiff.

I personally like the 11 or 12 square cages, overlapped 1 square and zip tied, making a stiff 18/20" cage. For taller, you could take another cage of the same diameter, cut that twice and get 2 18" extenders and 1 12" extender.

Four 5' cages worth of wire would give you three cages at 6-1/2', 6-1/2', and a 6'.

If you rip it lengthwise, 10 squares would become 4 squares across and 5 squares across, with the cutoff sticking out one side or the other or both. That would be a really small diameter, and they would not be overlapped.

I have some smaller cages from ends. The smallest I like are 8 squares, overlapped to 7. Any smaller than that, I leave them open and "stitch" the open front with twine.

Emeoba69 · May 15, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gerardo

Small circumferences are harder to put together, bending it will be fun fun fun.

You were right and my first attempt at it was a disaster. I went with the 60 inch circumfrence and just barely got 28 made. You live and learn.

August 30, 2015	#151
whoose Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Bozeman, Montana Zone 6b Posts: 333	Extensions Just make an additional cage of the desired length and snap tie it to the top of the original. Leave the bottom row with "Legs", cut the horizontal pieces. Works great and you can have any height over 5'.

April 19, 2016	#154
whoose Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Bozeman, Montana Zone 6b Posts: 333	Hog Rings?? Bend over the ends of the metal or use plastic snap ties. Last edited by whoose; April 19, 2016 at 12:08 PM. Reason: spelling

April 19, 2016	#156
whoose Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Bozeman, Montana Zone 6b Posts: 333	No Hog Rings Worth. No just giving some alternatives.

April 19, 2016	#158
dirtdobber Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: SE MO Posts: 45	doing it the way I'm talking about there are no free wire ends to make into hooks you could always cut the edge wire off and do it that way though. Yeah I didn't think that storage thing through. I guess I can find some use for them I the winter. Last edited by dirtdobber; April 19, 2016 at 06:49 PM.

September 6, 2015	#152
Durgan Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Brantford, ON, Canada Posts: 1,341	I have made cages out of concrete wire. They are almost useless as are most tomato cages. I use them in an emergency but am never a happy traveler. I use rebar eight feet in length and tie the tomato plant with strings overhead. I don't sucker and maintenance is minimal also the fruit does not get crowded. http://www.durgan.org/URL/?HPJUS 4 May 2014 Overhead Tomato Support Structure A support structure for 24 tomato plants was constructed from rebar, fence posts and plastic ties. The structure is slightly over 6 feet high. The plants are tied via 1/4 inch soft rope as required.The plants are free to grow unimpeded. For some plants a simple 4 by 8 concrete mesh is used and the plants string tied to the horizontal support. This works well for cherry type also for normal plants. http://www.durgan.org/URL/?VARPU 22 May 2014 Three Lemon Boy Tomatoes planted Three Lemon Boy plants were purchased and planted outdoors. This hybrid produces many palm sized tomatoes, bright yellow in color and usually perfect form, with no imperfections. The plants will be allowed to free reign and supported by strings along the trellis, which use to be for luffa plants, which I no longer grow. Usually I have under 50 plants. For many plants horizontal strings along the plants is probably necessary. I notice the big field commercial growers use strings along both sides of the plants to keep most of the fruit off the ground.

April 19, 2016	#153
dirtdobber Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: SE MO Posts: 45	I made some mater cages from concrete wire but wanted taller than the 5ft width, so I cut the wire at 6ft long and 5ft wide so I would have 6ft tall cages and you could do that for how ever tall you wanted them say 7-8ft tall and I use hog rings to hold them together. my only thought is how long will the hog rings hold.

April 19, 2016	#157
MacDuff Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: MA 5 So. Shore Posts: 17	If you use a hook, you can open them up at the end of the season and place one inside the other for storage.

April 19, 2016	#159
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Leaf collection cages. Worth

April 20, 2016	#161
dirtdobber Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: SE MO Posts: 45	Worth I'm building a vermacomposting bin out of a 275 gallon tote for that!

May 10, 2017	#162
Emeoba69 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 37	Question. I bought a 5'x150' roll of crw and I am debating what would be the best set up to cut this into. I'd like to cut it length wise so I can make them as high as I want. If I cut the width in half I'd get 30 inches for circumfrence and about 9.5 inch diameter. This would work space wise given my garden, 12'x14', that has to be fenced for deer. I am wondering if the rewire would be strong enough at this smaller diameter? I plan on anchoring each chage in the ground to a 4' t bar style fence post. Anyone try anything similar? Thanks for any suggestions!

May 11, 2017	#164
JRinPA Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: SE PA Posts: 972	My brother tried taller cages that way last year and I'm not sure how well it worked. They were full width, so about 18" w/o overlapping one square. I think they got top heavy at 6+ feet. Without overlapping a square, CRW cages are not nearly as stiff. I personally like the 11 or 12 square cages, overlapped 1 square and zip tied, making a stiff 18/20" cage. For taller, you could take another cage of the same diameter, cut that twice and get 2 18" extenders and 1 12" extender. Four 5' cages worth of wire would give you three cages at 6-1/2', 6-1/2', and a 6'. If you rip it lengthwise, 10 squares would become 4 squares across and 5 squares across, with the cutoff sticking out one side or the other or both. That would be a really small diameter, and they would not be overlapped. I have some smaller cages from ends. The smallest I like are 8 squares, overlapped to 7. Any smaller than that, I leave them open and "stitch" the open front with twine.