Tomatoes outgrowing cages!

My tomato plants have outgrown their cages. They are almost two feet above the tops now. What can I do? I don't want to cut them off.

Thanks,

Dan

Reply to
dgoodpasture
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Add stakes and start tying'em up.

Mine are over the top of homebuilt 6ft tall cages already and loaded with fruit. I see lots of canning in my not-so-distant future.

Keith

NE Georgia Mountains

Reply to
Keith Warren

What I did last year was to buy some rebar at Lowes and cut it down to about 7 feet. drive the rebar home inside the cages. Don't be too afraid of getting close to the plant, the roots you cut won't have an impact on the plants. Tie the cages to the rebar.

I didn't use cages this year. Bad idea for me. The sun is a killer in Dallas this year and the lack of shade from trimming them back to stay on the stake is killing them.

Next year, I'll make my own cages. Or, just pull everything out and make a big watermelon patch.

Reply to
FriscoSoxFan

Thye will bend over when they get heavy enough, I just let them do that. Mine too are about 8 ft tall.

John!

snipped-for-privacy@juno.com wrote:

Reply to
GA Pinhead

My tomatoes are getting badly sunburned here in the Central Valley, CA. As well as my bell peppers. No relief in sight from the triple digits.

Sue

Reply to
Sue

1) Don't cut them off. If they fall over the side, it's not the end other world. You can just leave them be and still get plenty-o-tomatoes. 2) Better yet, erect a teepee made from 8-10' poles over the cage(s) and tie the vines to it.
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Reply to
TQ

I just let mine crawl along the ground. One year the vines were over

12 feet long, and had about a 5 gallon bucket worth of fruit apiece, under conditions of malicious neglect.

As to cheap cages that you can cut to fit -- try concrete bracing, the stuff that's just welded wire in 6" squares. It's 6 feet tall as it comes in the roll. You might pick up some as scrap at a construction site.

~REZ~

Reply to
Rez

mine are outgrowing their 4' cages i built from field fencing, check 'em out!

Reply to
brickled

Mine are outgrowing the 8 foot 1x 2s that I put 4 inches into the soil. Some will grow to 9 feet. I better stop fertilizing!

The problem with letting them grow without tieing them is that some significant branches will break when they bend. I broke a few myself, while putting in the 1 x 2s.

The 1 X 2s were $1.15 each at Home Depot. Does anyone know how much rebar costs? Someone suggested making a teepee for each plant out of

8 foot rebar. That's a pretty good idea, if the rebar is not too expensive, w>mine are outgrowing their 4' cages i built from field fencing, check 'em >out! >
Reply to
xx1xx

I do not know about rebar but thin walled electrical conduit was $1.29 for a ten foot pipe the last time I checked. It is galvanized so it does not rust much. It will probably last longer than the wood you have been using.

Reply to
Daniel Prince

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