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| Unless someone can talk me out of it, I'm thinking about making the investment into a set of 8 Texas Tomato Cages. Yes I really hate the fact that they cost so much but I only have room for 8 plants so it wouldn't be a tremendous strain on me financially. I haven't been able to find any other product that appears to be as versatile and maintenance free. I don't want to build cages out of CRW that rust and I have a very small shed for storage so I need something that can easily be collapsed. A couple of things I need answered first are... 1) Can buy them in a set of 8? 2) My tomato plants don't grow past 4 feet. Do they make a 4 foot version or only 6 foot? 3) Would I be able to fit two cages side by side in my 2'x4' planters? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| According to their website information: - All Cages Are 6 Ft Tall & Come In 2 Parts - All cages are sold in 6 packs - Cages are 20" (medium) or 24" (large) in diameter Dave |
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| If you call they are willing to work with you. They will sell any odd quantity you want, but it may effect the shipping costs. It depends on how many boxes it takes. I bought 9 cages with 9 extensions about three years ago. |
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| I just called them and it turns out they no longer sell them in 18" diameter and no longer in 4 feet lengths. Bummer. Can anyone direct me to those triangular shape cages that I've seen in photos. |
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| Something like what this guy made. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_S-GY6QMhrqI/SohHq9LLuOI/AAAAAAAAAgU/ZYUWK8za rV0/s1600-h/Garden+09+7Jul5-77.JPG |
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| There is NO WAY I am going to find catlle panel like that here in suburban NJ. |
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| You could still use the texas cages if you wanted to. I only bought six although I plant more like 10 plants. I space about 3 feet apart and put one plant between 2 cages. You could put one cage at each far end then one plant in the middle between the cages. I then used the cages as stakes for the middle one and tied it to the cages on each side. I just received a second order after 2 or 3 years so this will be the first year I have enough for all my plants. You can also use just the bottom half of the cage to make a shorter cage and only add the top if/when you need it. It will not hurt to have the cage taller than the plant, and if you are planning to stake another plant to it also, you would want to keep them taller. |
This post was edited by sue_ct on Fri, Mar 22, 13 at 20:53
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| I used TTC last year and was very impressed. But the tomatoes I grow are mostly huge indeterminte heirlooms that can get 6-10 feet tall. I have six TTCs and plan to grow 9 tomatoes this year. I just bought 3 of Burpee's XL Pro Series cages for my extras. They are 18" square by 58" high. Three cages are $45 full price, but you can usually find Burpee coupons by Googling. Mine came to $12 each that way. I haven't used them, but they look very good. They are made of coated galvanized steel. Burpee also sells a slightly smaller cage that's 40" tall for less. |
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- Posted by potterhead2 z5b NY (My Page) on Sun, Mar 24, 13 at 16:46
| Look into the "Florida Weave" method. I've been doing this for the last few years and love it. It is inexpensive (just posts and string), easy to do, and very little to store over the winter (just the posts and the string). |
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- Posted by jarrod_king zone 7 OK (My Page) on Mon, Mar 25, 13 at 11:37
| I see you mention rust as a deterrent to building and using concrete wire tomato cages. I should add that I made concrete wire tomato cages for my family when I was in high school around 1994 or so and I am still using those same concrete wire cages this year and they are still doing great. They were never stored anywhere but outdoors and have seen ~20 years of sun, rain and wind and are still going strong. That type of wire is extremely durable and tough. |
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- Posted by ncrealestateguy (My Page) on Tue, Mar 26, 13 at 7:50
| And after a few short weeks, the rust does not rub off on you. My Father used them and had his for at least 30 years. Stored outside. |
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| FWIW I ended up buying the Burpee cages (12 of them). They fit nicely in my shed on my Rubbermaid hangar system and they are perfectly sized for my raised beds. The quality seems very good and they fold flat very nicely. |
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| Since this topic rose to the top again, I want to add a photo of my Texas Tomato Cages in 25-gallon containers. They worked great. This photo was taken July 1, 2012, about 6 weeks after the tomatoes were planted out. By the end of the summer, the plants were huge, but the cages held up well. We had a storm with straight line winds over 50 mph, and a couple tipped but did not fall over. The plants were not damaged. |
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| Here's mine. Made out of PVC pipe and fittings. Cost is about the same as TTC. I've been using this setup for about 20 years now with the same PVC.
Follow the link to see how it's done. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Tom's Tomato cage page
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