sb country n garden news-my new tomato cages

SB COUNTRY N GARDEN NEWS

when we moved from texas we only moved what we could put in our two cars
everything else was sold given away or donated

this last week my wife she said you know i found some of that white stuff you used in the garden in texas all folded up in a box
do you want it

now that white stuff is called row cover which is shown above
its mainly used to make the plants warmer when its cold
it can produce if its the thick kind up to 5-7 degrees more warmth

now i didnt intend to bring it here since i knew it doesnt freeze here where we live now
maybe a few miles towards the mountain it does but not here

so recently i was thinking about my tomatoes
the prize veggie that many gardeners try to grow

i was thinking you know it doesnt freeze in the garden
i bet i could push the limits and plant my tomatoes early
i wish i had some row cover i thought to myself
i even checked on amazon and some garden websites to order me some
then
thats when my wife she gave me the good news that she had found some of my row cover
the thick kind

so i got this early girl tomato a few weeks ago and planted it in this 3 gallon pot
i move it inside at night and put it out on the sunny porch in the morning

since its now about 2+ ft tall now
well i was thinking maybe i could put it in the ground now like i did in texas

so heres my plan
i will dig a hole in the ground deep enough so that only about 6 inches or so of the tomato is sticking above the ground
i already prepped the soil well with 4 inches of compost all forked in with a large fork tool
then i added some good organic fertilizer made by e b stone
then i added a good soaking of a fish emulsion seaweed molasses mixture

then when i get ready to plant i will dig my deep hole and partially bury my tomato plant
ill just do one this year
if it works ill do more next year
i chose early girl since its an early producer

then
i realized i needed some tomato cages
in texas i used circular concrete wire cages which i gave away when i moved
here in my limited space they would be too heavy and bulky

so
on you tube i found this video on using this 5 ft 14 gauge fence wire with 2 in x 4 in squares
its cheaper and lighter and easily put together and easily to take apart and stack in a pile in my garage for storing

so
i cut 5 ft of the wire leaving an almost 2 inch wire at each cut
the wire was rolled up into a cage and the 15 almost 2 inch wires were bent back to hold the cage in place
then
the new cage was stood up

the wire was cut along the bottom like in this picture so that pitch fork looking wires were made
then the cage was turned over and the forks were inserted into the ground to hold the cage in place
i used some bamboo poles left over from last year to help make the cage stand up better

then
i cut out a 4 in x 8 inch square down low so i can reach my hand into the cage
as the tomato grows i will cut more of these holes maybe just doing 4 in x 4 in holes

now i have my cage to put over my newly planted early girl tomato
then
i will take my texas row cover and wrap the cage with it to make it 5-7 degrees warmer
hoping that will speed up the growth in this cool time of the year here

in texas
our cat would sometimes be found under row cover since it was warm and toasty under there

i hope the tomato will enjoy it as much as the cat did

the organicgreen doctor