Has anyone used the Veggie Cage or Tomato Ring?

If you're familiar with either of these products, I'd love to hear your opinion of them.http://www.veggiecage.com/default.asp

That looks like an awesome tomato support. Thanks for posting that!

I thought so, too, TTT! I especially like

• how simple they are

• that either product can be used with the conduit Mel recommends...or with any other type of stake one may have sitting around waiting to be recycled

• that they're so inexpensive

• that they can be used for multiple plant types

I wonder how these compare to those texas style cages. One of the benefits of those is that they're expandable...as the tomato plant grows, the texas cage can be added on to.

I use that tomato cage. I got it about 3 years ago and it works great! You can take it down and store it for winter, but I just leave mine in the garden. All you have to do is keep the stems and leaves inside the spiral, and that's easy to do.


In this picture the tomato plant has grown all the way to the top of the cage, it keeps the tomato plant compact in size and so it fits nice inside one square of the sfg. It is next to the worm tube.

If this could be added on to.

Hmmm Not bad. Some of these types of things you just never know about till you see them in action. Josh in for the Score!

W.O.W. Josh...that's outstanding!!!

Do they also cut down on pinching out suckers as the toms grow?

I wondered how those worked. Thanks for the update Josh.

Luci Dawson wrote:W.O.W. Josh...that's outstanding!!!

Do they also cut down on pinching out suckers as the toms grow?

It does cut down on having to pinch out the suckers, in the photo that has the grown tomato plant growing in the cage, I didn't pinch very many of the suckers off at all. You just have to make sure all the stems are tucked inside the cage, it's easy to do and they just will keep on growing. It doesn't look like it's strong, but it is, if you take your hands and put inside the spiral and then pushed outward it would be very strong and not give, so when you keep the stems inside the spiral that's how it works, the tomato plant is pushing out, but it doesn't give. I forget how tall it expands out to be, but it's pretty tall, my tomato plant grew fine in it. If it looks like it's getting to crowded inside, just pinch off some of the leaves.

Josh wrote:

Luci Dawson wrote:W.O.W. Josh...that's outstanding!!!

Do they also cut down on pinching out suckers as the toms grow?

It does cut down on having to pinch out the suckers, in the photo that has the grown tomato plant growing in the cage, I didn't pinch very many of the suckers off at all. You just have to make sure all the stems are tucked inside the cage, it's easy to do and they just will keep on growing. It doesn't look like it's strong, but it is, if you take your hands and put inside the spiral and then pushed outward it would be very strong and not give, so when you keep the stems inside the spiral that's how it works, the tomato plant is pushing out, but it doesn't give. I forget how tall it expands out to be, but it's pretty tall, my tomato plant grew fine in it. If it looks like it's getting to crowded inside, just pinch off some of the leaves.

Well I have visions of growing my tomato plants taller than these cages will allow. I sure wish they could be added onto

I like that idea . Though it does not appear to be available this side of the pond.

. Looks like it can be used or four feet high flowers and a few individual high vegetables like Jerusalem Artichokes or sweet corns as well .

If after more searching the net I can't locate it over here I'll make my own device to suit my needs .

I'll have to see if I can get hold of some hard 8 mm thick walled thermo plastic tubing , most likely a type of pneumatic control line , coil it small , immerse in boiling water for a few minutes then quench it in cold

Too Tall Tomatoes wrote:

Josh wrote:

Luci Dawson wrote:W.O.W. Josh...that's outstanding!!!

Do they also cut down on pinching out suckers as the toms grow?

It does cut down on having to pinch out the suckers, in the photo that has the grown tomato plant growing in the cage, I didn't pinch very many of the suckers off at all. You just have to make sure all the stems are tucked inside the cage, it's easy to do and they just will keep on growing. It doesn't look like it's strong, but it is, if you take your hands and put inside the spiral and then pushed outward it would be very strong and not give, so when you keep the stems inside the spiral that's how it works, the tomato plant is pushing out, but it doesn't give. I forget how tall it expands out to be, but it's pretty tall, my tomato plant grew fine in it. If it looks like it's getting to crowded inside, just pinch off some of the leaves.

Well I have visions of growing my tomato plants taller than these cages will allow. I sure wish they could be added onto

Looks fairly easy to just use some electrical insulation tape and join the first and last foot of two coil with each other along the foot length , then proceed as intended with a double sized stake that is well set in the ground or stabilized with guy ropes .

Why do you want such tall tomato plants ..for green tomatoes or can you get all yours ripe in time before they die off or is the climate where you are able to support year round growth ?

plantoid wrote:Why do you want such tall tomato plants

Why do people go bungee jumping? LOL...cuz they can.

My goal is to have 8ft tall tomato plants. My climate doesn't allow year round growth, so a long harvest is out of the question. I just want tall tomato plants.

I've grown seven foot tall ones tied with raffia on to inch thick bamboo canes outside. Before pinching out the tops so as to get the goodness of the plant to ripen them up before the first cold weather arrived .

Do you start the seeds off inside and once the frosts cease plant out the 10 inch high plantlets once you have hardened them off ?

Do you use bottomless plant tubes to grow the seed into plants , so you slide the growing plant & root ball up out the tube so as not to disturb / upset the growth of the plant thus gaining a few extra days of growth and quality /



I've often used what I know as a " culture ring " ( just a simple 15 inch high tube about 15 inches across ) for the final planting out ... set down into the ground for 8 inches or so & refilled to the surrounding ground level to make a reservior for the water and feed with the plant set in the middle.

Once the first flowers had set I'd feed them on a home made liquid manure . gently and carefully poured in the culture ring so as not to disturb the root system .

It was normally made from 50/50 % mix of old weathered chicken and stable muck both with straw content in a woven polythene sack suspended in a 45 gallon steel barrel filled to an inch or so off the brim with water and four pound of dissolved sugar ( stirred every day for three weeks before use 0

I think people think of it as " Garden Tea " nowadays and that it is all new & modern but the idea is as old as the hills.

The whole are of garden where the toms were was also well dug down to nearly three feet and back filled with various well composted manures to give excellent unrestricted root growth ..I was trying to grow big tomatoes for a local garden show but was beaten by a two guys who had used specialist big tomato seeds

I came third for size but won best overall for colour , shape and taste.

Right now I have nothing for my tomato garden next year except a bunch of ideas and a large compost bin.

I'm in the process of gathering information.

Yeah, don't know that the rings are not anything an old pair of panty hose or yarn couldn't take care pretty easily, but I am seriously thinking about getting a few of the tomato cages

I have no affiliation, but if you'd like to see how another guy does it:

http://www.itsatormato.com/
made with pex.

nKedrOoStEr wrote:Yeah, don't know that the rings are not anything an old pair of panty hose or yarn couldn't take care pretty easily, but I am seriously thinking about getting a few of the tomato cages

I would always use panty hose cut into strips to tie up my tomato plants. It always worked for me.

I NEVER would buy them. I'd give my Mom money and ask her to buy them for me.

I have never bought any either

janezee wrote:I have no affiliation, but if you'd like to see how another guy does it:

http://www.itsatormato.com/
made with pex.

Cool DIY!

janezee wrote:I have no affiliation, but if you'd like to see how another guy does it:

http://www.itsatormato.com/
made with pex.

I just saw this now. It looks awesome!

Yeah, I thought of doing this, but I'm not so good with the power drill on pvc with the weakness in my hands, but if I get stronger next year... I think it would really help keep them upright and in their squares. I also thought of a variation using conduit, since I don't love pvc.

I used to use the plastic tubes that golf clubs use to sit in the bags neatly as deep watering devices. I stuck them in the ground about 6-9 inches down next to a new transplant, and filled them with water once or twice a week for deep root development. Easy to add fish/seaweed/egg shell emulsion that way, too.

I found that the cut-to-length garden Velcro strips really worked well this summer. Much easier than tying or twisting. And it's reusable. I got mine at the big box store garden center.


My current plans for next year are for stringing the indeterminates, and Florida weaving the determinates, in frames like quiltbee's.
I'll try just about anything once to try to get ripe tomatoes here!
j

Wow! Tormato! I really like the looks of these. Being a plumber, I have all the ingredients needed too! I usually have blue, red and clear pex available. Hmmm...

plantoid wrote:I like that idea . Though it does not appear to be available this side of the pond.

I contacted the company and they ship overseas frequently to the UK and Australia. They gave me instructions about how to order for overseas shipping on their website to get the lowest possible shipping cost, so if you or anyone else would like the details just send me a PM and I'll email it back to you.

PS: I don't have any relationship with the company, financial or otherwise.