Tomato cages
 

Made 4 of the Woody's folding tomato cages this weekend.
Cost was 11.00 each, not counting the screws, which we had already. They turned out really good.
[IMG]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3166/3321219636_20a372aaf9.jpg?v=0[/IMG]

Mmmm.... how do these work? Do you tie the stems to them? My indeterminants were coming up & outta my 8 foot tall CRW cages last summer. Any pic in action so to speak? I am very interested as CRW has gotten insanely expensive... thanks.

I don't tie anything :)
I've never used them so I don't know how they'll work. This will be my test year. My thought is to take any strays and stick them back inside the ladder. I'm thinking awful hard about adding a couple more rungs to the top of the ladder and maybe a chain or two on the sides for support. The chains wouldn't interfere with folding them up for winter, but should add additional support.
Well that's the plan anyway............you know how that goes ;)

I like the looks for sure! OK, you used screws to attach the rungs, I got that...What is attaching at the top so they can fold? How tall are these babies? I can't get a sense of scale as the tractors in the background look ginormous!

[URL="http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2005-02-01/DIY-Tomato-Cages.aspx"][COLOR=#810081]http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2005-02-01/DIY-Tomato-Cages.aspx[/COLOR][/URL]

Here's the directions for you. For me to explain how it works, the post would be filled with thingy's and doohickeys. I am not good with tools at all, but I found these pretty easy to make once I had one to look at. The cages are 8 feet tall.
PS--that is one of the little tractors getting worked on. The big ones will not fit into that workshop :lol:

Got it! I had to peer at the pics awhile but now I realize the legs are on the outside, secured with a deck screw to the top piece, the 8 inch section of 2 x 4. Got it!
BTW - I love big machinery (when I can wrangle up reasons to rent Bobcats, Kangaroos not so much, I am in my glory! SHould've been a heavy equipment operator or a "for real" farmer. LOL! Thanks for the link!
I will stick with my 8 foot tall hideous CRW towers for now (when I set them out with the tomatoes, DH & DF always remark about my "post-modern art exhibit" of a garden. The raised beds with the rusty-red 18 inch diameter towers are nearly 10 feet tall! I admit they do have a certain coldness to them that doesn't jive with the wooden bed sides or the mulch but they sure do get filled mighty fast!

Yeah ;)
My mater cages look pretty sad when I first set them out. Soon enough they are filled with beautiful tomato foliage.
I ordered a 6 pack of the texas tomato cages for this year, too. Mine are just not tall enough for some of the maters and they grow out the top and start bending back on themselves.
I am so anxious to get my seeds planted, I can hardly stand it!

Those are pretty cool Barbee.I would add more rungs tho.Would the weight of the tomatoes prevent it from falling over on windy days tho? I guess you could make them wider if you wanted to,or tie them down some how.I have some of those green wire metal cages that fold up.They are ok but once the tomato plants get big and start fruit, they get wobbly.But I use 2 and 3 inch pvc to stake them,so that helps alot.Good luck with yours.

You would definitely need to stake them. I'm going to make some long rebar hooks I think.....and loop them over the bottom rungs of the ladder front and back.
LoL, well I'm not doing it, cause the torch scares me to death. But I'll peek while hubby's doing it and say things like "good job honey" :)

Anchors (for people who are not so handy with the rebar and
torch):

[url]http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-awnings/spiral-anchor.htm[/url]

(I did not check shipping cost on these.)

If you have your Woody's cages in rows, 2 anchors and a length
of cable or speaker wire or parachute chord or similar can
anchor several of them. Just drill holes in the side pieces to run
the cord through. It might need to be readjusted if the cages
sink down into the soil a little after a rain.

:lol: Barbee.But you might make him nervous doing that. I would also treat the lumber you use to last longer.You could also tie them down with wire,with hooks, further up,and fasten them. I might try to make a couple of them ,and see how they work. Barry

Dice
Heyyyyy I've got some of those types of anchors laying around here somewhere. I guess if they'll anchor an RV or a dog, they'd surely anchor a tomato cage!

Barry
They definitely need some tweaking. The one thing I liked about them is how easy they could be adapted for other things. Birdhouse gourds, annual vines, half runners...lots of things you could do with them. I agree that they do need some sort of finish on them. Paint or sealer. Paint would be much cuter. How about bright red or blue? :)
You know you're pathetic when you get excited about a tomato cage LoL

Nice stakes Dice. Very tempting.

Naaah Barbee - that's all in the fun of it. Blue would be very pretty surrounded by lush green & spots of red, pink, yellow, orange, maroon, ivory.....

Stormy
Instant yard sculpture, eh?
Sure beats the peeing boy or the bent over lady with polka dot bloomers ;)