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#60098 Jun 7th, 2007 at 09:06 AM
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Danno Offline OP
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Just FYI for all you new gardeners out there. . tomatoe cages dont hold up for crap :) I'm talking the round 36-48" cone cages. Check this picture out, this year i went to Fruit Basket Flowerland (here in michigan) and baught me some of these metal with thick plastic coating on the outside rods. . . theyre 8' long so i pounded a good 3 feet into the ground. Theyre about a inch diameter, VERY sturdy, and I think they'll do well this year compaired to the tumbling over cages i had last year when the plants fruited alot.

<click to enlarge> [Linked Image]

Last edited by Danno; Jun 7th, 2007 at 09:07 AM.
Danno #60281 Jun 7th, 2007 at 11:26 AM
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I really like the trenching method. The price is just right for me lol. I hope you have good luck with your stakes.


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Danno Offline OP
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yah they were about 4.50 a peice, totalling 50 bucks for 10 of em.

Is trenching where the plant lays over on its side? And the tom's grow on the ground like melons?

Danno #60787 Jun 8th, 2007 at 04:16 AM
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Actually you lay it down sideways in a trench and then pour soil over it except for the very top. That way it grows roots all along it's stem. And the stem actually gets strong enough to support the fruit that it grows. I don't have to worry about breakages due to weather or fruit and the plants just seem healthier to me since I've been doing it this way. Of course I'm very new to gardening so I would seek a second opinion before trying this.


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I've heard of this but have never seen it done. Can you post a pic for us later Tammy?


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I broke the community camera so no pictures. I'm sorry. Really once you trench it it's hard to tell that it isn't a short tomato plant lol. with little babys planted behind it.

I was suprised the first time one of the stems lower down on the plant came out of the ground. I don't think there have ever been tomatoes on those but I have had them come up. Maybe they are the sappers member have been talking about. I'm not sure about that.


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I wish I could get a stake, any stake 3 feet into my ground! lol
I use the cages and do sometimes have to tie them off to the fencing when it gets too fruity.
Trenching sounds like an interesting method.


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my tomatoes have so many on them that alot of my plants are laying on the ground. i bought 12 tee post today to try and get them off the ground. if you don't know tee post are fence post cattle ranchers use to put up fence with. you can buy them at feed stores and hardware stores. i'm picking peppers everyday now and squash every other day this is my second year gardening and i love it. i hope everyone's garden is doing at least as well as mine. i allready have got more from my garden this year than i did last year. all year except for my squash. it starts growing but after it blooms it starts to rot at the bloom. not all but enough to make it a problem for someone who likes squash. any help? thanks for the help.

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i use steel tee post and they are about impossable to pull down by the plants. check your local feed store or hardware.sorry for the spelling not the best hope this helps. good luck.

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sounds like your squash are suffering from BER. You might want to put down come calcium and scratch it in around the root system of your plants.


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We stake ours, they still aren't too big but they've grown a ton just in the past few days! I started them from seed....Better Boy and Cherry.

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Originally Posted by davida580
all year except for my squash. it starts growing but after it blooms it starts to rot at the bloom. not all but enough to make it a problem for someone who likes squash. any help? thanks for the help.


I do remember that i had to manually germinate my squash at the beginning of season due to not enough bees out yet. . . When you say it rots. . does it get wrinkled & brown, almost looks like a raisen at the end? Or does it actually look like this(below image)? I'm not going to coin myself as a master gardener here, but i do beleive that the wrinkled brown end on squash is due to improper/lackof germination. . . at least thats my personal experience. The rot is depicted best in this image below.

<click to enlarge>
[Linked Image]

Last edited by Danno; Jun 10th, 2007 at 06:47 AM.
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Our growing season is so short that large tomatoes never grow and ripen. So I buy cherry tomatoe plants now, just picked some up. Just need to harden them off before planting next week.


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Danno #62719 Jun 10th, 2007 at 06:41 PM
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Danno you may have the problem I had last year, lack of proper pollination. You need bees or learn to pollinate by hand.


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