Raybo's Removable, Self-supporting, Collapsible, Tall Cage for the EarthTainer (pics) - Page 4

Rockporter · July 21, 2012

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.

Rockporter · July 21, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by baileyj

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

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.

baileyj · July 23, 2012

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

Rockporter · July 23, 2012

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.

baileyj · August 18, 2012

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...

Rockporter · August 18, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by baileyj

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...

Thanks for the update Bailey

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.

baileyj · August 18, 2012

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

Rockporter · August 18, 2012

Good luck Bailey, I am glad to hear you got some cages reseated.

Rockporter · October 4, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by baileyj

Rockporter,
The Plasitdip I found was at Lowes. I really need to get it on the edges before next year.

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.

KenNashua · March 2, 2013

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

rnewste · March 2, 2013

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

Father'sDaughter · March 2, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by rnewste

BTW, we lived near the FAA Center and worked for Nashua Corp. on Franklin St. several years ago. I really miss that area.

Raybo

You really miss the cold, snow, ice....?? ;-)

rnewste · March 3, 2013

No, I miss Lake Winnipesaukee in the Summer!

Raybo

elight · March 26, 2013

To update Ken's post above, here are some new Burpee discount codes that work as of today:

20% off storewide (slightly better than the $10 off if ordering two fences) - AFFTW80
Free shipping on orders >$40 (old code expired, this one now works) - RTMNFREE40

Just used both codes together and got two sets of pea fences, including shipping, for $44.80.

Also, Ray, I noticed that the product number for the pea fences in the EarthTainer PDF is slightly off, as it has two of the numbers transposed. It should be 93047, but you have it as 94037.

GoGayleGo · April 3, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdank

Raybo,
yeah, I thought it was pretty smart of me to think to use the staking system clamps like that. I told my husband to bow down to me as he is usully the one who thinks of these things.

It holds the cage on very tight too! I'm temped to sell the whole cage idea to earthbox .

The clamps are reasonably priced too. I got 4 of them for $5.

You will need to buy some bolts to get it to work. the ones that came with my earthbox staking system rim clamps are too short for this use. I'm using 4 10x24 1-3/4 inch bolts, along with the nuts that came with the clamps, per cage.

Also, I used these cage clips to put the two pea fences together. It came out way cheaper than the rope clamps that you use. I have to make 20 cages and that many rope clamps would be expensive.

Does anyone know if the EB cage clips will work on a non-EB box? Specifically, an 18-gallon tote?

Or is the zip-tie method just as effective?

July 21, 2012	#46
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	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. __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

July 23, 2012	#49
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	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. __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

August 18, 2012	#53
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	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~

July 23, 2012	#48
baileyj Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Annapolis Maryland Zone 7 Posts: 120	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

March 2, 2013	#55
KenNashua Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 18	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

March 2, 2013	#56
rnewste Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Campbell, CA Posts: 4,064	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

March 3, 2013	#58
rnewste Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Campbell, CA Posts: 4,064	No, I miss Lake Winnipesaukee in the Summer! Raybo

March 26, 2013	#59
elight Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Allentown, PA Posts: 349	To update Ken's post above, here are some new Burpee discount codes that work as of today: 20% off storewide (slightly better than the $10 off if ordering two fences) - AFFTW80 Free shipping on orders >$40 (old code expired, this one now works) - RTMNFREE40 Just used both codes together and got two sets of pea fences, including shipping, for $44.80. Also, Ray, I noticed that the product number for the pea fences in the EarthTainer PDF is slightly off, as it has two of the numbers transposed. It should be 93047, but you have it as 94037.