Monday, June 20, 2011

Homemade Tomato Cages

Years ago, we bought a few tomato cages. The ones that didn’t fall over in wind storms soon broke apart, and we didn’t bother replacing them.


The last couple of years, we’ve “tied up” our tomatoes, which you have to re-do often as the plants grow.


This year, we decided to make our own tomato cages using galvanized cattle wire. The squares are large enough that we’ll be able to pick tomatoes through the holes. And because the wire is heavy duty, we figure the cages will last forever!


Cutting and bending the wire is no easy task! I still have marks from the blisters to prove that I did my share! :) However, we worked as a family and managed to make about 22 of them using the spool of wire we had on hand.


Most of them were 9 squares around, but a few of the last ones we did were a little smaller. Our neighbor made some of these years ago, and he puts the bottom square or two down into the dirt to keep them secure and upright. We simply drove in stakes to tether them to.


Tomato cages


After we put cages around all of our tomatoes, I was happy to still have enough to use with our cucumbers! I can’t wait to see how they work for us! And this morning, I noticed a few inch-long cucumbers! It won’t be long now!


I’m especially excited about the prospect of not having to do a lot of “tying up” this year! It will give me more time to play with my cell phone! Lol!


How is your garden growing this year?

2 comments:

Mari said...

At least you won't have to make more cages next year!
We only have flowers, so no garden progress to report.

Kim @ Homesteader's Heart said...

Tomatoes definitely need a cage or they fall over. I can't wait to see your produce!
HUGS
Kim