I have been growing tomatoes for years now and one important lesson I learned is that growing tomatoes in cages can actually help preserve the condition of your tomato plant. Because of the heaviness of the tomato plant, especially when it is bearing fruits, a natural support system like a cage is necessary to keep it from falling off the ground where your tomatoes can actually get unhygienic. It also helps the tomatoes get protected from strong winds and heavy downpour as well as it helps the tomatoes become sturdy for better chances of bearing fruits.
The most common tomato cage material that I have used is chicken wire with a little reinforcement of wood for framing. This is what I used to make my own DIY tomato cages and it works quite well. However, I noticed that this type of material is not very sturdy and easily rusts because of the elements. This forced me to look for better ways of growing tomatoes cages.
In my research, I found out that there are a couple of great innovative ideas that can be used to create tomatoes cages. Let's check out some of these ideas and see if any of these can actually be useful for your own purpose.
One idea is a spring type cage that coils up to make use of the tomatoes as the trellis. The best material to use for this is PVC since this has hole in the middle like a hose and is flexible enough to be twirled around the plant. You can even further innovate by using this as feeding system for the plant. You may attach an irrigation system to the hose so that it can transmit the nutrients directly to the plant by acting like a sprinkler.
Another great idea is a folding tomato cage that is made of wood. This is perfect for seasonal use because of easy storage. Visually, you can imagine that it looks like a ladder that is attached to each other. The bottom being the wider part can house the pot where the tomato is actually planted and the top, which is the slim part, will protect the lean part of the plant.
It is also very interesting to note that depending on the type of tomatoes you are growing, a specific growing tomatoes cages is more suitable. In my next article, I will be discussing this kind of specific tomato cage and why it is the more suitable type for each kind.
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