Anyone Tried This

[frjeff]

I just made 6 of these. Hope they work.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/padrejeff/5527863502/

[Kisal]

Are they supposed to support tomato plants?

[hendi_alex]

Looks like a decent idea. I probably would use a T-post for the support. They cost about $5, are very sturdy and will last almost forever.

[frjeff]

Looks like a decent idea. I probably would use a T-post for the support. They cost about $5, are very sturdy and will last almost forever.

The review say they support the plants well. I made mine 6.5' tall with an additional 18" in the ground. Will need to support with something. Help me pleaes,

what is a T post?

Also, these have a trellis line that can hang down the center of the spiral and be secured at the ground level.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Jeff,

What is the coil made of? I like to use rebar, may try your idea, with Alex's T-post suggestion.


Eric

[frjeff]

Jeff,

What is the coil made of? I like to use rebar, may try your idea, with Alex's T-post suggestion.


Eric

I used 1.5" PVC as the post. The coil is made from about 22' of 1/2" PEX tubing on each post. I found this plan on-line somewhere. I'll try to find and post the link here.
Elbow at the top of the PVC with about a 4" piece of PVC in it. This is where the trellis line can be hung from and dropped down through the spiral and help support the tomato plant stalk.

[frjeff]

These are called TORMATO and here is a link:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Tormato-Tomato-Cage-With-Trellis-and-Nutrient-De/

[frjeff]

Here is another link that convinced me to give them a try.
These pictures show them to be doing their job well and also help explain theeasy construction.

Hope this helps others. I'm excited to get using these.

http://www.itsatormato.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=9&Itemid=66

[hendi_alex]

If I had five or six of those in a row, then I would use a post at each end and run clothesline/antenna cable between and would twist tie the post to the wire. Four x four posts work well, but once again T-posts are inexpensive and serve the purpose well. Sometimes, on a long line, I'll add a third T-post in the middle of the support wire.

Using more posts, one could easily fashion the support in a circle. That arrangement might be interesting as compost and soil amendments could be piled in the middle of the circle and all plants could have common access to the enriched area. In fact, I'll think that I'll do that as an experiment this year. Will make a circular support about six feet across or around 18-20 in length. Maybe place a plant about every 4 feet. Will concentrate all amendments on the inside of the circle and will place concrete re-enforcing wire cages just to the outside of the circle. Will water the plants from the center of the circle. That should force the roots to reach for the water and should keep things from getting overly wet right at the base of the plant. What a great idea! Thanks for stimulating the gray matter!