Well I have about 50 tomato plants and the price of cages around here going from $3.50 for cheesy to $5.00 for better I decided to use some old field fence that's was ready for the scrap pile. Seemed to work well so far now to make 49 more.
Home made Tomato Cage
Curly69
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Well I have about 50 tomato plants and the price of cages around here going from $3.50 for cheesy to $5.00 for better I decided to use some old field fence that's was ready for the scrap pile. Seemed to work well so far now to make 49 more.
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I use two 4 foot page wire wired together.makes 8 foot cage.thats how tall the hair loom tomatoes get and they even drape over the top .a couple stakes holds them up.got the wire from old fences.works perfect.and last for ever.keeps tomatoes clean and easy to pick.
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I am trying a "stake and weave" tecnique this year...basically I put tall stakes every 2-3 plants (they are in a row) and as they grow, you "weave" jute or sisal twine between the stakes and plants...like this:
![Image]()
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I use concrete re-enforcing wire (re-wire) a 6' piece makes a nice sized cage. Cut the bottom wire off, leaving the 6" "spikes to stick into the ground. The may still need a stake in windy areas! Cut one 6" shorter & it will store inside the bigger one. These will last for years. ~~ grnspot
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I have 4 rows of 12 plants each or so. This looks a little easier then what I'm doing. I'm going to try this in one row.I am trying a "stake and weave" tecnique this year...basically I put tall stakes every 2-3 plants (they are in a row) and as they grow, you "weave" jute or sisal twine between the stakes and plants...like this:![Image]()
How high apart do you put each string?
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I use this also, makes sturdy cages. :thThumbsU
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I figure about every 6" should do it...I have 5 rows of 12 plants each this year, all heirlooms...the real beauty of this system is at the end of the season you just cut the twine and compost it with the rest...untangling tons of vines from cages is for the birds! Not only that, but my cages always fall over anyway if I don't stake them, and stakes cost money too...this system maximises support per stake, since multiple plants go to each stake. Hopefuly it holds up to the wind...I am surrounded by agricultural fields, and the wind can get going pretty good here sometimes.
Eventually I want to invest in metal T-poles...I figure I can do it a few at a time as the wood ones rot out eventually.
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i just made a few cages today from concrete wire. they cost me about an hour of my time, we had a large roll left over from a project at work 9-10 years ago and i finally brought it home for good use. i've been supposed to bring it home for 3 years now, but it was in one of those "out of sight out of mind" locations and i kept forgetting about it.
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Well I did one row of cages nice but time consuming. And one row of the twine. Looks like the ticket and you can still weed with the hoe. Going to do the other row tomorrow.
Thank you
Love this site all in one site.
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I have also used two cattle panels about 1-1/2' apart, then tied twine across (from panel to panel) between the plants. Works well, but time consuming to tie the twine.
As for weeding, I don't do much weeding, I use 'aged' sawdust mulch on all my gardens! In the pic. below, I used the last years chopped leaves for mulch on the tomatoes. ~~ grnspot
As for weeding, I don't do much weeding, I use 'aged' sawdust mulch on all my gardens! In the pic. below, I used the last years chopped leaves for mulch on the tomatoes. ~~ grnspot
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Similar to yours, VintageMTD, except that I orient my rows North-South, 6' apart, with the plants 3' apart in the rows. I use a rafter-like system with the bottoms along the outer edge of the hills/rows, and bring them together at the top in the center between the rows; I start about 2' from each end and then every 2 plants another set. I tie them at the top and use minimal bracing between "rafters;" I've found over the years that as long as I have 2' of the 8' long 2X2's in the ground everything stays put pretty well. The thing I like is that the leaves flourish in the sun (WHEN WE GET ANY!!!) on the upper side while the fruits hang in the relative shade underneath (inside?) and don't get suncracked. I can walk and weed and pick from the inside of the inverted-V shape "tunnel." I don't use cages because I prune the indeterminate types; this si the first year in at least 25 years that I've grown any determinate varieties. I used to tie on thin saplings like rungs in a ladder and train the plants up, but it's a lot less time and effort and works just as well if not better to just train them up the garden twine/jute running horizontally.
I only have 38 this year. I usually have at least 75 plants. I figure since we don't exactly know what's going to go on with the economy, I'd use more of the garden for open-pollenated flint corn, dry and shelling beans, winter squash, beets, carrots and even sugar beets. Stuff that I think gives best sustenance bang for the buck and stores well. I wish I had thought about growing some small grains as well, but hey - it's a start.
I only have 38 this year. I usually have at least 75 plants. I figure since we don't exactly know what's going to go on with the economy, I'd use more of the garden for open-pollenated flint corn, dry and shelling beans, winter squash, beets, carrots and even sugar beets. Stuff that I think gives best sustenance bang for the buck and stores well. I wish I had thought about growing some small grains as well, but hey - it's a start.
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That looks like a real good idea. Any downside to that system? so each row has two strands weaving between the plants right? Now all the side branches that grow out of the main plant dont get to heavy for it? Do you weave them in also? Any pic's of what it looks like as the plants get bigger?I am trying a "stake and weave" tecnique this year...basically I put tall stakes every 2-3 plants (they are in a row) and as they grow, you "weave" jute or sisal twine between the stakes and plants...like this:![Image]()
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I have used this method over the last few years. Last year the plants got so big that they pulled or broke the end stakes out of the ground. Also, as they grow they main side branches have to be staked as well. It works, and is alot cheaper then cages, but isn't perfect.
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so far i have been religiously pruning all the suckers...it keeps the plants a more manageable size and tends to make the plants grow more fruit and less leaves...this is the first year i try this so I am still learning as i go...I'll try to get some updated pics tomorrow...I've had my hands full here with a broken rider(stick managed to blow all the blades off the hydro cooling fan), a 990 that i'm restoring, wife's Escape had the alternator go...talk about a nightmare repair...why Ford decided to put the alternator where they did i'll never know, but you have to remove the inner fender and the half shaft to replace it, and it's a 250 dollar part, on top of that...so i put my Dodge Ram back on the road, and now that seems to need a water pump...when it rains, it pours...lol.
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