The Rural Voice, 1979-08, Page 44Gardening
Research trials show wire cages
beneficial for good quality and increased yields
Research trials show that it is advan-
tageous to put wire cages around your
tomatoes, insteads of training them to a
stake or letting the vines trail on the
ground.
Besides reducing the labor required for
pruning and tying in the conventional
staking method, there are other beneficial
results.
Fruit remains clean, and is generally of
better quality. Yields of quality fruit can be
increased as much as 30 per cent, and the
tomatoes are generally larger.
The incidence of sun scalding is reduced
because no foliage is removed and fruit
remains protected from the sun.
Since the fruits do not touch the ground
and air is allowed to circulate through the
foliage, damage from diseases is also
reduced. However, it may be necessary to
water more often, because the additional
foliage increases the transpiration rate
(water loss) of the plant.
CONSTRUCTION
Ten -gauge 6" x 6" concrete reinforcing
wire is generally most effective for wire
cages. A 5 -foot roll is cut in half forming
two 21/2 foot strips. The cut ends form the
"legs", which are pushed into the soil.
Four to five-foot sections are then cut off
each strip, and rolled into a circular
column, 20 inches high, and 15 to 20 inches
in diameter.The columns are fastened by
PG. 42 THE RURAL VOICE/AUGUST 1979
bending or looping the cut ends around the
solid wire on the opposite end of the
column. Cost is approximately 50 cents per
cage for materials. Building the cage takes
only about two minutes.
PLACEMENT
Plant the tomatoes. After the first
cultivation, place the cages over the plants,
and push the legs into the soil. Cages may
be placed any time, while the plants are
upright (12 to 15 inches tall). If poly-
ethylene sleeves are to be placed over the
cage, to hasten maturity, cages should be
installed at planting time.
Fertilizer side -dressing and granular
herbicides can be applied without remov-
ing the cages. Occasionally, a few large
weeds, growing close to the plants, inside
the cage, may require hand -pulling.
SUITABLE VARIETIES
It appears, from trials conducted at
Vineland in 1972-73, that an intermediate -
size plant is best suited for this type of
culture. Extremely bushy plants, such as
Heinz 1350, were difficult to pick because
of the large amount of foliage. Extremely
small plants, such as the New Yorker, did
not appear to benefit greatly from the
treatment. Varieties such as Veebrite,
Basketvee, C28, Springset, Moira, Quinte,
and Ottawa 78 should perform well under
this system.
INCREASED EARLINESS
Using your cages as a support for a
polyethylene cover, you can transform the
cage into a miniature greenhouse or •• hot
cap". This can reduce the chilling efte‘t of
cool spring winds, and promote rapid early
growth. Care must be taken, however, to
insure that the temperatures are not
excessive. On bright days, the "green-
houses" should be ventilated by lifting the
plastic. Be sure to remove this covering as
soon as the plants are well-established,
and the weather is warm.