So, I've been trying to stay busy here lately by any means possible, even if it means building gardening supplies for my mom...
My mom is an avid gardener, and always grows and cans a whole bunch of Tomatos every year. Between normal wear and tear, and the epic winds we have here in Ohio, the 99 cent store bought tomato cages never last very long.
So, she decided she wanted something stronger.
One day, we sat down and came up with a simple design, and I got my sister Heather to help me build them. We drove to the city and bought a whole mess of 3/4" round bar stock, and all the 1x1/8" flat stock my steel yard had in stock, came home, and got to work.
The round bar sure was rusty, but the flat stock rolled quite nicely in my $20 homemade ring roller. We got everything setup, and I gave her a crash course in mig welding with the 187, and she welded the rings closed herself, defiantly didn't do a bad job for a first time welder.
Anyway... We made a couple videos about this project, just thought I'd share. Hope everyones having a good week, enjoy the videos Yeehaw!! :) Audio/Video clip:video1 video2 ,
Re: The Industrial Tomato Cage Build in reply to Lanse, 09-11-2012 08:59:30
Did you see on Fox news yesterday a special report about employment in SD? They reported a WELDER with overtime could make "north of 80K a year. And with low cost of living and no state income tax it was a real opportuninity. Then they mentioned WINTER.
Re: The Industrial Tomato Cage Build in reply to GordoSD, 09-11-2012 18:51:48
Low cost of living? I wonder where they came up with that. Housing costs are nuts because they don't have enough people to build anything, they are working in the oil fields.
Re: The Industrial Tomato Cage Build in reply to Lanse, 09-11-2012 08:59:30
I made some for the better half using woven wire, rolled into a circle, anchored with a steel post. Any heavier needed, I"d make them out of hog panels (quarter inch wire, 36 inches high. Square holes give more support to the plant than your two rings.
Re: The Industrial Tomato Cage Build in reply to Lanse, 09-11-2012 08:59:30
You might want to do some test marketing with a few of those next spring to see if they will sell for a price to give you a profit.
Any garden shows in the area where you could show the cages? Or maybe consign some to a garden center?
Glad to see your sister wearing safety glasses.
I taught two classes of blind students at a Trade/Tech & Junior college. One of the blind student was a fellow who owned a service station. He used a wire wheel on a grinder and a wire came out blinded him in one eye. He went right back to work without wearing safety glasses - and the same wire wheel took out his good eye.
Re: The Industrial Tomato Cage Build in reply to Lanse, 09-11-2012 08:59:30
Over 40 years ago I made tomato cages from heavy duty reinforcement wire. They're about 20 inches in diameter. I'm down to about 18 cages. I used bolt cutters to cut the heavy wire and I used heavy duty plastic ties, but over the years they didn't last so I now use binder twine. I cut off the bottom horizontal wire so the cages have legs. I jammed those legs into the soft ground to support the tomato plants until Fall. I also mulch the plant inside the cages to hold moisture and to kill any weeds. Hal PS: Here's a pic of cage and tomato.
Re: The Industrial Tomato Cage Build in reply to Lanse, 09-11-2012 08:59:30
I have found the 6x6 wwf for concrete floors cut to 6 or 8 squares works just as good and lasts forever. Cut off the bottom horizontal wire and twist the last wire back on itself. You wind up with a 18 inch round and 5.5 foot tall cage.
Re: The Industrial Tomato Cage Build in reply to Lanse, 09-11-2012 08:59:30
Lanse
I think that is wonderful that your taking the time to teach your Sister to weld . Can t never tell She will always remember your time spent together making the plant retainers for yuor mom. She will always remeber that She can do anything that she sets her mind to do .
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