Saturday, January 24, 2015

How To Construct The Best Homemade Tomato Cage

By Janine Hughes


Tomatoes are some of the easiest plants to grow, and in any home garden, this vegetable is one of the most common plants. However, their success partly depends on the support they get. The plants need support to grow upwards. This calls for the introduction of cages to prevent plants from breaking, falling off, or even the fruit from rotting due to contact with the ground. The best homemade tomato cage requires no rocket science. It is an easy step by step process that takes a short time to master.

Although there are many such cages available in the nearby garden centers, they are not often strong and big enough to accommodate bigger crops. They are best used for lower growing bush-like tomatoes. However, for the taller varieties, there is an urgent need to construct your own cage that can provide the most appropriate support.

The whole process starts by selecting the right materials. Generally, the heavy gauge wire-mesh is preferred for the support system. Recycled poultry fencing can also work just as well for this purpose. In fact, the trick is to use what is already available rather than having to buy new materials so as to further cut on cost.

If starting from scratch, buying an inexpensive 2 by 2 by 8 framing lumber from the lumber store and then cut into two equal halves is a better option. The steps and procedure are also simple. First, the appropriate length is measured off. It is then spread on the ground, cut with appropriate tools and then roll up again into the appropriate columns. The next step is to weak a correct size of a wooden stake through the wire. This can also be done using a short pipe. This is done for anchoring the cage firmly to the ground. Then hammer the wire mesh to the ground next to the plant.

Another option is to use the wire cutter to roll out the galvanized wire and then snip off an 18" size of the mesh. Then center the wire grid into the cage, allowing 16" wire bottom from the lower end of the stake. Then hammer the mesh to the stake using nails to secure it and the cage is done.

Spread the wire mesh on the ground and cut off an appropriate length, then roll it into a column like shape. Stake a wooden frame into the wire-mesh to anchor it firmly into the ground and then nail it firmly around the crop.

These home made support system are also better than the commercial options in many ways. Its first advantage is in strength coming from a strong wooden cage. This comes in addition to the ease of a wire trellis. They are also long lasting and easily serve for over five seasons with little care needed. Lastly, they are very cheap, with the average cost totaling to less than $2.

The homemade options have several advantages over the ones bought. They are much cheaper to construct, and very strong and longer lasting. They also require minimum maintenance as the stalks are only tied onto the supporting structure using soft cloths once they are grown. Generally, there are several supportive websites that offer step by step lessons on how to construct these supportive structures. All with the aim of attaining the highest quality and maximum tomato fruits from the crops.




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