[Fidel Castro]

cant you buy green chicken wire?

[BELOW FRIGID]

Major rat problem where I am at. I trap, poison, and the cages. 06 was the first year I did not loose any to them. Looks good for 07 as well!

[3BM]

Anyone have experience using these cages as support for a larger plant late in the season? Any photos of this effect? Can a cage even perform both functions?

[BELOW FRIGID]

Yeah, all you have to do is get some string and tie it around the branch you need to support without strangling your plant and tie the other end to the top of the cage. Metal cloth (squares) works better for this than chicken wire as it is more rigid. I use this for tying them down more than holding them up but it works for both. I don't know if you can see it but the plants in the cage on my previous post are tied down all over the place.

[bongasaurus]

Originally Posted by 3BM

Anyone have experience using these cages as support for a larger plant late in the season? Any photos of this effect? Can a cage even perform both functions?

most definitley. the only thing then is whatever buds are sticking out arent exactly animal proof. depending of your area sometimes the deer will leave them alone later into flowering.

i also like to use the cages to do some training on the lower branches

not that these buds really needed the support, though i do think they got more sun this way

[smegal69]

1, easy to paint wire when still in a roll, i use 6 foot chicken netting the easiest way i have found to paint it is when still in a full roll with a spray gun.

2, if you have problems with rabbits or other animals that will dig under cage, dig a trench and start your cage a foot and a half in the ground.

3, we have parrots here that love to rip your buds to bits looking for seed, you can get away using plastic bird mesh for the top.

4, to join wire together i use small stick about 1" to 2" long, put netting next to each other along where u want join and twist the two together, this will form a good join and just slide stick out.

5, run a hot wire(electric fence around cage) this will keep possums from climbing up and eating any buds sticking out the top.

6, rat bait in a plastic tube is dgood for rodents, it keeps it dry so it lasts a lot longer, just a few in each cage or 1 in single plant cage

i will take photos on the stick twist, it is easy and quick.

pest i have to deal with pigs, deer, possums, rabbits, rats and mice, parrots
and bloody pot theaves

[peacenik]

Last year's lack of water really made a bigger problem with gophers & moles. Chicken wire baskets, even tall ones weren't enough. I took wads of bird netting & wrapped the baskets on the outside before planting. I'll do this again this year as it was 100% successful. You could see the mounds & holes around the plant's perimeter, but none were able to get in. We'd lost atleast 5 plants to the critters before coing up with this idea. I'm sure that hardware cloth is better, but not in my budget at that time. In the long-run, it's worth the cost because you're not losing your babies.
I had also tried putting fish emulsion in each hole to repel gophers, but then the racoons thought it was dinner time! They dug out each plant looking for the fish, but left the plants intact w/roots as they were still only about 18" tall. I've learned that pelleted fish emulsion is better for the job than the liquid. I've also heard that planting a fish at each corner of your garden will repel gophers.

[tokinjoe]

I don't have problems with gophers (we call em groundhogs) or rats here but for sure deer and caterpillars are my biggest enemies. I use chicken wire for the deer and Dipel for the caterpillars. As for painting the chicken wire, I use a 1" nap roller. The thick nap roller actually absorbs the chicken wire into it when it rolls across the wire and coats both sides very evenly. I use a dark green flat latex outdoor paint and a standard 1" nap roller head. In the spots where I use my 20 gallon buckets I simply measure the wire to fit tightly around the lip of my bucket and slide it down the top of the container.

Just read this thread from the start, glad to see there are members around who take the time to discuss their ideas and experiences with others. I see some good ideas in here, but I think Im just chiming in to mention that not all scenarios are good for chicken wire which can help pin point your exact grow location if you're not careful.

[tokinjoe]

No doubt 420. Painted wire, however, is very hard to see until you walk right up on it. Unpainted wire sticks out like a sore thumb. I used to believe that deer wouldn't eat budding plants until '06 when I lost 2-3 oz of white widow to a deer. Bastards!