Why Grow tomatoes in a cage when you can grow them up a string! with out a cage! tomatoes plants free to roam as nature intended... well not really, but it is far easier and yields better results growing tomatoes up suspended by a string than caging them... and besides no one likes being caged.
I've had mixed results with growing tomatoes in cages, they confine the plant bruise the leaves and allow fungus and disease to spread VERY quickly between plants. i find this technique of growing them up a string to be the best for our growing conditions, choice of plants, and ease of care.
i cannot take credit for this method, i originally saw it at Longwood Gardens and had to try it out... so i built the pergola to do just that.
while the plants do well and the leaves and stems are well aerated, there are two drawbacks to this technique:
1. you need a structure from which to hang the strings. in my caser a length of 2" conduit
2. the plants are stimulated to grow taller having the strain og the string to encourage the growth.
by then end of the growing season the plants will have grown completely across the mesh to the other and hang down from the other pipe.
here is the link to my cherry / fruit picker - • PVC PIPE cherry picker...
here is the link to my garden related playlist - • Garden builds and ideas