[Market-farming] tomato cages

Bill Shoemaker wshoemak at inil.com
Tue Feb 5 08:30:57 EST 2008


I've covered homemade cages (#10 concrete mesh wire) with clear plastic 
mulch and grown tomatoes in them. It worked very well but it needed some 
management. The plastic was wider than the cage so I wrapped it around the 
cage from the bottom up. I used duct tape to connect the end to the wrap. 
The overlapping edge at the top I folded back down around the outside. If I 
thought it was going to get too cold at night, I brought the overlap back up 
over the top. But it needed to be brought back down the outside during the 
next day or it would really get hot in there. It was nice for a small 
planting but it would be demanding for a commercial size planting. I know a 
small grower who has done some of that as well but he tends to use slitted 
plastic row covers over hoops for larger plantings.

Bill Shoemaker, Sr Research Specialist, Food Crops
University of Illinois - St Charles Horticulture Research Center
www.nres.uiuc.edu/faculty/directory/shoemaker_wh.html



> Has anyone ever tried using tomato cages upside down in plastic rap to get 
> a
> jump on the season? Do you think this is something worth trying?




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