Monday, June 11, 2012

Staking Indeterminate Tomatoes


I decided to add more support to my tomato cages.  They're pretty study, but I didn't feel confident they would hold indeterminate tomato plants. The Amish Paste plants put them to the test last year. They didn't fall over, but there was a strain placed on the cages.  They worked perfectly for the determinate tomatoes, but I must also admit the heirlooms are going to hit the ground if I don't provide more stability.

I was actually displeased with the price that I paid for the cages at Tractor Supply last season, but when I look back on it they were worth it. Because of the price, I decided to keep the cages and just drive 2 t-post beside them and attach the cages with twist ties.


I hoping the t-posts will hold them.  I was thinking about purchasing a roll of concrete mesh, but weighed the pros and cons.  The t-posts were attached in 10 minutes.  I would have to cut the concrete mesh and put the cages together.  The tomato cages I currently have are stackable, and I can store the t-posts behind the compost bins.  I would have to disassemble the concrete mesh to store them,  and where I don't know.  If I decide to extend the garden next year, I will use the cages for hybrids and invest in cattle panel for the heirlooms.  I'll stake the panel with the extra t-posts.  I hope my idea works.  Have you used t-posts to anchor your cages?


Other happenings, the squash have covered the first rung of the bamboo trellis and lots of blooms are forming.  The zuchinni is looking good on the other side.  I gathered a few great recipes to use for the squash and zuchinni. 



My peas are finally coming up.  I'm late planting them.  These are Wando, and they're suppose to be heat tolerate and great for freezing.  If successful, I get to have the entire harvest to myself.  I'm the only person in the household who loves peasI'm hoping my little granddaughter, Zarriah, will take after her grandmother and will enjoy them for her baby food.  If so, I'll plant another crop for fall harvest. 


2 comments:

  1. The garden looks great. We finally have a tractor supply here, so perhaps we should check there for tomato supports; however, our tomatoes need to recover from the sound beating that received from last week's hail.

    ReplyDelete
  2. They're really nice cages, but a little pricey depending on how many you need. I'm using bamboo stakes between the cages since I didn't have enough. I'll have to tie those with string. We'll see how that goes, lol. I hope your tomatoes recover. How's everything else going?

    ReplyDelete