DIY fruit cage advice?

[Seahorse]

I'm lucky to have quite a large lottie and would like to have a biggish fruit cage. It would pretty much have to be a DIY job (for reasons of cost). I've had a good look round my site and everyone there seems to have gone for wooden structures with plastic netting. If that's the best option, I'm happy with it but thought it was worth asking here first to see if anyone has any brain waves regarding either cost or construction?

[smallblueplanet]

What you thinking of growing in it?

[PAULW]

The only thing that gets hammered on our site are goosegogs and currents, my raspberries do not get touched nor the strawberries

[Seahorse]

What you thinking of growing in it?

I'd like to build it around one of the plum trees that's already onsite (should it survive - it was in the process of being strangled by brambles and bindweed when I found it!). It's not tall and I'd be suprised if it got bigger, given it's apparant age and condition. I want to plant gooseberries, raspberries, currants and possibly stuff like loganberries, jostaberries etc.

At a rough estimate, I'd say I'm wanting something about 2m high, 6m wide (that's the width of my lottie) and maybe 8 - 10m long.

[Seahorse]

The only thing that gets hammered on our site are goosegogs and currents, my raspberries do not get touched nor the strawberries

My plot borders on the home of a colony of at least eight magpies, which my lottie neighbour tells me eat everything!

[smallblueplanet]

The old boy next door has one of the aluminium ones with a door too - he must have had it ages. The size you want it might it be better to invest in a decent one, rather than constantly have to 'make do and mend'?

[smallblueplanet]

My plot borders on the home of a colony of at least eight magpies, which my lottie neighbour tells me eat everything!

You need a shotgun not a fruit cage!

They say autumn rasps don't need to be protected, and ours didn't last season (but that was theirs and ours first year growing).

[Seahorse]

The old boy next door has one of the aluminium ones with a door too - he must have had it ages. The size you want it might it be better to invest in a decent one, rather than constantly have to 'make do and mend'?

They're not cheap though, eh? I think they probably are a good investment but more than I could justify at the mo!

You need a shotgun not a fruit cage!

Now there's an idea...

[rustylady]

If you're going for any sort of permanent fruit cage you need to make sure it's tall enough for you to stand up in. You can order specialist aluminium ones (Twowests&Elliott or Harrods Horticulture) but they are horrendously expensive. You can certainly built your own, specially if you can obtain the framework free or cheap. You can use either wood posts or aluminium poles (try your local Freecycle site or local builders yards and skips). Plastic netting is fine, but may need to be replaced every few years.

[Seahorse]

If you're going for any sort of permanent fruit cage you need to make sure it's tall enough for you to stand up in.

At last... an advantage to being a midget

[rustylady]

At last... an advantage to being a midget

There aren't many, are there? I'm 5 feet 1 inch and I would love to be about 5' 4" (I think).

[smallblueplanet]

I wonder if you could somehow adapt the framework of an old 'family-sized' tent? That sounds daft doesn't it - hmmm I'm having one of those nights, and the keyboard is still 'plinking' at me!!!

[Seahorse]

There aren't many, are there? I'm 5 feet 1 inch and I would love to be about 5' 4" (I think).

I'm about 5' 2". Mostly I don't much mind...until it comes to paying out more for 'petite' sizes! In this case though...

[Seahorse]

I wonder if you could somehow adapt the framework of an old 'family-sized' tent? That sounds daft doesn't it - hmmm I'm having one of those nights, and the keyboard is still 'plinking' at me!!!

I don't think that sounds daft at all and it's just the sort of 'seen better days' thing you might get on Freecycle. I think I'd need more than one but free is free!

[crichmond]

you could always use copper plumbing pipe to create the cage, not to expensive and make it any size you want.