Have a great invention to help with gardening? Are you the self-reliant type that prefers Building It Yourself vs. buying it? Share and discuss your ideas and projects with other members.
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#1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: WI
Posts: 13
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I'd like to share the tomato cages I built last year. I only built two to see how they worked after I had problems with the purchased wire cages collapsing. They seem to work really well even after having a wind storm that knocked down half of our corn. I already started making more for the next grow season. The cages stand 6 ft tall and only take two 2x4x10's cut in half to construct. They fold flat for storage. As luck would have it an 18 gallon tote made into a self watering container fits nicely into the bottom suspended off the ground. I plan on testing this set up come spring.
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#2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 4,488
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That option for containers is cool, but I suspect it would be better if the container was actually on the ground, due to the weight of the soil and water. Maybe try both ways? See what works best?
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Scott AKA The Redbaron "Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted & thoughtful observation rather than protracted & thoughtless labour; & of looking at plants & animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system." Bill Mollison co-founder of permaculture |
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#3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
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Those are vrey nice and I am with Scott, the weight of the container will eventually buckle the container on you. Try placing some bricks or wood planks under the container to support it.
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In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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#4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Upstate South Carolina
Posts: 113
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So Organic Mech...how is the set-up working?
They look great...I love the folding up feature.
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God Almighty first planted a garden, and indeed it is the purest of human pleasures. It is the greatest refreshment of the spirit of man, without which buildings and palaces are but gross handiwork. Francis Bacon |
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#5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: northern NJ zone 6b
Posts: 1,862
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those are really nice looking! I like anything collapsible too as space is always at a premium for storage.
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Antoniette |
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#6 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: WI
Posts: 13
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Thank you, so far so good! I ended up building a dozen cages for the garden and was able to plant my tomatoes a week ago. I spaced them 4 feet apart in the rows and 6 feet apart between the 2 rows. For the self watering container and cage I put 3 screws with flat washers inside the tote on both sides to secure it to the lower rung, that has been set up for 2 weeks and has been working good so far. I'll be sure to keep updating this post throughout the season.
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#7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Czech republic
Posts: 2,532
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The wood is beautiful material
Vladimír |
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#8 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: chesapeake, virginia
Posts: 89
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I love your cages, what a great idea! I have a similiar set up for my cucs, squash and the like why didnt I think of this!
I will look forward to seeing them through out your growing season ![]() |
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#9 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: WI
Posts: 13
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Five weeks from transplant, so far so good! The variety is 'Santa Maria' from The Sample Seed Shop.
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#10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Avilla IN
Posts: 300
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Great idea.
![]() Paul R |
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#11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: WI
Posts: 13
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What a great season so far!
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#12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Long Island NY
Posts: 1,992
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Well done! That is a pretty picture. Would love that view out the window!
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#13 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: ny
Posts: 1,219
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What a great idea! Your garden looks fantastic!
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#14 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: asdf
Posts: 1,202
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Cool update picture. Looking good!
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#15 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: WI
Posts: 13
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