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April 18, 2012
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#1 | |
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Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
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Quote:
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In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~    |
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June 11, 2012
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#2 |
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Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Annapolis Maryland Zone 7
Posts: 120
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This past weekend I attached my 3 new PeaFence trellises to my EBs...
I used 4--24 inch zipties for the band around the box--they are very thick and I hope will last longer ! I used 8 inch zips for the loops and tie-downs. Just a word to the wise....the problem I had with the first box was not evenly tightening the 4 zipties, so when I was 99% done and tightening the cage down, one of the 4 unzipped  Emergency resolved by adding another tie, but it took a good bit of patience to finish ! Box #2 and #3 went very smoothly after learning my lesson. I am hoping to compare the ziptie method to the EB clamp method with 2 boxes next to each other... I hope the ziptie method wins ! Judi |
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June 11, 2012
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#3 |
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Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Virginia
Posts: 51
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That's great, Judi. I'd love to see some photos.
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July 21, 2012
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#4 | |
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Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
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How is your experiment doing?
Quote:
Have the zipties won? I had two yellow pear tomatoes that were supposed to be determinate but they were red cherry tomatoes and were extremely large. Not determinate but the zip tie method works fantastic and I even had two Basil plants in the box also. I have not had one problem with the cage staying on.
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In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ |
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June 11, 2012
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#5 |
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Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
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I'm glad it worked out for you baileyj.
I haven't had any problems with mine hanging on and the setup has never leaned one way or the other, it is really sturdy. I think I might go the route of getting some of that sticky dip stuff for all my sharp points. I would like to know the results of your test between the EB clamps and the zip ties though. I secure my EB upright by using cinder blocks, one on each side. I just received 7 more EB's the other day and ordered all the pea fences and rope clips for them. I am switching everything over to EB's the next growing season. I won't have any other kind of planter around here because there isn't space for more than the eight EB's I will have. He he.
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In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ Last edited by Rockporter; June 11, 2012 at 12:37 PM. |
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July 21, 2012
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#6 |
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Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
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My zip tie method is working out very well, I have two EB's with the cage connected and am not having any problems at all. I think if someone is having problems with the cage not being tight enough it is because they have not tightened it up properly. Mine are tight as tight could be.
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In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ |
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July 23, 2012
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#7 |
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Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Annapolis Maryland Zone 7
Posts: 120
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I added 4 more cages with the zip ties this past weekend !! The challenge was I had tomatoes in various stages of growing so putting the cages over them and securing was tough....no one is ever in sight when you need that third hand...my dog is no help during times like this !
But I was successful...I now have 8 cages up, 7 with zip ties and 1 with EB clamps. The EB clamps work great, but so do the ties. With the cost ...I am gong with zip ties. We went through that horrible "Hurricaine" or whatever term they made up to call it about 3 weeks ago....80 mile an hour winds !! And all cages that were Zip tied did great ! I had some issues with my PVC trellis, but that was due to poorly tying the tomatos to the trellis, then wind/rain. I am headed to more pea fence/zip ties for next year. I have 8 up now and 4 more could go up, but the tomatoes are too large to add the cages.... When I figure out how to post pictures, I will.... Also never got to add the plastidip to the edges of the cages---I do have a few battle scars but...I am being more careful each week to not bump into them... JB |
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July 23, 2012
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#8 |
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Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
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This sounds great Bailey, I also now have a total of 8 EB's and am moving into a house with a huge backyard so I will be able to spread out some. I already bought the pea fences for the cages and the wire rope clips. I am ready, he he. Where do you get the plastidip stuff? I could sure use some of it.
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In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ |
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August 18, 2012
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#9 |
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Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Annapolis Maryland Zone 7
Posts: 120
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Rockporter,
Sorry I was away..The Plasitdip I found was at Lowes. I really need to get it on the edges before next year. Update on my zip-ties versus clamps---about 10 days ago we had more wind and rain. My tomatoes are in 3 rows of 4 and are too close together so I will start there... After the storm I had 3 boxes tipped over, the middle row box knocked into the 3rd row box and tipped it. Also another box (in row 1) tipped due to the cage moving--it had been tight but somehow is no longer seated on the box correctly. It is impossible to reseat at this point with the tomatoes so tall and prolific. No effect on the clamped box, but I only have 1 in row 3. I have never had a wind problem on this side of the house so I did not put cinderblocks or EMT in to keep the boxes from tipping and was totally surprised. That will teach me...I should have been prepared ! I also find I have moles that have tunneled under and made the ground soft on the third row side, so the edge is no longer totally flat, making it softer thus more prone to tip, I guess. The tomatos in those tipped boxes survived fine, better that I did. They were about 8 foot tall. I turned the boxes slightly and put heavy 5 gallon buckets between so they cannot tip anymore. Next year I will put the rows much further apart and plan on a wind plan once the tomatoes get so tall. I still vote for the ties, one EB forum poster reported the clamps broke when their box was tipped over so there are no guarrentees the clamps would have held up any better that the ties in my yard. I will try the zipties agan but on the EB forum Cushman posted an idea of placing 2 3-foot long 1inch EMT into the ground, attaching the cages to 3/4 EMT with clamps. Then sliding the 3/4 into the 1 inch EMT. The cages would not be attached to the box at all but over the box. I wil try that next year, at least on a few. This sounds like a better idea to avoid "sail" problem of the cage in the wind when the plants are so tall.... Good luck... |
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August 18, 2012
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#10 | |
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Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
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Quote:
I will check out Lowe's here nearby me for the plastidip. Sorry to hear about your wind problems, is there no way to move the cage back into position on the EB? Maybe lift a little and then push sideways? I don't know, I am just thinking because I haven't had this problem and I am not sure how to reseat a cage on an EB. On Cushmans plan it sounds good and I might give that a try myself. I have moved to the house and need to figure out what I am going to do garden placement wise and how I will secure everything. I don't know, I might just use the huge concrete patio and place all the EB's on the outside edges allowing us some privacy from the neighbors. The cinder blocks work well and are easily moved to a different place if needed. Hmm, need to think hard on this one. Good luck with your next design, I am sure you will find what works for you.
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In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ |
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August 18, 2012
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#11 |
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Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Annapolis Maryland Zone 7
Posts: 120
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Rockporter,
I just came in from about 2 hours of reseating the cages on 4 of my boxes. I think the problem I have is they are too close together, the plants are at least 8-10 foot high and bending over the top, and the space I use is no longer as flat as it was.... I was able to reseat the cages but it was tough. I am not sure they will stay but I did the best I could and they are no longer leaning over. I will definitely try the EMT idea next year, but I think EMT is pretty heavy in tall lenghts so I am a bit worried about that. I have all winter to ponder and replan... Somehow in the Spring I always seem to plant them close together to try to squeeze in another box...I need to stop that..Big note to self !! thanks, JB |
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October 4, 2012
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#12 | |
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Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
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Quote:
Hi Bailey, I got the plastidip done on all of my cages, I used a little white K-cup from my coffee machine and a craft stick to move the plastidip from the big container to the smaller one. It was the perfect size and I was able to do quite a few tips before I had to refill. I sealed the hole in the bottom of the K-cup with a piece of tape on the inside of the cup to keep the plastidip from coming out of the cup. This was much better than my first try at just dipping right into the big container of plastidip. I knew that wasn't going to work because the dip was too low in the container and I couldn't get the points to reach into it deep enough. I did 3 coats by waiting a couple of hours between coats and it looks great, I don't think it will come off anytime soon. Thanks for the tip, I really appreciate it.
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In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ |
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August 18, 2012
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#13 |
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Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
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Good luck Bailey, I am glad to hear you got some cages reseated.
__________________
In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ |
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March 2, 2013
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#14 |
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Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 18
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The burpee pea fences can be had again for $23 each if you buy two.
START13 code for $10 off FS61 code for free shipping Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk |
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March 2, 2013
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#15 |
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Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Campbell, CA
Posts: 4,064
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Ken,
Thanks for posting the link. BTW, we lived near the FAA Center and worked for Nashua Corp. on Franklin St. several years ago. I really miss that area.  Raybo |
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