T IS FOR TOMATOES IN CAGES

Yes you read right, in cages. When I first started gardening I had a couple of guru's who I would like to mention here. Jean – an old friend of 30 years, Shirl – a childhood neighbour and Pete – a TV presenter on Gardening Australia. Between these three people I have been made a passionate advocate of organic growing and in turn a mentor to those who wish to learn.

One of the first things a home gardener grows in Australia is tomatoes. They are easy, quick and tasty. There are problems however and most home gardeners seem to become discouraged half way through their first growing season.

I think one of the biggest deterrents is staking. Tomato plants can grow quite tall and you do need to keep the fruit and the foliage off the ground to give the plant a chance to grow disease free.

Staking means that you have to go and visit your tomato (s) every day and take a bit a string to tie up any straggly bits, it's time consuming and can be annoying as the tomatoes don't grow one branch at a time. You could go out there and the plant has had a growth spurt overnight – the only way to cope with that is to stand there with a ball of string and a lot of patience.

My answer? Tomato cages. Easily built, cheap & re-usable. The easiest way to describe them to you is to show you. See pictures below:

The best thing is that you don't have to supervise your tomato and its every move. They can be stacked as they are in the second photo or you can unclip them and store them flat. I also use them for climbing beans and peas.

T IS ALSO FOR TANGELO

and look at these beauties. Only a few months and they will be orange and juicy and ready to pick. I can almost taste them now …...