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Re: Tomato cage material?...

I've used these for years now for tomatoes and other climbing things. I buy
them as 4'x7' pieces and just form them into a cylinder lengthwise for
individual cages and push into the ground a bit. Yep, they rust but I can't
tell any differences in those several years old vs last year's.  no
problems.  yes, sometimes a tomoato, or whatever, will push against the
wire and have an unwanted "line" in it. But, this is a common problem with
any support structure, not just these things.  They're relatively
inexpensive for the height of the cage but can also be cut and formed into
other things such as pea fences. can also be left "as is" and  put near a
fence to support things.  go for it!  One caution - if you make a tall
cylinder and have high winds, it'll need to be supported.

Dan Dirkes
Poway, CA Zone 9 or so


At 11:29 AM 3/13/97, Dennis L. Whitehead wrote:
>Howdy hi,
>
>I just started eight varieties of tomato plants.  I want to build some
>sturdy cages.  The local building materials store has 10 guage concrete
>reinforcement wire on sale.  It's 6' wide, has 6" squares and comes in a 50'
>roll.  It's not galvanized.
>
>My hope is that someone wiser and/or more experienced than I can tell me if
>this would make good tomato cages?  My two initial concerns are longevity
>due to rust and the "abrasive" action the oxidized wire might have on the
>plants and fruit.  My plan is to make supports for the cages using steel
>fence posts.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Dennis
>
>*-*-*-Dennis L. Whitehead-*-*-*-*-*-ZONE 5-*-*-*-*-*-*
>    - Lincoln, Nebraska USA - dw00057@navix.net -
>     "Humor heightens our sense of survival and
>      preserves our sanity." -- Charlie Chaplin
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