There are as many designs of tomato cages as there are preferences to their use. There is a variety of materials to use for tomato cages, as well. You need to consider what you want out of your tomato supports. How long do you want them to last? Wooden crates can be built or purchased and are relatively inexpensive but the wood will eventually rot so you may get fewer years of use from this type of support. Wire supports will last longer but sometimes they aren’t strong enough to support large tomato plants. PVC works well but sometimes take longer to put together and the sun will eventually weaken them. You also have to consider where you will store the cages when they aren’t being used.
How much room do you have?
Can the cage be dismantled so it will store in a smaller spot?
Now you need to consider design:
How easy will it be to prune and harvest your tomatoes in the cage you use?
Do you need the bottom open to allow for easy weeding and watering?
Do you need the top more open to make harvesting your ripe tomatoes easier?
Once you have determined what design and material you want to use, there are numerous sites that will give you detailed instructions on building your tomato cages and pros and cons of the multitude of designs available. One thing is certain, you will need to support your tomatoes to get a healthier and more abundant harvest. Enjoy!
Coleus (Coleus blumei)Coleus plants are eye-dazzlers and easy to grow with impossibly
colorful leaves. They are not grown for their flowers but for their leaves.In fact you should pinch flowers off when they appear so that plant energy goes to the leaves. The leaf patterns and
colors are distinctly on the wild side — spotted, splashed, and edged in shades
of color ranging from purple, yellow, pink, intense red, and
luminous chartreuse. Coleus thrives in heat
and part shade and only need regular watering to flourish all summer. Some coleus trail so they make the perfect “spiller” for shady area pots.
Coleus can stand
alone in the shade garden but are spectacular added to the Hostas or Ferns in
the shade garden.Coleus come in so many
colors and shapes that they can be placed from the back to the front of your
shade garden and make a statement or blend nicely with the perennials you
already have planted.
Coleus are fairly
easy to start indoors from seed or plants are readily available just about
anywhere nursery plants are sold.Coleus
will be the first plant to succumb to fall frost but if you move them indoors
prior to that frost they make colorful houseplants over the winter.
With signs of Spring all around, you look out at the patch of dirt you put to bed last Fall and feel excited at the prospect of what you might plant there.
Then one beautiful, warm day you plant seeds and starts then stand back and admire your work. You are soon discover your work has only begun. The primary hurdle in keeping your garden alive will be to provide adequate amounts of water throughout the dry, arid Southwest Idaho Summer.
Keeping your plants wet may not seem like a big hurdle in May but, trust me, if you do not have a good plan in place you’ll be very frustrated by mid-July.
It turns out, there are a few different ways you can effectively keep your garden watered. Let’s summarize 3 basic methods for watering and analyze pros and cons for each method.
Probably the simplest and most straight forward way to water a garden is to strategically set up an overhead sprinkler. Of course, there are different styles of sprinklers many with a moving head that can provide water to a large garden area. Two advantages of using an overhead sprinkler system are of course ease of installation and low cost.
Another advantage for this method is the ease with which you can measure the amount of water being applied to your garden. You can see the water hitting your garden then place bowls or buckets throughout to catch and measure the amount emitted.
There are some disadvantages and cautions to keep in mind when using overhead sprinklers. First, with most overhead sprinklers it is estimated that only about 30% percent of water coming from the sprinkler is utilized by the plant due in part to evaporation.
Also, along with providing water to your plants you are also refreshing the weeds that share the garden space allowing those to thrive as well. You will find that you have bigger, happier weeds alongside your plants.
Finally, overhead watering provides water to the plant leaves which, especially if wet through the night, encourage mold and fungal disease.
Another popular way to water a garden is to utilize the drip system. A drip system was invented to combat all the dangers of overhead watering by applying water directly to the base of the plants.
A visit to your local hardware store will reveal the various types of tubing and attachments available to apply a drip system. One type of tubing comes with holes 12-18 inches apart so that when attached to your hose and laid in rows the water runs onto the plant’s base.
Drip irrigation provides water near the base of the plant, leaving the upper foliage dry and less susceptible to fungi.
You can also utilize a type of thick black tubing that does not have pre-made holes. With this you purchase smaller “feeder tubes” then puncture them through that main tube. You can customize exactly which plants you’d like to receive the water by placing the emitter tube at the base of the plant. This works especially well in flower beds or with the bigger plants in your garden such as tomato plants.
Drip systems are great for weed prevention by watering the plant and not the entire garden area. They use less water because less is obstructed by leaves and lost to evaporation and/or wind.
As a disadvantage, installing a drip system can be costly, especially if you have a large garden area. It can also be labor intensive at the start to purchase and install. Incorporating a drip system into your sprinkler timing zones adds another level of labor and requires some expertise. Yet this can sure save precious time and allows you to go on vacation without worrying about your garden.
Also, a drip system will require that you dismantle and store the parts in your garage every Autumn. You will also need to keep an eye on your system to be sure the tubes remain unclogged and the parts in good working order, then replace or maintain parts as necessary. Because the holes that emit water in the tubing are small they can become clogged from sediments in the water. Installing a filter at the water’s outlet source or hose bib.
Finally, another watering method that replicates the drip is the use of a soaker hose. A soaker hose attaches to your main hose and when the water is turned on it literally seeps out of the hose wetting the area around it. Like the drip tubes, a soaker hose is applied to the base of plants so its roots receive needed moisture and the leaves stay dry. It can also wrap around an area making it useful for a crop of small shoots like carrots.
A soaker hose will apply more water between plats than the drip tube so you may find a trail of weeds there.
Soaker hoses are generally less expensive than drip tubes but because of their woven fabric and depending on your water type, soaker hoses don’t last through multiple seasons. This means you’ll have to expect the regular purchase of replacements.
You may find that you use more than one method for your garden area depending on each plant. Or, you may enjoy the ease of staying with one method.
The task of developing an ideal system for watering that fits your needs and matches your time and budget will be a process. Don’t be afraid to explore different methods, get out there and enjoy what you create!
There are as many designs of tomato cages as there are preferences to their use. There is a variety of materials to use for tomato cages, as well. You need to consider what you want out of your tomato supports. How long do you want them to last? Wooden crates can be built or purchased and are relatively inexpensive but the wood will eventually rot so you may get fewer years of use from this type of support. Wire supports will last longer but sometimes they aren’t strong enough to support large tomato plants. PVC works well but sometimes take longer to put together and the sun will eventually weaken them. You also have to consider where you will store the cages when they aren’t being used. 
