Trellis Vs Tomato Cage for stretchy strains

[Yes4Prop215]

Im just about fed up with my trellis.....standard white netting, main problem is how the plants always just grow above the netting then fall over, plus any nugs below the netting always droop over because there is nothing to catch on too...also not a fan of harvest either because it likes to slice off nugs that get caught in the netting.... i use a combo of stakes too and its just a mess in there..

I am talking about real stretchy viney strains here....personally for me the OG kush. after running her a few years i really want to try tomato cages out with her and see whats good. with the tomato cage she has support from top to bottom, and it keeps all the colas inside the cage footprint where as trellis nugs like the bend over into their neighbors space....plus i can move the plants around much easier...



looking for anybody with previous experiance with cages....pros/cons? my next run is gonna be 9 per 1k with 5 gal pots and a long long veg, they are ready to explode...the cage fits perfectly around the 5 gal pot..


my other option is to build some kind of adjustable trellis system that slides up and down.....but that seems like a bitch...im not in the mood to play with PVC piping right now.

 

[Ganja D]

If I grew in pots for my indoor I would use tomato cages.

 

[forty]

tomato cages support lower shoots which produce fluff. filling out a dense top canopy under the light is more productive imo... with good training, the tallest shoots shouldn't stick through the trellis enough to flop over, the lower shoots should be close enough to tie up to the trellis with ease. chop the low-light fluf shoots off the bottom.

 

[runningriot]

i hate tomato cages. I switched to the botanicare horti-trellis and love it. it is a pain in the ass come harvest time tho. But since its only 14$ I just cut the crap out of it and buy a new one each cycle

 

[RaNgEr RiCk]

I've had good results with a homemade cage of sorts, using bamboo and wire. My current setup would be such a pain if I had a trellis.

 

[Rednick]

Maybe try two trellises at different vertical heights?
Some people hang them vertically on the sides too.


Good luck. I think the support system is underatted in indoor. I been fucking with it for awhile now, and always feel there is something better out there.

A lot would have to do with your style.
Vert, tomato
Horiz, trellis.
(IMO)

 

[Marathanman]

Two nets at different heights sounds like a good idea.

 

[Yes4Prop215]

im really not a fan of the double decker trellis idea.....way too much work, and you cannot move the trellis or a plant without disrupting everything else in the tray...plus having to cut through two layers of trellis when harvesting??

with the tomato cages i can move plants around if need too...which would have been helpful last cycle. I had a hot spot in the back corner of the tray which fried a few plants. i wasnt even able to harvst them because the trellis basically blocked off all access...couldnt move plants around to get to them or it would have knocked down 2 trays worth of plants...


im gonna go with tomato cages this round and update progress.....luckily i have a decent amount of space to work with...im doing side by sides and trying new shit every round....all i know is im FED UP with the white netting trellis...its loopy, alot of work to create a PVC frame, etc, and harvest is pretty frustrating sometimes...

i hate tomato cages. I switched to the botanicare horti-trellis and love it. it is a pain in the ass come harvest time tho. But since its only 14$ I just cut the crap out of it and buy a new one each cycle

what was your biggest gripe with the tomato cages?? im trying to predict any problems....so far ive figured they are pretty big and bulky so storing 40 cages might be a bitch. but for the support of my long lanky OG kushes im thinking its the way to go...


another problem i had with the trellis was how 4-5 colas would all try to cram into the same square, then lean over and crowd eachother....with the TC i can tie each top down to a section on the upper circle.....it would form a ring of top colas

 

[Aeroguerilla]

ok you only need 1 layer of trellis first off. make sure the shit is pulled tight so its not lose at ALL. when a top grows some balls and thinks she can grow through the trellis you grab that bitches arm and bend her right back under the trellis. NEVER LET THE PLANT GET MORE THEN 1ft above the trellis or its pointless.

so what you do... make your tight trellis screen... when they start to stretch TRAIN TRAIN TRAIN i cant stress it enough. the reason why your flipping out and its a mess is because you didnt train them good enough.


anything thats 1ft below the trellis net will get shit for light if you trained it correctly... now you can go under and trim all the excess shit off thats taking away energy from your main colas.

 

[Aeroguerilla]

tomato cages support lower shoots which produce fluff. filling out a dense top canopy under the light is more productive imo... with good training, the tallest shoots shouldn't stick through the trellis enough to flop over, the lower shoots should be close enough to tie up to the trellis with ease. chop the low-light fluf shoots off the bottom.

this dude hit it on the nail 100%

its all about training bro!

 

[Yes4Prop215]

yea i remember you telling me to bend them bitches back into the canopy....but with this OG if i did that then 4 new shoots would pop up about 1-2 feet and i would need a second taller trellis in place to support those...



maybe time for another side by side.....i have been planning to construct a new PVC frame and make the netting super tight......ive been training my plants on some vineyard style lately...into Vs and Ts.....each plant has 8+ top colas now.....i can support them from the top on the tomato cage kind of like a Yo-yo...then il just trim off everything below a certain level.

 

[Aeroguerilla]

when those 4 new shoots pop up you bend those right down to. bend and snap everything you need to keep that canopy even. just remember its a weed she can take a beating...

 

[Aeroguerilla]

my SSSDH is doing the same shit will not stop stretching so ive been supercropping the larger arms i pull them over until they crimp and i see a small droplet of liquid starting to leak out by the next day shes all healed up. this keeps my canopy even usually i just bend back down but with this strain i had to supercrop! try it out

 

[localhero]

i took garden fencing and wrapped it around my 55gal barrel half pots. then you can still move it around. but youre talking about outdoor yeah? i think im gonna use tomato cages for the begining train and then wrap with 6 in fencing (if i can find it) then hortonova the rest of the way.

last year i used rolled up garden fence about 1 1/2 ft diameter for the initial training and that sucked. when the plant got big it was a pain in the ass to get up deep into the plant for skirt work to trim out the crap branches and root suckers.

 

[woolybear]

I am using tomato cages for my kali mist and sour bubble grape skunk grows. They are under $3 each and fit perfectly on top of my 1-gallon grow bags.

The metal provides a nice framework for training. Don't like using a bunch of bamboo poles for this purpose as they are unstable in my medium (perlite) while the cages are 100% metal-stable-strong.

Whoever gave me the idea of using cages, thanks! This is the typoe of cage I use:

I will buy more to use with my GDP hazes!

 

[Doobie Nyce]

I rock the 54 inch tomato cages from farmtek in 7 and ten gallon pots. These bigger tomato cages easily support 7 ounces a piece. I like to move my plants around a lot during flowering so this works really well.
The rings on the cages also work as training tools to widen out stretchy strains... you have lots of stuff to tie to in there

 

[woodyhemp]

I am using tomato cages for my kali mist and sour bubble grape skunk grows. They are under $3 each and fit perfectly on top of my 1-gallon grow bags.

The metal provides a nice framework for training. Don't like using a bunch of bamboo poles for this purpose as they are unstable in my medium (perlite) while the cages are 100% metal-stable-strong.

Whoever gave me the idea of using cages, thanks! This is the typoe of cage I use:

Sweet, looks real good. It seems these cages open up the middle of the plant. Is this plant topped?

 

[smokefrogg]

I've had good results with a homemade cage of sorts, using bamboo and wire. My current setup would be such a pain if I had a trellis.

trying this myself for the first time, bamboo and twine though, only a couple days into it so too soon for me to really tell if it's going to work out well...i like that we can basically customize it entirely per planter using bamboo and wire/twine

 

[chefboy6969]

just put in my tomato cages in for my outdoor this year....did it last year and they loved it

peace
Chefboy

 

[woolybear]

Sweet, looks real good. It seems these cages open up the middle of the plant. Is this plant topped?

Thanks, topped once... I love this plant, Kali Most, four strong main colas, even growing.

I also have to move my plants around and the cage helps keep things neat. In the future they will support lots of buds.

So far, I think cages are good for people with less of a footprint to mess around with.

Here's a pic of tacomacoma's sour jack in cages: