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emcd124 · July 12, 2013

Sorry me again back with a few more questions now that I have my wire mesh cages up and installed.

1. God bless the man who suggested zip ties to hold those things together. My husband and I were able to make 8 cages in under 15 minutes working together with the zip ties (while I was 9 mo pregnant none the less)!!

2. If you dont paint or spray the rusty wires, do they ever stop coming off all over you? Every time I reach through a hole to pull a sucker or otherwise fuss the plant I wind up marked with grime all up and down my arm. Will that go down as it is more exposed to the weather or is that a lifetime feature of the rusty mesh construction?

3. The recommended diameter was 22-24". Thats how big I made mine but they look huge! it seems hard to imagine the plants will fill them out and be sufficiently supported inside there. So now I'm wondering whether or not a particular approach to ye olde "to sucker or not to sucker" is also implicated in the choice of diameter. For a 22-24" cage, does that imply letting the plant freely sucker? constraining to one main stem? I usually wind up with 3-4 stems through partial design and partial laziness...should I modify the diameter to be smaller in the future?

Thanks for the continuing education in tomatoes y'all!

July 12, 2013	#114
emcd124 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: South Bend, IN Posts: 104	Sorry me again back with a few more questions now that I have my wire mesh cages up and installed. 1. God bless the man who suggested zip ties to hold those things together. My husband and I were able to make 8 cages in under 15 minutes working together with the zip ties (while I was 9 mo pregnant none the less)!! 2. If you dont paint or spray the rusty wires, do they ever stop coming off all over you? Every time I reach through a hole to pull a sucker or otherwise fuss the plant I wind up marked with grime all up and down my arm. Will that go down as it is more exposed to the weather or is that a lifetime feature of the rusty mesh construction? 3. The recommended diameter was 22-24". Thats how big I made mine but they look huge! it seems hard to imagine the plants will fill them out and be sufficiently supported inside there. So now I'm wondering whether or not a particular approach to ye olde "to sucker or not to sucker" is also implicated in the choice of diameter. For a 22-24" cage, does that imply letting the plant freely sucker? constraining to one main stem? I usually wind up with 3-4 stems through partial design and partial laziness...should I modify the diameter to be smaller in the future? Thanks for the continuing education in tomatoes y'all!