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Post by buckvelvet on Aug 7, 2017 9:04:06 GMT -6
Anyone else faced with this quandary?
Most of my trees have cages that are 5 ft diameter, they quickly seem to outgrow them. So if the say diam of the tree is only 1-2 inches or so and you use the cage to tie down branches to train but the branches stick out of the cage/fence. What are you gaining with the cage exactly?
Challenges of getting trees to adulthood...
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Post by smsmith on Aug 7, 2017 9:12:39 GMT -6
Yep, common problem/issue. The decision I've come to is to make much smaller diameter (2-2.5') cages. I train the first set of limbs above the cages, or remove portions of the cage to train limbs at a lower height(I try to avoid this). I don't want fruit falling inside the cages as the trees come into bearing age. I will plan to leave the smaller cages around the tree permanently.
Sooner or later, limbs within a deer's reach are going to get browsed.
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Post by buckvelvet on Aug 7, 2017 9:14:46 GMT -6
Yep, totally where my thoughts are going Stu. You cannot help your lowest set of scaffold being nipped on at some point. Your just trying to keep the trunk clean and get the height up to the sky as quick as possible.
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Post by nhmountains on Aug 7, 2017 9:15:05 GMT -6
Don't worry about them browsing the tips. Without the cage they devour the tree before it gets to the point of branches growing thru the cage. I know from experience. Eventually you'll likely prune the lower branches but that'll be 8-10 years in. You need lower branches to provide energy for the tree to grow upright.
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Post by smsmith on Aug 7, 2017 9:23:10 GMT -6
I've been using 5' tubes for the first year or two. That has helped in getting the central leader to 5'+ more quickly (than without tubes). The tubes also protect the trees from browsing. Almost all of my cages are made out of cement wire and deer can reach in and chow on leaves/branches...without the tubes the central leaders could (probably would) be browsed.
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Post by jbird on Aug 7, 2017 10:59:28 GMT -6
I don't worry about branch training and the like until the tree gets above the cage. Until then the deer "prune" my trees and promote vertical growth which is fine with me. Once I get enough tree about the cage then I reduce the diameter of the cage and then worry about branch form and the like. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but it's what I do.
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Post by MoBuckChaser on Aug 7, 2017 14:15:23 GMT -6
My only worry is keeping the tree alive in Missouri. Train branches later, much later! With 100 deer per square mile, I bend 16' cattle panels in a circle because they are 3 times the thickness of concrete mesh and the deer have a harder time smashing them down, or tipping them over.
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Post by Freeborn on Aug 7, 2017 14:34:25 GMT -6
Anyone else faced with this quandary? Most of my trees have cages that are 5 ft diameter, they quickly seem to outgrow them. So if the say diam of the tree is only 1-2 inches or so and you use the cage to tie down branches to train but the branches stick out of the cage/fence. What are you gaining with the cage exactly? Challenges of getting trees to adulthood... I have the same problem and Have thought about adding a panel of concrete mesh to the front of my current cages. That way I can expand the cage and make the panel swing like a door so I have easier access to the tree.
I would need to reconfigure the shape of the cage and secure it but I could make use of the current cage rather than starting over.
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