Operation: Tomato Cage

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by greenthumbomaha

In my climate everything needs to be anchored to the ground. The winds are fierce.

Worth, go to your local SBA office. They will hook you up with a volunteer to advise you of the patent process. You may also be eligible for a usda loan or grant.

- Lisa

Oh, and get some sleep. It becomes harder as we age. I sleep in chunks now.

My math side of my brain just played out trying to figure cost and amount of pipe I need for one cage.
I think I will eat and go to the metric system tomorrow to do it.
Thats right all I have had to eat today was some tomatoes an onion and a green bean.
Worth

[rick9748]

I have been using CRW for 20+s years and they are still good.I just stack in corner of garden until next spring.14 squares L-R will give you a nice cage.Some people tie them with zip locks cut and weight them down to lie flat during winter.

[fonseca]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

I could see growing pole beans, runner beans, cucumbers, and squash on the A Frame/TP thing, but not tomato plants. Tomato plants grow wider at the top - not narrower.

It actually works great. Tomatoes grow over the top and all the way down to the ground. Hmm, can I link to an image I attached to another thread?

Test:



I've done the same thing over a row of tomatoes grown in soil. It's extremely stable. I have also used single 1/4 panel A frames over just one plant. It works great, especially if you don't prune to 1-2 vines and let it bush out, but again I am concerned about airflow. Also, why use two sections of panel when one will work? The conduit frame will be more efficient.

[rick9748]

It is round [14 squares] and you zip tie together.End of season cut ties and weight down with cement blocks.The wire forms a circle 14 squares round top to bottom and 5 ft high.Stand it up and tomatoes have room to grow inside.I pinch suckers down to 4-5 stems on plant.

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I am afraid to post it because this one might very well get me out of the poor house.
I dont want it stolen from me it is that good.
It is not made yet but I know it will work it is so simple it is down right stupid I am supersized no one has done it yet.

I need some help with this one, if I post it in a few days please dont rip me off.
I bought the lathe you may know about to start making a line of gardening products for people that will be cheap and affordable for everyone.
Worth

Even w/out applying for patent, your documentation and witness can protect your right.
So posting here would be a valid solid documentation that you own the invention.
Remember, you cannot patent an idea but a process and/or product, actually made.
Having said that it can only apply for commercial production. That means that I can copy cat it and do it in my backyard for personal use.

Gardeneer

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

Even w/out applying for patent, your documentation and witness can protect your right.
So posting here would be a valid solid documentation that you own the invention.
Remember, you cannot patent an idea but a process and/or product, actually made.
Having said that it can only apply for commercial production. That means that I can copy cat it and do it in my backyard for personal use.

Gardeneer

Have at it.
You will have to get the holes of the upright pipe the right size and turn the outside diameter of the other pipe to fit in the hole tight and at a slight taper.

The price of PVC pipe is ridiculous .
I have looked on line and some are over the top.
My thoughts were for women.
Not to stereotype women but they normally dont want to mess with glue and they want things simple and easy but will follow instructions.

Men on the other hand think they know how to do it without following instructions and end up with a mess on their hands and many times a ruined product.

I could hear the conversation now at the garden center or farmers market.
Don't buy that thing honey I can make one.
We will stop by Home Depot on the way home and get the pipe I will show you.

10 hours later and $150 dollars on a new hand drill the wrong drill bit and a trip the the emergency room.
Honey I dont know what the deal is they must use some off the wall bit and pipe I cant seem to get this thing to fit right.
We need to go back and get glue and fittings.
Worth

[AlittleSalt]

A multi reply -

Worth "Men on the other hand think they know how to do it without following instructions and end up with a mess on their hands and many times a ruined product."

Been there, done that, still have the messed up T shirt


Luigiwu and Fonseca, For some reason I was thinking using the A Frame system would be tying the plant to the top of the frame when they grow that tall - which would have you leaning in to tie them off. I guess I had to sleep on it. ...

Emoticons put the confused one beside the laugh one - you get this -

lol:

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

A multi reply -

Worth "Men on the other hand think they know how to do it without following instructions and end up with a mess on their hands and many times a ruined product."

Been there, done that, still have the messed up T shirt


Luigiwu and Fonseca, For some reason I was thinking using the A Frame system would be tying the plant to the top of the frame when they grow that tall - which would have you leaning in to tie them off. I guess I had to sleep on it. ...

Emoticons put the confused one beside the laugh one - you get this -

lol:

Salt I remember when I was a wee little kid maybe 3 years old.
My oldest brother and my dad struggling to put my radio flyer wagon together on Christmas morning.
The instructions off to the side and never looked at.
I cant count how many Ruger 22 pistols were broken because people took them apart and forced them back together wrong and they fired one time and broke.
Or they took them apart and couldn't put them back together.
Did you read the instruction manual?
No I think my wife lost it, my kid is the one that took it apart.
Yeah right.

Worth

[isuhunter]

What size square should I make?

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Have at it.
You will have to get the holes of the upright pipe the right size and turn the outside diameter of the other pipe to fit in the hole tight and at a slight taper.

The price of PVC pipe is ridiculous .
I have looked on line and some are over the top.
My thoughts were for women.
Not to stereotype women but they normally dont want to mess with glue and they want things simple and easy but will follow instructions.

Men on the other hand think they know how to do it without following instructions and end up with a mess on their hands and many times a ruined product.

I could hear the conversation now at the garden center or farmers market.
Don't buy that thing honey I can make one.
We will stop by Home Depot on the way home and get the pipe I will show you.

10 hours later and $150 dollars on a new hand drill the wrong drill bit and a trip the the emergency room.
Honey I dont know what the deal is they must use some off the wall bit and pipe I cant seem to get this thing to fit right.
We need to go back and get glue and fittings.
Worth

Worth, nobody is going to copy your invention before you get a patent on it .
Drilling round holes in PVC pipe , aligning the holes , fitting them together and securing and eventually bringing the final product to the garden....

Gardeneer

[PaulF]

For the past twenty-five years my choice has been CRW cages. They are permanent; one set was used for fifteen years (stayed in Iowa when we moved because the new owner said he wanted them as part of the house sale) and the next set is in the eleventh year. They do not fold up and they do take up space during the off seasons, but then the bare garden of winter has nothing in it anyway so it is a perfect place to keep them.

The first photo is how they look this spring and the next photo is what the cages and tomatoes looked like last summer

[wildcat62]

Tomato trees

[imp]

Originally Posted by PaulF

For the past twenty-five years my choice has been CRW cages. They are permanent; one set was used for fifteen years (stayed in Iowa when we moved because the new owner said he wanted them as part of the house sale) and the next set is in the eleventh year. They do not fold up and they do take up space during the off seasons, but then the bare garden of winter has nothing in it anyway so it is a perfect place to keep them.

The first photo is how they look this spring and the next photo is what the cages and tomatoes looked like last summer

Quick, throw that girl a rope, that tomato is trying to grab her!!

I like the idea of the CRM cages and if on my own property and had the extra room to store them, would definitely use them.

For the community garden plots, it's T posts and wire across so I can tie them to the wire.

Ditto for the pole beans and some of the squashes and melons.

[Adriana]

Originally Posted by Aerial

Great idea Adriana! We've heard so much about the best travel jacket, the best fleece jacket. It's time for the best tomato cage!

Hey, Fred Hempel did a Kickstarter for seeds last fall, why not tomato cages. Seriously!

[fonseca]

Still a work in progress. Very stable with 4' rebar buried 2' deep. I hate the wasted 2-3' of panel at the ground. Trying to figure out how best to cut future panels to waste as little as possible. I could get 8 4'x2' sections per panel, which might work. Or hang larger sections horizontally to trellis multiple plants.