How often do most people need a cage taller than 5'?2cents wrote:PunkRotten,
Hardware supply or concrete supply stores sell reinforcement wire, usually 5 ft with 6 in squares, it works well. you cut the wire for your own cages. they will be a perfect 5 ft tall cage.
under 2 ft diameter cage and you will need to support them, there are a number of methods, I like a 8 ft 1 x 2 cut in half(4ft) one on each side and sunk 1 ft in ground next to cage(3ft out of ground) and I use wire ties for quick n easy tie cage to wood stakes.
If you make your tomatoe cages 2.5 feet in diameter or bigger(bigger tends to get too big) then rarely do you need to support the cage(only in extreme wind storms).
I have one plant that's nearly 6' tall right now, but I think a 5' cage would support it just fine. Then again this is my first year growing tomatoes, so maybe next year they'll be taller
My other plants are all 5' tall or shorter.
7' mesh is available, but it's typically in 200' rolls. I found one place in Los Angeles that will cut me a 50' section of that, but they want $83.50 for it
, vs. the 5' x 50' roll that I can buy from a different place for $38.I suppose I can construct a taller cage with two pieces of the 5' stuff, but that's more work, and I'm lazy
But I'm also cheap. Am I cheaper or lazier? Or is 5' just good enough for 99% of tomato gardens?
