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Garden Gate:  Tomato plants without cages?  |
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farmeratlast
Farmgirl in Training
35 Posts
Jana
OR
USA
35 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 06 2009 : 05:14:22 AM
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Hi ladies. When we bought our new farm we were in a hurry to "quick, get the garden in". Most of our gardening stuff is still in storage waiting to be brought out here.
I have planted tomatoes and those little wire cages are not going to hold them. Mine are in another state and I do not care to pay $20 a cage.
Can I just let them grow on the ground? Will they get bad? We are watering from above at this point (that is a whole other question).
I may have to send dh out to buy some fence and make me some cages.
jana |
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Ms.Lilly
True Blue Farmgirl
826 Posts
Lillian
Scotts Mills
OR
USA
826 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2009 : 06:14:19 AM
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HI Jana- Yes you can just let them grow on the ground, but I find more rotten ones than good when I do that. I have a few that are in homemade tomato cages because those ones from the store won't hold mine either, but when you plant 60 tomato plants that is just too many cages! The majority of my tomatos are grown along cattle/hog pannels from the local feed store. Since they will pretty much stand by themselves they work out great! As my tomatos grow I weave them through the holes or tie them to the pannel, they work great. Good Luck, oh and I water mine from the top too, but never in the evening.
Lillian |
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willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2009 : 06:20:08 AM
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I'd like to know where you are buying cages at $20 each! That is CRAZY! I think I gave $2.33 a piece for my cages! I plant my tomatoes in a 4x4 raised bed and only cage every other plant. They are planted so close together that each cage does double duty and gives the middle plants something to lean on. If I have any that start to droop I stick in a wooden stake or some found object to help hold them up.
I also water from the top but you need to do it early in the morning before it gets hot or it can "burn" the leaves as the water dries off.
Farmgirl Sister #17
Blog
www.willowtreecreek.wordpress.com
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2009 : 06:45:31 AM
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Jana, I have let mine grow on the groung a few times when I just did not feel like staking them. Like Lillian, though, there will be more rotten ones that way. Also I have some wire cages but mostly now I have big heavy wooden stakes and use the old hay bale twine to tie them on with. They are a pain to do a whole lot of them but you'll get more maters that way.
And I always have way too much to do in the morningsso I always water at night. With a hose. Each plant individually. Lots of time but I like it. And I always sprinkle the leaves, too. They seem to be ok.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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farmeratlast
Farmgirl in Training
35 Posts
Jana
OR
USA
35 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2009 : 07:18:56 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Ms.Lilly
HI Jana- Yes you can just let them grow on the ground, but I find more rotten ones than good when I do that. I have a few that are in homemade tomato cages because those ones from the store won't hold mine either, but when you plant 60 tomato plants that is just too many cages! The majority of my tomatos are grown along cattle/hog pannels from the local feed store. Since they will pretty much stand by themselves they work out great! As my tomatos grow I weave them through the holes or tie them to the pannel, they work great. Good Luck, oh and I water mine from the top too, but never in the evening.
Lillian
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Windsong
True Blue Farmgirl
309 Posts
LaVonna
Decatur
Tx
309 Posts |
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4HMom
True Blue Farmgirl
720 Posts
Kelly
Montana
720 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2009 : 08:21:30 AM
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My tomatoes are in pots on my upper deck (that way they're out of reach of the cloven-hooved rat-bas*(!s aka: deer). My determinate variaties (those that get to a certain height and start producing at a "determined" time) I just have a bamboo hoop over them. As they get bushy, I can loosly wrap twine around the hoop and hold the plants more upright. For the indeterminate types (those that keep growing and producing) I have 6 ft bamboo posts that are right next to the main stem. As the plant grows, I just loosly wrap the growing tip around the post about once a week. When they get to to the top of the pole I just nip off the very top and the plant stays about that height. It keeps the tomatoes off the ground and the maintainence is pretty quick and easy.
"Be the change you want to see in the world" -Gandhi |
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farmeratlast
Farmgirl in Training
35 Posts
Jana
OR
USA
35 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2009 : 09:11:52 AM
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Thank you all for the ideas and suggestions. I guess the post would be the easiest. I like the idea of welding together something though or maybe not weld since I haven't the equipment but strongly wire to hold it together maybe. I think I can easily get that together and build them myself.
As for the price of the cages - that is what I see strong cages for at the nurseries and even Lowes. ???? Crazy isn't it?
Jana |
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Windsong
True Blue Farmgirl
309 Posts
LaVonna
Decatur
Tx
309 Posts |
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Bellepepper
True Blue Farmgirl
1207 Posts
Belle
Coffeyville
KS
USA
1207 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2009 : 10:58:37 AM
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| In our square Ft garden, (4'X 4' boxes) we put a steel T-post in each corner and layer 4'x4' pieces of concrete reinforcing wire horizonal. The first layer goes on just after planting, right at the top of the plant. Then we add layers of wire about 12-18" apart. The plants will grow at least 6' tall and will stay confined in and grow up through the horizonal layers of welded wire. Gee, wish I knew how to post pics. Would have been easy just to show you a pic. |
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azgardengirl
Farmgirl in Training
13 Posts
Camille
Gilbert
Arizona
USA
13 Posts |
Posted - Jul 09 2009 : 09:57:40 AM
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I agree with the every other plant thing. Because otherwise they are just too crowded. And this year, I believe at Wal-Mart, they had some giant sized cages. They were so much bigger than the ones at Home Depot and about the same price. Last year I didn't feel like buying any new cages and I just let my tomatoes grow and go on the ground willy-nilly. They didn't produce half as many tomatoes and whatever touched the ground got a rotten spot. So this year, I made the effort and I have had so many tomatoes, I have canned 28 quarts so far and still could do more. I have a bowl right now sitting on my counter. So, my vote is, get some kind of cage. It does matter.
http://arizonagardengirl.wordpress.com/ |
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Garden Gate: Tomato plants without cages? |
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Tomato plants without cages?
