What did you do in the garden today?

[Birdsong 82]

I prefer creating trellis’s. They are way better and cheaper than the ones you can go pick up at Lowe’s. Plus I just love making things. Anything from trellises to soap too chicken coops to a fun playground for the goats! Using the imagination is way too much fun

 

[pennyJo1960]

tomato cages here useless Son and his wife had 20 they never used we moved here they came with these are good plastic covered ones ... they spend ???>??

 

[lazy gardener]

I have a love hate relationship with tomato cages. I use the ones I have, wish I had more b/c they are so easy to use. but, they simply don't stand up under the weight of a tomato plant in full fruit, unless you stake them or tie them off to a fence. I find the most useful purpose for them is to lay them flat over a newly planted garden bed, to either keep chickens from digging in the bed, or to support a row cover over the top of them.

I will often put up a CP tomato trellis, then tie some cages to the far end of the CP to be able to put 2 more tomato plants in the row.

 

[igorsMistress]

I use my tomato cages to keep the chickens from eating young bushes when I plant them. Keeps them from digging up too if I put some bricks around the edges. But for tomatoes? No.

 

[igorsMistress]

My son delivered a bale of hay today. Tomorrow will clean out the coop and replace the pine shavings with hay. Also going to clean out the nest boxes and put in fresh hay. Since some of the girls made another nest on the floor I'm going to move some blocks in there and frame the area where they like to lay to give a little more privacy.

Will be dumping the old litter where the compost pile will be moved and top with the tree limbs which have broken down a lot just recently, then top with the dirt and detritus that's out there and wet it all down.

 

[igorsMistress]

And this is the composter I'm getting for free. I've read a few reviews, they're so so. Since it's free and my husband can fix pretty much anything, we're going to have my son drag it over here this weekend.

 

[Birdsong 82]

Just curious but if you guys don’t use tomato cages how do you support your tomatoes? I really don’t like tomato cages because I’m having to constantly stake them because the weight of the tomatoes always take them down. I don’t have anymore welded wire fabric to make sturdier ones and I hate spending money. What do you guys use?

 

[chickadoodles]

I put posts at the end of my bed where I plant tomatoes and run 3 rows of twine to support the tomatoes. Works great. I also cover them with netting to keep the bugs off them.

 

[Birdsong 82]

So I guess I could just attach the twine to the post on my fence. I always have to set the vegetables a few feet back from the fence because my goats like to stick their head over and try to snatch leaves. I’m going to try that route this year because my tomato cages have so many wire ties from repairing them half the time I’m scratched up from trying to please them. Plus they just not strong enough once my tomatoes are full sized. Maybe I will try The twine this year. You just put one strand or one strand on each side. I know you said three up-and-down but I didn’t know if there had to be one on each side.

 

[jerryse]

I use cattle or hog panels to support my tomatoes . One long row . The panels are supported by steel fence posts .