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I have a half whiskey barrel size container with a newly planted Brandywine in it. :-) I bought the tallest tomato cage I could find... of this variety:
I also put a large stake in there... also tallest I could find. It's just one of those green plastic deals. I'd estimate about 6' tall. The stake is slightly taller than the cage. So if I tie the vine to the stake and train branches through the cage, is that enough? I am hoping my system will work. It was an expensive day so I kind of cheaped out.... Hoping I do not regret not dropping $20 for one of those twirly iron rod things.... Like this:
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Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by nordfyr315 (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 11 at 1:21
| Eh, your plant will probably grow more than 6 feet tall but in my opinion your setup will keep your fruit off the ground which is the most important function of a stake. |
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| There have been discussions about the "twirly iron rod things" with the concensus being they aren't worth the money. Zone 4. I disagree with nordfyr, I don't think your tomato plant will get over 6 feet tall. In my zone, they don't usually go much more than 5 feet tall. Your cage will probably do the job. Betsy |
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| i agree with bets on your zone factor, but the cage is 6 feet and 1 1/2 feet are going in the soil so only 4 1/2 is all thats left to support. you probably run out of height.. |
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- Posted by lucilleclifton Zone 4 (My Page) on Sun, Jun 5, 11 at 14:27
| I just measured. Shorter than I thought! From soil line to the upper ring in the cage is 3.5 feet. From soil line to the top of the green post is 5 feet. Should I try to get/make a taller cage? Or is 3.5 feet enough cage and I'll tie to the post above that? I know fruits will be too heavy for just the post... arrgh, why can't stores just have quality merchandise that is large enough for people that don't have the time/knowledge to make things on their own? I saw the concrete wire cage most of you use in some pictures. How hard is that stuff to find? Are the cages hard to make? Thanks... |
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| If you can exchange the cage in your illustration for CRW and make a cage that way, then do it. CRW is found at HD and Lowes with the concrete stuff. It is in large flat panels. You need tools to cut and bend the wire ends to make the cage. An easier thing you can do is purchase a second, identical round cage and attach it upside down to the top of the first cage when the vine gets that tall. If all this seems too difficult, just put some padding on the top rim of the cage and let the tomato vine drape over and grow back down. You won't need a stool to reach your fall crop. Because you are growing in a half barrel that is not real deep, attach 3-4 guy lines from the sides of the barrel to the middle of the first cage to keep it from toppling over when it is loaded with almost ripe delicious tomatoes. Good Luck, |
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- Posted by lucilleclifton Zone 4 (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 11 at 12:41
| Thank you for the great suggestion Rick! |
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| I used the exact same cage in a barrel a number of years ago. It fell over. I ended up supporting it with PVC pipe. That lead to a PVC cage which works wonderfully. Here's a link to a description of how to build them. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Tom's PVC Tomato cage page
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