Released June 11, 2009
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Unless designed well, tomato cages can have more to do with frustrating gardeners than with penning up plants. They can lean, blow over, collapse, exclude harvesting hands.
Good cages allow tomato vines to grow vertically, keeping fruit and leaves out of the dirt. This saves garden space, said Rick Snell, natural resources agent, Kansas State University Research and Extension.
The vertical position also provides better air circulation around each plant, helping prevent such diseases as early blight and Septoria leaf spot, he said. The cages’ support allows tomato plants to grow normally, too, without gardeners’ having to remove the vines’ many suckers (shoots between stems and branches).
“As one result, well-caged plants can not only produce well but also have enough foliage to shade and protect their fruit by the time our hot summer months arrive,” Snell said.
Unfortunately, many cages available commercially leave a lot to be desired, he said.
“Because of the force of summertime winds and the weight of tomato vines’ foliage and fruit, cages and similar kinds of support have to be sturdy and anchored. But, the cheap, widely available wire cages that are shaped like an inverted cone are often too small and top-heavy for the job,” Snell explained. “With stronger, better balanced cage designs, a limiting factor now is they can cost up to $100 – or more.”
He suggests gardeners make their own from the “fencing” used to reinforce concrete (available, if not on display, at some big-box home centers) or from woven-wire livestock fencing (at many farm stores). Either has hand-size spaces between wires. Both are bendable, but rigid enough to form a self-supporting cage. Staking’s sole role will be to keep the wind from blowing them over.
Standard vined or indeterminate tomato varieties need a cage that’s 5 feet tall or more. Most newer compact or semi-determinate varieties can use a cage that’s 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall.
“Tomato cages should be about 20 to 24 inches in diameter. That’s about the same as a 5-foot length of reinforcing wire, formed into a circle,” Snell said. “If you need to make cuts, though, wear heavy work gloves and wear eye protection. You’ll probably want to use a hacksaw, heavy wire snips or bolt cutters.”
Cleaning off and washing tomato cages with a 1:10 bleach-water solution at the end of each season is a good practice, he added. Given that, reinforcing wire cages can last 20 to 30 years -- even stored outside.
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http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/ksrenews/story/briefs061109.aspx
Contact: Elaine Edwards, elainee@ksu.edu
