I think the problem I'd have with that cage would be getting it around my plant. The spread is over 18 inches now.

I can only speak from our own experiences.

We've been growing vegetables hydroponically for 30 years. We've tried about every design you can think of, and then our own variations. Over time the winners and losers sorted themselves out. It became clear to us early on that wicking ultimately caused problems that flood and drain didn't. We settled on a design that just kept working nearly flawlessly and produced consistent results. We went commercial almost 6 years ago.

Either flood & drain or top-down irrigation keeps the rootzone perfectly balanced at all times, assuming you are using a properly formulated nutrient. Our experience with wicking always led to salt build-up and the associated imbalances.

For these reasons we always recommend either flood & drain, or top-down to folks who call us who want to build there own hydroponic systems.

It doesn't appear I'll have to worry about pruning my plant after all. I checked it this morning and noticed that it had fallen over. It appears one of my plant ties came loose. The picture bellows show what's left now. :(

Bummer.

Oops...
Jam one of the branches into a some wet mix and clone yourself a new plant.
Dice told me to do it last year. Worked like a charm.

I wish I had thought about that. When I find a variety that I like I'm going to give cloning a try.

[cloning broken branches]
It works. I have a small Kalinka sitting in water in an instant coffee jar
under a light right now, growing roots. I noticed that it had sort of
fallen over on a shelf in a mini-greenhouse, but the pot was still
upright. When I looked close, it looked like a cutworm or slug or
snail had chewed it almost all the way through right above the soil
level. (I don't know how a cutworm could get up there 3' above
ground level, where the "ground" is a concrete patio. Anyway, ...)

I still might have a spot for it if some disaster befalls one of my
Kalinka's that are in 4-5 gallon containers, so I am keeping it alive
for now. (Kalinka is early enough that a late start like this is not
a showstopper for it.)