To cage or stake tomato plants?

[vfem]

My husband and I are going to build a couple cages out of old wire coat hangers to see if we can. We're just to 'reuse recycle' whatever we can these days. Do you think this is possible? I got a pair of needle nose plyers?!

If it doesn't work I'm already planning on buying some... I'm going to have at least 12 tomato plants.

 

[patandchickens]

If you drilled holes in 3-4 2x2" stakes to thread the coathangers thru, it might work ok. I do not think coathangers would work for the uprights though, not strong enough.

Or, find someone with some snaggly old field fencing (=pagewire, you know, with like 6x12 or larger mesh) rusting in a corner, or fallen down in a not-gonna-be-fixed fenceline. Cut into sections and attached to 1 stake per cage, it works pretty well as tomato cages.

Pat

 

[beak]

I'm going to cut up a bunch of hog panels with a cut off wheel on a grinder. I'm planing on using 4 pcs and making a square cage attaching together with those hogclips. Any suggestions on how wide the sides should be?

 

[patandchickens]

Would it not be easier (a WHOLE lot less work and less sharp ends and wastage of material) to make a round (cylindrical) cage? I like mine about 18"-2' in diameter. That way there is just the one seam. You would have to do the math on how long the piece needs to be... IIRC (is it not pathetic that a) I am not sure and b) I am too lazy to check? ) the circumference of a circle is 2 pi r. If so, a 2' diamter (1' radius) circle would require 2 x 3.14 x 1 = 6.2 feet of fence.

Please don't trust my math. Well, trust but verify


Pat

 

[beak]

Would it not be easier (a WHOLE lot less work and less sharp ends and wastage of material) to make a round (cylindrical) cage? I like mine about 18"-2' in diameter. That way there is just the one seam. You would have to do the math on how long the piece needs to be... IIRC (is it not pathetic that a) I am not sure and b) I am too lazy to check? ) the circumference of a circle is 2 pi r. If so, a 2' diamter (1' radius) circle would require 2 x 3.14 x 1 = 6.2 feet of fence.

Please don't trust my math. Well, trust but verify


Pat

I'm using hog fence. The mesh is approx 1/8" in diameter. It is heavier than the concrete reinforcement stuff. So there's no way to bend it.

 

[beavis]

Concrete reinforcement wire

18" diameter

3.5-4 feet tall

 

[jackiedon]

Bevis,

We make our cages like yours but we still have to put a green fence post on both sides to hold it up because the plant gets so thick and heavy.

jackie

 

[ams3651]

i didnt have money to buy cages so I took bamboo stakes I already had and placed them near the plants then ran baleling twine back and forth to help support the plants, actually worked out well. I just had to place the branches from time to time as the plants grew.

 

[Rosalind]

I whack some stakes into the ground, then staple old wire fencing to them, and run it down the middle of a 3 foot wide bed, when I am not being terribly lazy. This is done on the day (or week) that the tomato plants are set out. When the season is over, yank the stakes up and roll the whole shebang into a conveniently-stored roll. The length should be as long as the longest bed--I have different-sized and oddly-shaped beds, so when I need to do a smaller bed I just double it over on itself. The beauty of this system is that you only have to get poked with sharp wire ends once, when you're first building it.

 

[Patch of Heaven Farm]

I have staked and caged over the years and I prefer cages because it is less work. During Katrina we had A LOT of field fence damaged so I took that and made 70+ cages.I wired a couple of stakes to each and also wired a couple pieces of pvc that is longer than the cage with holes drilled in the bottom to water them.

It has worked pretty well so far. I store them along the fence rows with an old tarp under them so grass doesn't grow up in them. I like to clean mine as soon as I take them down. I also use them for cucumbers and other vining plants.

But I guess it comes down to what you like and what works best for you. :rainbow-sun