Tomato Cages

OldMcDonald · Mar 7, 2016

Has anyone ever used them for growing small fruited melons? I have used them for quite a few years for tomatoes and also (in a bigger size) for small winter squash, but not yet for melons.

2LaneCruzer · Mar 7, 2016

I'm not aware of what melons you are talking about when you say small, but my guess is if they are small enough not to stress the vine or to detach themselves from the vine you are good to go. I have seen cantaloupe grown in this way, but...and this struck me as a bit odd...when the cantaloupe got about the size of a big apple, the grower put each melon in the leg of an old pair of panty hose and tied it to the cage. It worked, but I'm sure it got a lot of comments!

dbotos · Mar 7, 2016

DOMEGROWING: A little hammock for my watermelon

Buty · Mar 9, 2016

OldMcDonald said:
Has anyone ever used them for growing small fruited melons? I have used them for quite a few years for tomatoes and also (in a bigger size) for small winter squash, but not yet for melons.

I have grown watermelon and cantaloupe in my tomato cages and it works great. I put a board through one side and out the other to set the melons on. I will look for some pictures later and post.

OldMcDonald · Mar 9, 2016

2LaneCruzer, Honeydew/Cantaloupe types that weigh about 2 pounds. I have a lot of old reinforcement mesh that I use for the tomatoes and they carry a lot more weight in total than a few melons would. I have also seen thesemelons in ladies' tights or other support mesh/cloth. It works OK on heavier duty supports.

dbotos, I like that idea - really an extension of the individual nets for smaller fruit. It would hold a lot weight for somebody wanting to keep a big fruit off the ground.

OldMcDonald · Mar 9, 2016

Buty, You were posting as I was typing, so I had not seen yours. That idea sounds good too. It would not take many boards to support the number of fruit from a single plant - either inside or outside the cage. I use narrow beds so sideways growth has to be limited and that is why I was looking to go round and round a cage.

Buty · Mar 29, 2016

Buty said:
I have grown watermelon and cantaloupe in my tomato cages and it works great. I put a board through one side and out the other to set the melons on. I will look for some pictures later and post.

2LaneCruzer · Mar 29, 2016

Buty said:
View attachment 462845 View attachment 462844

Wow! Good to know. I may try that this year. I never envisioned the strength of the cage to be the issue, but the inability of the stem of a melon to support it suspended from the cage as the melon grew.