Plinsc 2023

skychaser

skychaser

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What's the distance between the openings in those panels? Can you reach through them easily for picking? I've been thinking of investing in those myself. I grow a LOT of tomatoes for sale as produce. I've tried various methods of trellising them. I plant them with the same spacing as tobacco. 2' apart in rows 2' apart and trellis each row with walkways between each section. Works very well for growing and picking. The best method I have come up with is using metal 4' U posts with baler twine 6" apart up the posts. I used 2"x2"x4' wood stakes at first but they break sometimes pounding them in and they rot in a couple season. The lifespan is pretty short. Most types of string or twine stretches or breaks under the weight. Baler twine holds up very well for a couple seasons. Doesn't break or stretch. The U posts work very well too and will last forever. But the combined weight of all the tomatoes on a 40' run often bends my corner posts. Those panels would distribute the weight and solve that problem. And putting them up and taking them down would go fast! The panels and U post will both last longer than I will so the initial investment might be well worth it.
 
skychaser

skychaser

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Plinsc said:
Here you go, does better than me describing it

oldworldgardenfarms.com

The Best DIY Tomato Support Ever! How To Create An Amazing Low Cost Stake-A-Cage

See how to build this amazingly strong & durable DIY tomato support. The low cost support is the ultimate stake-a-cage tomato support!
oldworldgardenfarms.com oldworldgardenfarms.com
Click to expand...
That's similar to the type of wire I had in mind. Those look like they would work very well. I like the re-bar stakes better than the wood. With the metal U posts I use the wire would attach right into the post hooks with no ties needed. But I would need to make several hundred of them to have one for each plant like those are done. But they do look very sturdy, and would beat cages any day.

I would just do 40' runs of wire with posts every 5-6 feet for each row. I plant them just like tobacco. 2 feet apart in each direction with double rows in each section. And 6' center to center for each section. So I get a 2-3' walk way between each section when the plants are full size. And I would need wire with at least 6" squares so we can reach through into the middle between the rows to pick. If all that makes any sense. I don't have the pict that's worth a thousand words to post of how I do it. I also need to size my sections and rows to some standardized widths so they can be covered with Agribon cloth for late season frost protection.

Anyway, that did help give me a better idea of what I think I want to do to improve my method. And it looks like an excellent way to go with a few hundred less plants than I grow. I'm going to pass that link on to a couple others I know.

Thanks
 
Plinsc

Plinsc

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skychaser said:
That's similar to the type of wire I had in mind. Those look like they would work very well. I like the re-bar stakes better than the wood. With the metal U posts I use the wire would attach right into the post hooks with no ties needed. But I would need to make several hundred of them to have one for each plant like those are done. But they do look very sturdy, and would beat cages any day.

I would just do 40' runs of wire with posts every 5-6 feet for each row. I plant them just like tobacco. 2 feet apart in each direction with double rows in each section. And 6' center to center for each section. So I get a 2-3' walk way between each section when the plants are full size. And I would need wire with at least 6" squares so we can reach through into the middle between the rows to pick. If all that makes any sense. I don't have the pict that's worth a thousand words to post of how I do it. I also need to size my sections and rows to some standardized widths so they can be covered with Agribon cloth for late season frost protection.

Anyway, that did help give me a better idea of what I think I want to do to improve my method. And it looks like an excellent way to go with a few hundred less plants than I grow. I'm going to pass that link on to a couple others I know.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I use fence t-posts
 
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