ning
Elite Member
Given flat ground, perhaps a modified gorilla cart would work well - give it a body lift so you can dump into the bed!
Garden fence build
- Thread starter drumminj
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Given flat ground, perhaps a modified gorilla cart would work well - give it a body lift so you can dump into the bed!
@EddieWalker how do you support your tomatoes?
I was not informed ahead of time that'd I'd have to build accessories for the garden. Had to figure out a way to support netting to protect broccoli and the like from cabbage worms(?) -- see attached rebar + 1/2" sched40 pvc -- and apparently I need to build something to support tomato plants.
Going to go with a 3d wood grid that is freestanding. I believe I have enough scrap wood for half of it..will have to go buy some more lumber to finish it.
Of course I just cleaned up the shop yesterday. Re-stacked all the scrap wood, swept and blew out all the sawdust and put up the saws after making a stool out of scrap cedar 8x8s to go with the tables for the garden.
I was not informed ahead of time that'd I'd have to build accessories for the garden. Had to figure out a way to support netting to protect broccoli and the like from cabbage worms(?) -- see attached rebar + 1/2" sched40 pvc -- and apparently I need to build something to support tomato plants.
Going to go with a 3d wood grid that is freestanding. I believe I have enough scrap wood for half of it..will have to go buy some more lumber to finish it.
Of course I just cleaned up the shop yesterday. Re-stacked all the scrap wood, swept and blew out all the sawdust and put up the saws after making a stool out of scrap cedar 8x8s to go with the tables for the garden.
ning
Elite Member
For tomatoes I built a frame from #3 rebar - about 6 1/2' tall legs (3 legs per 20' piece) - I think the frame is the next size up rebar (#4):
I like using rebar in the garden because it pretty much disappears when you take a few steps back, plus it's cheap and easy to get.
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
We have a gazilion tomato cages. Most where bought used for a buck each, but there are dozens of the colored ones that are twice as thick.
This year she wants to use the cattle panels at an angle for tomatoes to grow into. We've never done this, so it's going to be interesting.
Here is a video of her tying grow bags for the first time. She's putting top soil and compost into the bags with potato starts.
This year she wants to use the cattle panels at an angle for tomatoes to grow into. We've never done this, so it's going to be interesting.
Here is a video of her tying grow bags for the first time. She's putting top soil and compost into the bags with potato starts.
ning
Elite Member
From what I've seen, I wouldn't use cattle panels. The tomatoes don't "vine" themselves; they will drape over tomato cages but they don't have tendrils like pole beans or grapes so they don't climb panels. I suppose with the panel at an angle the plant may drape into the holes?
Instead, to get tomatoes to go up and for max production, you trim some of the lower branches, and you tie or tape or velcro them to the support - which can be as simple as a bit of twine hanging from above. That's why we set up those rebar things, so there's something up there that you can hang lots of twine down.
We've used cattle panels for peas - they do readily climb with their tendrils, but it's kinda a pain because even with the big holes it's tough to reach through and pick peas on the other side because they end up hidden.
I agree rebar blends in well. I'm guessing these are welded together? Hrm, something I still have to learn how to do.
I don't understand all the details with tomatoes, but I believe our desire it to avoid having to tie the plants to anything. We'll see how the whole-bed tomato cage thing works out. I spent yesterday cutting down 2x6s into 2x2s and 1x2s. Will start screwing it together today, though I realized last night that at its finished width(38") it won't fit through the garden door, so I guess I'll be assembling on-site.
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
We have over 100 tomato plants, so the cages work for us, but we still need more every year.
Our long-term goal is to double the size of the garden and also have a lot more tomato plants. I'm sure that we'll be buying more tomato cages too!!
The cattle panel idea is still in the thinking stage. It's something she learned about from one of her Master Gardener classes. Some of their ideas have been really good, so I'm hopeful this will turn out well when I get around to doing it. With storms expected for the next 5 days, it will have to wait another week.
Our long-term goal is to double the size of the garden and also have a lot more tomato plants. I'm sure that we'll be buying more tomato cages too!!
The cattle panel idea is still in the thinking stage. It's something she learned about from one of her Master Gardener classes. Some of their ideas have been really good, so I'm hopeful this will turn out well when I get around to doing it. With storms expected for the next 5 days, it will have to wait another week.
ning
Elite Member
I have a small mig unit and use flux core (120v). It's messy and I only occasionally do it so I'm not great at it, but I've built 5 large (7.5x12') and two small (7.5x3') gates for my property fence that came out great and would've cost a ton more if I didn't make them, because they're made to match my fence pattern exactly, so it's honestly not that tough to do a decent job (seriously this isn't a humblebrag - doing it 'well enough' isn't hard, and joe homeowner doesn't need to be a $100/hr welder). It's basically hot glue, just... really hot.
The tomato tying thing is just to maximize yield and encourage them to grow higher than they would otherwise. They do fine with a normal cage and it's less effort, though don't think you won't be working the tomato plant arms to get to the right spot in the cage for a good hang... and then occasionally the cage starts tipping. There's always something to do, whatever method you use
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I need to buy more 1x2s tomorrow to finish it, but here's the wood 'matrix' idea I'm going with for our one tomato bed:
It's a 3x8 bed and we'll do one plant every square foot. So I'll run two more 1x2s the length of each level to split it into three on the long end, then staple 1x1s running perpindicular every 12" in the other direction.
The total height is 66" above the dirt, with each 'level' spaced 18" apart.
A complicated solution, but blends well with the beds themselves and gets a lot of scrap lumber out of my shop which I'm happy about!
It's a 3x8 bed and we'll do one plant every square foot. So I'll run two more 1x2s the length of each level to split it into three on the long end, then staple 1x1s running perpindicular every 12" in the other direction.
The total height is 66" above the dirt, with each 'level' spaced 18" apart.
A complicated solution, but blends well with the beds themselves and gets a lot of scrap lumber out of my shop which I'm happy about!
2manyrocks
Super Member
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- Jul 28, 2007
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Bought some cone shaped metal tomato cages years ago that are still my favorites. They used to make them out of heavier wire. The ones today are so thin that they will bend over in a strong wind if you have a full grown tomato plant inside of them.
I'd like to find some made of wire about the same gauge used in cattle panels. IMPO, cattle panels do very well for growing certain types of beans that need something to climb onto, but not so well for tomatos.
I'd like to find some made of wire about the same gauge used in cattle panels. IMPO, cattle panels do very well for growing certain types of beans that need something to climb onto, but not so well for tomatos.
