Ideas for heavy duty cages - Page 2

rnewste · January 4, 2009

troad,

My original intent was to drive the cap ends down into the soil to make better thermal conductivity of the warm water with the cooler soil. The moisture barrier inhibited this somewhat. If you have plain dirt, it would be easy to drive them in an inch or more. Also, "bottom's up" will tend to harvest more radiant energy from the sun, thus better heating up the water inside.

But yes, you could put them in upright, unfilled, then fill them once in place and they would be easier to handle.

Ray

dice · January 4, 2009

One note on cages for Earthtainers, et al: Ray's cages are
fairly light weight, compared to an 8' T-post or similar
and a CRW cage (which seems kind of top-heavy for a
homemade earthbox). Posts driven into the ground at each
end of a row of containers might be useful for stabilizing
the whole row with a cable between them, though (assuming
that they are not sitting on concrete, a deck, etc).

DennisM · January 4, 2009

All of these ideas are greatly appreciated. From the input that I have received, I plan to do the following for the six Earthtainers and three GrowBoxes that I have.
1. Use a variety of the heavy duty cages in eight of my containers. I am undecided about spending the money for the Texas cages.
2. Use slightly heavier than normal cages but not as heavy duty as rnewste suggested in the 9th container (I've already made this one.)
3. Like dice and Wi-sunflower suggested I will drive 4" x 4" posts at the end of my rows to run CRW tightly from one end to the other.
4. Then, I will clip the cages to the wire for extra support.
5. I will start by running the wire at two or three different heights. I will add wire at more heights as needed.
6. I like the homemade WOW ideas from troad and rnewste. I will make the home made versions. I better start drinking more bottled water to get 108 one-liter bottles.

I will listen to any idea that you have. I have been happily gardening for 40 years but most of that was shrubs, bulbs, trees, perennials, etc. I am looking forward to June 10 when when the average last frost date has passed (yes, June 10), and I can start my new adventure in heirloom tomatoes (plus a few peppers). I believe with the WOW concept I can bring my tomatoes out earlier than this. I will read up on the WOW more before the Spring.

Thanks again for all the advice.

Dennis

Wi-sunflower · January 5, 2009

One more idea for your planting.

I had a couple of customers that independantly told me this idea.

They grow in containers. One of them the Earthboxes. Both mentioned that they put the boxes close enough to the garage while the plants are small that if the forecast is for low temps, they just move the boxes into the garage for the nite.

To do that it would be easier if the boxes are on some kind of wheeled platform / dolly set-up.

If you come up with some system for that, you should be able to get another couple of weeks on the weather. By the time the plants are bigger, the weather should be OK and then you could move the boxes to a permanent location for the summer.

Just some more to think about.

stormymater · January 5, 2009

We got a roll of concrete wire - 5ft x many... It has 6 inch squares. We roll out eight foot sections & cut it. Then we roll it up perpendicular to its natural roll - 5 feet rolls into 18 inch diameter towers 8 feet tall. We used big pliers to secure them (we clipped off the bottom 8 foot strip of wire to create wires to bend over to secure the tubes). We set them each with 2 piese of rebar (1 lets them tip in high winds with the weight of the plants). I have made 15 cages last year & still have a good bit of the original roll. I think this heavy wire will last 5+ years even in our high salt, humid environment. Hope this helps as an alternative. You may be able to split a roll of wire if you only want 10 -12 cages. All of our plants were coming out of the top of the eight foot towers when tropical storms hit. The ones in the cages that did not tip did well. ( I am thinking of getting a big roll of burlap to wrap towers before tropical storms next summer to protect my "mater babies" a bit more.)

DennisM · January 5, 2009

Pleasure Island, now that sounds like a great place to live. Thanks for the tip.

Dennis

rnewste · January 5, 2009

Yeah, but I bet the fishing is better in Iron River - - All you need is a Magnet on the end of the pole...

Ray

Plantersville · January 5, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by stormymater

We got a roll of concrete wire - 5ft x many... It has 6 inch squares. We roll out eight foot sections & cut it. Then we roll it up perpendicular to its natural roll - 5 feet rolls into 18 inch diameter towers 8 feet tall. We used big pliers to secure them (we clipped off the bottom 8 foot strip of wire to create wires to bend over to secure the tubes). We set them each with 2 piese of rebar (1 lets them tip in high winds with the weight of the plants). I have made 15 cages last year & still have a good bit of the original roll. I think this heavy wire will last 5+ years even in our high salt, humid environment. Hope this helps as an alternative. You may be able to split a roll of wire if you only want 10 -12 cages. All of our plants were coming out of the top of the eight foot towers when tropical storms hit. The ones in the cages that did not tip did well. ( I am thinking of getting a big roll of burlap to wrap towers before tropical storms next summer to protect my "mater babies" a bit more.)

This is a great idea! I've been using regular fencing over the past few years that is 5' tall and cutting it to whatever round size I needed since I do containers as well but never thought to cut it long ways to get taller than 5'......I anchor mine to T posts. Thanks for all the great info!!

geeboss · January 8, 2009

how to CRW a cage

link http://www.kitchengardeners.org/2007...ato_cages.html

bboomer · February 21, 2009

Check out Charles Wilber's book, How to Grow World Record Tomatoes. It is a great read with all kinds of tips for growing organic tomatoes. I used his method for making tomato cages out of concrete reinforcing wire. I bought a big roll for $20.00 and made six 5' tall, 3' wide tomato cages. That was five years ago. I've used them every year since then. They're so tough that I'll bet they give me another twenty years of use.
What a bargain!

Jackster · February 25, 2009

What is a good price for cages, and what is the best size?

January 4, 2009	#16
rnewste Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Campbell, CA Posts: 4,064	troad, My original intent was to drive the cap ends down into the soil to make better thermal conductivity of the warm water with the cooler soil. The moisture barrier inhibited this somewhat. If you have plain dirt, it would be easy to drive them in an inch or more. Also, "bottom's up" will tend to harvest more radiant energy from the sun, thus better heating up the water inside. But yes, you could put them in upright, unfilled, then fill them once in place and they would be easier to handle. Ray Last edited by rnewste; January 4, 2009 at 12:53 AM.

January 4, 2009	#17
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	One note on cages for Earthtainers, et al: Ray's cages are fairly light weight, compared to an 8' T-post or similar and a CRW cage (which seems kind of top-heavy for a homemade earthbox). Posts driven into the ground at each end of a row of containers might be useful for stabilizing the whole row with a cable between them, though (assuming that they are not sitting on concrete, a deck, etc). __________________ -- alias Last edited by dice; January 5, 2009 at 10:58 PM. Reason: sp

January 4, 2009	#18
DennisM Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Iron River, Michigan Posts: 24	All of these ideas are greatly appreciated. From the input that I have received, I plan to do the following for the six Earthtainers and three GrowBoxes that I have. 1. Use a variety of the heavy duty cages in eight of my containers. I am undecided about spending the money for the Texas cages. 2. Use slightly heavier than normal cages but not as heavy duty as rnewste suggested in the 9th container (I've already made this one.) 3. Like dice and Wi-sunflower suggested I will drive 4" x 4" posts at the end of my rows to run CRW tightly from one end to the other. 4. Then, I will clip the cages to the wire for extra support. 5. I will start by running the wire at two or three different heights. I will add wire at more heights as needed. 6. I like the homemade WOW ideas from troad and rnewste. I will make the home made versions. I better start drinking more bottled water to get 108 one-liter bottles. I will listen to any idea that you have. I have been happily gardening for 40 years but most of that was shrubs, bulbs, trees, perennials, etc. I am looking forward to June 10 when when the average last frost date has passed (yes, June 10), and I can start my new adventure in heirloom tomatoes (plus a few peppers). I believe with the WOW concept I can bring my tomatoes out earlier than this. I will read up on the WOW more before the Spring. Thanks again for all the advice. Dennis

January 5, 2009	#19
Wi-sunflower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 2,591	One more idea for your planting. I had a couple of customers that independantly told me this idea. They grow in containers. One of them the Earthboxes. Both mentioned that they put the boxes close enough to the garage while the plants are small that if the forecast is for low temps, they just move the boxes into the garage for the nite. To do that it would be easier if the boxes are on some kind of wheeled platform / dolly set-up. If you come up with some system for that, you should be able to get another couple of weeks on the weather. By the time the plants are bigger, the weather should be OK and then you could move the boxes to a permanent location for the summer. Just some more to think about.

January 5, 2009	#20
stormymater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pleasure Island, NC 8a Posts: 1,162	We got a roll of concrete wire - 5ft x many... It has 6 inch squares. We roll out eight foot sections & cut it. Then we roll it up perpendicular to its natural roll - 5 feet rolls into 18 inch diameter towers 8 feet tall. We used big pliers to secure them (we clipped off the bottom 8 foot strip of wire to create wires to bend over to secure the tubes). We set them each with 2 piese of rebar (1 lets them tip in high winds with the weight of the plants). I have made 15 cages last year & still have a good bit of the original roll. I think this heavy wire will last 5+ years even in our high salt, humid environment. Hope this helps as an alternative. You may be able to split a roll of wire if you only want 10 -12 cages. All of our plants were coming out of the top of the eight foot towers when tropical storms hit. The ones in the cages that did not tip did well. ( I am thinking of getting a big roll of burlap to wrap towers before tropical storms next summer to protect my "mater babies" a bit more.)

January 8, 2009	#24
geeboss Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Fairfax, VA Z7 Posts: 524	how to CRW a cage link http://www.kitchengardeners.org/2007...ato_cages.html

February 21, 2009	#25
bboomer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 67	Check out Charles Wilber's book, How to Grow World Record Tomatoes. It is a great read with all kinds of tips for growing organic tomatoes. I used his method for making tomato cages out of concrete reinforcing wire. I bought a big roll for $20.00 and made six 5' tall, 3' wide tomato cages. That was five years ago. I've used them every year since then. They're so tough that I'll bet they give me another twenty years of use. What a bargain!

February 25, 2009	#26
Jackster Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: CT Posts: 27	What is a good price for cages, and what is the best size?