Growing tomatoes at home can provide your family with a large supply to consume in all sorts of ways. Whether you enjoy sliced tomatoes on sandwiches and burgers or you plan to make some large batches of tomato sauce at the end of the summer, you want your tomatoes to grow as big as possible. When you visit a garden center to buy products for your garden, one thing that you'll definitely want is a tomato cage for each of your tomato plants. These cages are made of galvanized metal and come in a few different styles, but generally consist of horizontal rings with straight vertical pieces. Here are three reasons to use tomato cages.
Less Risk Of Breaking
Tomato plants can get very large, and the weight of the fruit hanging off the plant can put many of the stalks under considerable stress. A tomato plant is at risk of having one or more stalks break off because of the weight of the fruit. This can not only result in you losing the fruit before it's ripe, but the breakage may weaken the entire plant and cause it to die. Having a tomato cage around the plant will provide much-needed support. As the plant gets bigger and the fruit gets heavier, the stalks can rest on the tomato cage.
Elevation Off The Ground
Tomato cages allow the plants to stay elevated off the ground, which is beneficial for a number of reasons. If you have actual tomatoes resting on the ground, they can sit in the soggy grass after it rains and begin to rot. With cages, the tomatoes will dry quickly to avoid rotting. The cages' ability to elevate the tomato plants also means that they won't spread across your yard and get in your way. A tomato plant that spreads aggressively can cover a surprising amount of the lawn, cutting down on your children's play space and being an obstacle when you try to cut the lawn.
Better Access To The Sun
Tomatoes grow best when they have plenty of access to the sun. If you have some taller plants in your garden, they can cast shade on the tomato plants and affect their ability to grow. When you use cages, the tomatoes will grow upward and get higher than some of the surrounding vegetation. This means that they'll have better exposure to the sun because they aren't in the shade. This will allow them to continue to grow bigger and produce larger fruit. Learn more about tomato cages by visiting your local garden center.