I know exactly what you mean, but this only happend to one of my plants, Paul Robeson, whose stalks were not as strong and thick as the others. One of the PR's is fine. If I had caught it sooner I would have tied them. I have six in TC's, the others are fine. Wonder if it is just plant specific.

This has seldom ever happened to me using Texas or CRW cages. Could it be variety related? Orange Minsk did that to me this year. I can't remember any other indet. variety ever doing that???

I had this happen to me with 2 Big Zac plants. It was right after a rain. I had not pruned off any of the vegetation and I believe the weight of the plant and its tomatoes along with a big rain on top of that was just too much. I am thinking about how best to prevent a recurrence next year. I will probably let the plant grow out of the cage and tie it to the cage where it grows out.
Marv

Do you think using the 18" cage might work better? More would "grow through" and support the weight?

You might try tomato clips and bamboo across the hoops or tying with nylon hose strips.

George

I had it happen this year in 6 of 12 cages. Varieties included Mortgage Lifter, Black Krim, JD's C-Tex, Aussie, and Stump of the World.

I will probably tie up the lower stems to the cage next year. I tried weaving the stems in and out of the cages after some collapsed this year, but it becomes very tedious with unpruned plants.

I also have trouble with deer. The deer "prune" many of the branches which I also think contributes to the problem. On a side note, I do find that the deer rarely reach inside the cage after the tomatoes, which was a major problem prior to the Texas cages.

I have the 18" cages and let the plants grow freely. Have never had a problem. I don't understand this comment ... I do push the growing tips inside the cage to keep them growing upward. What are the tips?

natal said "What are the tips?"

The growing tips are the ends of the branches where the tomato puts out new leaves.

Hope that helps.

Betsy

I'm thinking that most of the useful support the plants get are from the branches that grow through the rings. If you push all of them into the center, they must rely on their stems to stay upright. When they are loaded with fruit, that becomes a risky proposition.

It makes no sense to force branches back inside the cage. Susan is exactly right.

About a quarter of the branches I try to bend back inside the cage break, so I stopped doing it except in the beginning of the season.

I put one of those cheap cone shaped cages in the center of each 24" Texas cage. I have done this the last couple of years and no more collapsing in the cage.

Actually, it does make sense forcing the branches back inside in many conditions & circumstances. I do it. It is more work though, and you risk the chance of snapping off branches or losing clusters, depending on how early you find them & try to put them back inside. Best to reach inside the cage and pull the branch back inside than trying to push from outside or weave it.

On many varieties, you get an idea how tall the plants will be and you also need to take into consideration their spacing from other plants. You don't really want branches going from 1 cage into another, especially if it is a sucker with flower clusters. You also don't want flower clusters outside of the cage where birds or rodents can easily get them.

I generally pull them in for the first month or more, forcing the plant upward inside the cage and out the top. In my area & climate, indeterminates are usually 6-7ft tall, or 12-24'' above the top of the cage later in the year--some cerries even more.

I have had problems with plants collapsing because of fruit load but simply stick a bamboo stake inside the cage for support. Bought in bulk, they are around $1 each for 7-8ft tall bamboo in the 5/8'' to 3/4'' diameter. You can even go with thicker bamboo that is shorter, like 1'' x 5ft. You really only need to support it the first 3-4ft to prevent collapse. I even cut some bamboo into 2-3ft pieces to support pepper plants.

I use the green velcro from H-D for $2.99/roll and leave slightly loose early in the year (only about an extra 1/8'' gap) and add a couple more velcro strips throughout the first 6 weeks of the season. I use a velcro strip every 12-18 inches.

Of course, with Texas Cages, there is much less support vertically (about 11 verticals on a standard CRW cage about 18'' diameter and how many on a TX? 4?) Likewise with horizontal support--11 again, before anybody cuts any to stick into the ground on most CRW cages.

I think if you can afford TX Cages with their huge gaping openings for the convenience of being able to store them instead of leaving them out all year, then affording the bamboo shouldn't be an issue!

Hope this helps.

You don't really want branches going from 1 cage into another, especially if it is a sucker with flower clusters.

I let my tomatoes vine however they like ... intermingling with the other tomato plants is fine. I find they help support each other. All of my plants top the Texas cages and eventually tumble down the sides.

You also don't want flower clusters outside of the cage where birds or rodents can easily get them.

You're only kidding yourself with that comment. ;)

natal, let me explain:

You don't really want branches going from 1 cage into another, especially if it is a sucker with flower clusters.

You don't want plant flower clusters intermingling--it presents a higher chance of crossed seed. Don't you save seed like many/most posters here?

You also don't want flower clusters outside of the cage where birds or rodents can easily get them.

NO, I'm not kidding myself--at least with CRW cages with 6'' x 6'' openings, vigorous plants, especially with huge potato leaf foliage, shield fruits that grow inside the cages. I've spent quite a lot of time outside in the garden over many years and still haven't seen a bird fly in between rings, always anding on top rings. Of course, the Texas Tomato Cages may not have these advantages built in--their real advantage is portability/collapsability. Not only is it harder for birds & squirrels to access the tomatoes on typical cages, it also provides another advantage having clusters inside protected by foliage: it prevents sunscald. Fruits do not need to be exposed to sunlight, just the foliage.

You will also find a higher chance, again, of cross pollination from bees & insects if the blossoms are outside the cage, exposed and easy to get at.

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