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| I finally had my cages dropped off and caged my tomatoes (very late, I know). Never did this before... each tomato has two main stems, so I shoved them into the cages and tried to do as little damage as possible. Does it look right? Is there a certain technique to caging them, or is it ok as long as I keep the main stems inside the cages? The roma was too big and bushy to get pushed into a cage, and it's already growing over the side of the container so I think I'll just leave it that way. Any other comments or feedback is appreciated! This is my first time gardening. How do the general health
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This post was edited by winstella on Sat, Apr 26, 14 at 17:01
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| They look good now. All depends on how big they get, they might overwhelm the cages. Those are generally considered 'small' for cages, and might work ok for smaller plants. |
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| Really? They are 54" and the largest that we're available at Home Depot |
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| I think it's all wonderful ! In time you might have to give huge plants a stake and twine, and I cut off yellowing leaves. With all that sun on cement and the sun reflecting off the light color stucco I'd say you'll get great harvests ! I plant on cement too, but the best tomatoes ever were in grow bags on a yard full of white pebbles (hard on the eyes, rented house) Looks like you're having fun ! |
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| The issue with these things isn't so much height but weight and stability. These wire cages tend to be light, and don't get rooted very firmly into the ground, especially if we are talking about lightweight potting mix in containers. If the plant grows big and leans to one side or in the case of a strong wind, they may not stay upright. |
This post was edited by DHLCAL on Sun, Apr 27, 14 at 0:57
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| OK, sorry, so you got the larger round cages, and I'm assuming the 54" includes the part you stick in the ground, which makes them less than 4' tall. They will need additional staking or support as mentioned above, especially the ones in the containers which will easily tip over in time. Keep them watered, fed, and upright, and you'll get many tomatoes. |
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| I agree with Ed. 4ft. is not tall enough for most indets. Secondly, if they were tall enough they are not going to be stable anyway. Because of easy shipping and displaying , the are designed conic. As a result they have narrow bottom and wide top. That makes them prone to bending under load and toppling. That is why you have to stake them. And that sounds illogical to me , to stake a cage that is supposed to replace a stake. Hmmmm |
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| Geez, wish I knew this before I bought them! So best thug to do is a wooden stake? I wonder if I could just drill in my own sort of trellis to the side of the wooden containers... How much bigger will these things get?? It seems to not have grown much vertically ever since it started flowering. |
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| Container growing toms is a challenge on a couple fronts: support and watering/feeding. I did it last year in earnest for the first time. I had great harvests...but laid short on my support system initially (and had to play catch-up). These store-bought cages are mostly junk for indet. plants. I have seen a few that are MUCH bigger and beefier (very expensive). Newbies must realize the weight involved, and how big these plants can get. |
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| Their eventual size depends on the varieties that they are. The "determinate" varieties typically don't grow very high. But the "indeterminate" ones can get to 6, 7 feet tall or more in the right condition. There are a varieties of support options, depending on both the size of the plant and on personal priorities and preferences. Seems the simplest thing for you to do now is to just attach the cages to something more stable like maybe a wooden stake screwed to the side of the wooden planter or driven deeply into the soil/potting mix or maybe attached to a permanent structure like a fence. The thing with the planters and especially the bucket is that if the container itself is pretty light even if a support system is attached firmly to the container, the whole thing might still fall over. It would be preferable to maybe drive a stake deeply into the ground right outside the planter but it may not be possible if the planter sits on concrete. I've put some of my containers next to a metal pool fence like the one linked below and attached my cages to it. Don't know what your yard has that is in a sunny spot. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Pool fence
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| I am also a second year grower. Tried a few different things, made a number of mistakes. Had some plants that produced well and some didn't. It's a learning process for the backyard grower. Some people here prefer staking, which requires pruning the plants more heavily. I've tried it and decided not to do it since I don't want to bother with regular pruning and it tends to decrease production on a per-plant basis. This year, I've chosen to make my own cages and let the tomato grow without pruning. Here is a photo of one of them made from 7 foot plastic covered metal garden stakes, bamboo sticks and tree branches fastened together with plastic zip ties. |
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| You'll have to make do this year with some hodge-podge supports for those cage things. But before next year I suggest reading through at least some of the many discussions here on cages and stakes and other methods of support. You'll quickly discover that the cone ring things are generally considered a waste of money for most tomato plants. They work great for pepper plants, eggplants and such but for tomatoes, aren't much good as they require additional height and stronger support. As others have already said you will need to tie them off to a fence or add some sort of outside stake to keep them from falling over. Many of them are already leaning in your photos so work to get them as straight and deep as possible. If you try to put stakes in your containers this late it will only damage the roots. Dave |
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