Has anybody ever used the cage method for growing tomatoes?
The cage would be about 1.5 - 2 feet (North American book, not metric hahaha) in diameter and 5 feet tall made from the type of wire with rectangular holes so the tomatoes fit through when picking. The plant will have plenty of support and doesn't need tying up. As I will be running out of space in the greenhouse, I'm thinking of trying it this way and covering the cage with bubble wrap, leaving the top open. A pole on one side will keep the cage in place. The book was not clear on whether it's one plant in each cage or more but I assume one.
Anybody want to share his/her thoughts on this?
I imagine it means only one plant per cage but its a good idea, I will try it myself as I've got about 30mx3m of heavy duty rectangular wire (the strong wire used on tennis courts etc) as my plants aren't much more than seedlings at the moment I shan't need the bubble wrap by the time they go outside. The good thing about this system is theres no need to tie-in the plants to supports, and of course it will be easy to adjust the diameter of the cage to suit the plant, Thanks Ina ;)
The book mentioned plastic wrap about a foot high to protect the young plant but I was thinking to wrap the whole thing as the plant grows to simulate a greenhouse. Tomatoes seem to do so much better in the greenhouse than out in the open.
A friend in England sent us a great big roll of bubble wrap as a joke when we remarked how good that wrap was that they mailed us a couple of real British pub pint glasses in. Next thing we knew, UPS rang the door bell and stood there with this enormous bundle. Now I may have found a way to put this joke to good use hahaha.
I shall be growing the "outdoor" types this year, so no need for the bubble wrap, I agree that greenhouse tomatoes are better but I don't have a greenhouse (yet). By the way, how do you cope with the frosts where you live? I know they can be quite severe ( I used to live in Holland)
Cope? I love clear freezing weather, it's the non-freezing but cold, wet and windy weather I can't cope with. I guess you meant coping with the lottie? It kind of shuts down and hibernates.
Cage-growing tomatoes give less work. :D :D Cages require a little extra expense over the methode of staking each plant or using trellis.
Keep 50- 60 cm. between plants. I have Spring Giants, Roma, Jet Star and Superman :P :P :P
Construct cage 50 cm L+B and 150 cm tall. Wire. Push 10-15 cm in the soil around each plant. Be sure there are openings in the cage to pick the fruit.
The cages I use for growing cucumbers too. Can use the cages for years and this way I seem to get much more and healthier fruit. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Ah, thanks lady.
Hi Ina,
the 'cage' is a good idea.
Up here in the far north I tried outdoor tomatoes last year but put a shield of perspex round them to protect them from cold winds while young. Seemed to help though they only began to ripen by the time the frosts came.
I'll use your idea this year!
Gail.
If we could all spend 30 min here each day, there would be no need to go to school??
- "outdoor tomatoes, no need" - may I suggest that, apart from things like 'Marmande', no tom, in the UK, does better outdoors? SO - some help might be appreciated? = Tim
Hi ina,so as you know i have about 80 variaties of tomatoes this year and i grow them under a roof,all my tomatoes have a roof above there head..On the wind side i made a two meter plastic wall who is fit between electric pipe,above that a roof of plastic,i have a lot of constructionplastic,almost simuliar to folie used to build a foli greenhouse.Why a roof?tomatoes dont like water on there leaves and allso they dont like hard wind.So the most importend thing to have succes with growing tomatoes is try to get a dry sheltered place for them and it will be okee. Here you have a great side for growing tomatoes,its only in german,but anyway look at the side and see how he is growing his tomatoes. www.michaels-tomaten.de
I have seen these cages used many times over here. The only way they can work successfully is by not pruning the plant once it has reached a certain height as the branches are what holds it up. The problem then is that you are shading the fruit (not a problem here but possibly could be further North) and there is a greater chance of inducing blight as the foliage will not dry out as quickly. My abiding memory of plants grown in these cages is totally brown (blighted) plants with a few sad looking tomatoes dangling from the trusses.
Using a plastic wrap would only exacerbate the problem. Are these available in Europe?
http://www.gemplers.com/a/shop/product.asp?T1=RTG300&src=21TL001
They are highly recommended, I have even seen small scale commercial growers using them as they are so easy to set up.
Thanks for the links Ruud and John.
The tomato roof looks very sophisticated Ruud. We both have two left hands when it comes to building things, problem is, we are right handed. Your comments about water on the plants does make sense so, I am going to try to wrap the cage 2/3 way up and put a cover on top (like I do with cloth tops and a rubber band on jam jars). This way I can avoid rain getting on the plants and still have air circulating.
I couldn't believe my eyes John, those water things, I had no idea something like that existed. They look amazing. I do hope my experience with tomato cages will be better than yours. I'm only growing Ferlines this year after the great, blight free success last year. It's worth a try I feel.
Sorry, Ina , I didn't make myself clear. I haven't ever used the cages, I'm just relating what I have seen. Posts will always be my preferred support for cordon tomatoes.
If you put plastic 2/3 of the way up your plants are you going to allow enough air movement around the lower blossoms to allow pollination?
Thanks John, that's what I was hoping for, thoughts on if it is possible the way I had planned.
When the weather gets better we are usually twice a week at the allotment. With good weather I can just take the plastic off (plan to use string to tie it around the cage), if the forecast is good I can just fold it double on the windy side when we are not there and I can shake the plants often. What do you think? Maybe even aid the pollination but I'll have to look up how to do that. Should I leave a gap at the bottom of the plastic for more airflow?
I love experiments.
As John mentioned in the US you see cages many times.In Virginia they cost $6,95 each. But it is easy to make them yourself. In the Netherlands I put bubble wrap till 60 cm up, outside cage, clip it with those little metal plastic dustbin binders. But I dont leave it for a long time. In week 10, after sowing, I remove covers.Disease!!
When making the cages it is better to hook the ends, since the cages can then be unhooked for storage.
No pruning or training is required. Plants are allowed to grow naturally. Result: less labor ;D and increase in fruit. :P
Thanks lady C. Could you give me an idea of the dimensions of the cages used in the U.S.?
After reading the comments on this thread I don't think I'll leave the bubble wrap on then. At the most I may leave a wide strip on the wind side as a wind breaker and leave the rest open. How about the top? Put a bubble wrap 'lid' on it to keep off excess rain?
They are about a metre tall, 20cm at the base (the vertical rods are stuck in the ground incidentally) widening to about 45cm at the top. If you type tomato cages into google (as I just did) you will get more information than you probably want!
Putting a roof over the plants to keep rain off is something I have never heard of. When I worked in a commercial tomato greenhouse we would wet the leaves (with sprinklers) deliberately during the hottest days to help cool the plants. No ill effects were observed, indeed it is a very old practice. The water came from a well so was very cool, as rain would be.
Good info John, thanks a bunch. Of course I could have googled it, just didn't think about it :-[.
Cage dimensions I gave at april 7. I use these, but there are different ones. I like the tall ones. It depends what type tomatoes you grow. I use the wrapp because my tomatoes are at the bottum of the dunes. So it is windy. I never cover the top. I don't see any reason.
Hi Lady C. Yes, I did read the dimensions you used for self constructed cages but you mentioned the store bought ones in America, I wondered what the dimensions of those were.
It's almost always windy where our lottie is too, very open and very flat all around. All I need to do now is find room for a few tomato cages. There's only room on one side of the greenhouse for about 5 plants and I would like to try another five in cages outside.
Hello, I know this is an old topic, but I'd be interested to know how the cage experiments went as I'm thinking of doing the same.
Thanks.
Ali
Tomatoes in cages work fine. But you need more space than normal planting.
In stead of bubble wrap it is possible to use fleece, The plant will dry faster , less problems with blight, but I never had problems with blight.
It only takes time to prepare the cages, but you can use them for ages.
Hee where I live, in the Netherlands, close to the coast, it is always very windy, so with the cages the plants have more support. The same is with the cucumbers and gaugerks. They do not break or fall over.
The reason for working with a roof is that the leaves stay dry, so less chance to get blight. Always water tomatoes at the bottum.
Thanks Lady C. - I discovered in the end that I don't have enough room for the cages so canes will have to suffice for now, although I am going to go for the main shoot and king shoot method mentioned elsewhere in this forum. I don't think we have a long enough growing season in Glasgow to grow single cordons outdoors. I'll make the most of our long summer evenings, hopefully. That's if we ever get a summer. :-\