wsmoak
Deeply Rooted
- Joined
- May 14, 2010
- Messages
- 547
- Reaction score
- 23
- Points
- 151
- Location
- A little north of Columbus, GA
My tomatoes are in 5'6" tall cages made of concrete reinforcing wire -- the type that comes in a big roll. It's a pain to work with, but once the cages are built they last forever. I make them in concentric circles so they can stack one inside the other in the off season.
I tried staking some tomato plants this year and it was a complete failure.
For only half a dozen plants, I'd invest in the collapsible triangular or square cages made of heavy coated wire. They will break down and lie flat during the off season. Or, build those yourself out of cattle panel, which can be had for about $20 a 16' section as mentioned. (There are more expensive panels -- the ones with 4" squares for sheep and goats use more metal and cost more. Hog panel is cheaper but is too short. Look for either the cattle panels or the combo/multi-purpose panel. It will have small holes at the bottom and larger ones at the top -- turn it over for use with tomatoes.)
(Those cone shaped cages might be okay for pepper plants, but they're useless for tomatoes!)
-Wendy
I tried staking some tomato plants this year and it was a complete failure.
For only half a dozen plants, I'd invest in the collapsible triangular or square cages made of heavy coated wire. They will break down and lie flat during the off season. Or, build those yourself out of cattle panel, which can be had for about $20 a 16' section as mentioned. (There are more expensive panels -- the ones with 4" squares for sheep and goats use more metal and cost more. Hog panel is cheaper but is too short. Look for either the cattle panels or the combo/multi-purpose panel. It will have small holes at the bottom and larger ones at the top -- turn it over for use with tomatoes.)
(Those cone shaped cages might be okay for pepper plants, but they're useless for tomatoes!)
-Wendy