Caged

It's time for the big reveal of the project we've been working on for the last couple of months...our new tomato cage!

Here's a reminder of what this space in our yard used to look like after we took out the forsythia:

And now?

Taa-daaaaaa!

Finally, a way to keep out those pesky tomato-wrecking squirrels!

Finding plans to build it took a while - we didn't want to just start from scratch. But I realized we were essentially looking to build an oversized extension run, the kind you'd attach to a chicken coop, So I hunted down plans online for an extension run, as designed by Ana White (the same source we used for plans to build a bed a few years back). Then we scaled it up in size...a lot. This puppy is eight feet wide, roughly seven feet tall, and twenty feet long!

How did we do it? We had help. The trip to Home Depot to purchase lumber was nearly disastrous when we discovered that the 10ft boards didn't quite fit into the back of my Subaru (by about one inch). Our neighbors came to the rescue with their pickup truck. So we had our lumber. The lumber is pressure-treated, so we let it sit outside for a couple weeks to dry out, in order to keep the chemicals it is treated with from seeping into the soil.

Then in April it was time to cut the pieces to size and join them using the Kreg Jig, making panels. This was essentially Nick with me assisting a bit. After that: more help! Our friends Evan and Amanda came over to help us put the entire frame together.

Of course it happened to be a hot, sunny day. Figures. Thankfully, nobody got heat stroke and the day was a success!

Completed cage frame

A few weeks went by - between soccer games, theatre tickets and a camping trip, we've been quite busy. But we knew we had time, as the tomatoes were only just starting to flower. Nick built and hung doors on one end. Then, little by little, Nick and I started installing the chicken wire. He had the much harder job of stapling the wire in place, while I came along behind to trim the pieces to fit. The cage is subdivided into three-foot and four-foot sections, with chicken wire of the matching size. I found 50 foot rolls of each online, on sale for a "buy one, get one," so only spent about $80 for 200 feet of wire - far cheaper than the hardware store!

The roof was the toughest part. Nick got up on the ladder to save my back, but it was pretty rough on his.

Thanks, hon!

But yesterday? Yesterday we finished it! It was, of course, the hottest day of the week (85+ degrees). But we got all the sides wired. We paid a toll in blood and sweat (and very nearly tears of frustration on my part but I managed to stifle them).

So...chicken wire is wicked sharp. Ouch.

To the tune of bluegrass music (and under the watchful eye of a backyard toad), over the course of about 4 hours, we got it done!!

We ended the day utterly exhausted (and dehydrated) but feeling quite accomplished. The ten tomato plants we have (5 San Marzanos, 3 Matt's Wild Cherries, and 2 Druzbas), are coming along and starting to fruit. Alas, we have an aphid infestation and a bit of a fungal problem, but thankfully there are organic solutions for both. Fingers crossed for a productive growing season!