Fruit Cage advice please

[Benacre]

I am now about to put up a Fruit cage to hold 6 black currant bushes, one Red Currant and gooseberry. Can anyone reccomend a fruit cage ie sizes of wood and what netting is best ie Chicken wire. I am on a windy open site.
also are there rules on how high it should be.
I though about eight foot tall so my 6'6" bulky frame(ME) could get in an out ok
Benacre

[pigletwillie]

I have a fruit cage made out of galvanised conduit (it looks pukka). Height wise its about 7' high as the netting came in 2mtr widths. If your netting is wider you can make it to whatever height you want. The wind wont be an issue as it will pass right through. As for rules, check with your local society as they seem to be different from plot to plot.

However I am moving blackcurrants out of it and gooseberries and redcurrants in. The reason behind this is because the birds dont touch my blackcurrants but will strip a gooseberry or redcurrant in a few days, just a thought.

[Snadger]

The reason behind this is because the birds dont touch my blackcurrants but will strip a gooseberry or redcurrant in a few days, just a thought.

From past experience I totally agree, and foolishly I've just alternated gooseberries, whitecurrants,blackcurrants and redcurrants. Ah well!!!! I think I'll move them again and net everything bar the blackcurrants. Won't need as big a fruit cage that way!

I wondered for years what happened to my redcurrants until I through a net over the bush last year and suddenly, as if by magic, I had redcurrants!!

[JennieAtkinson]

I've ordered some fruit bushes, but won't be able to get a cage up for a while yet. So I will be netting - what time of year do you net, right at the beginning before the birds have a chance?

Just hope I can hold the net down ok and it doesn't join the wood chips.

[pigletwillie]

Before you get fruit Jennie, they will even scoff them before fully ripe.

[Alice]

I had 6 cock bullfinches turn up here today. Just gorgeous - but they get started on the fruit as soon as there's a bud.

[running_muttley]

OOhh like the idea of the conduit, stupid questions:

How thick is it?
How deep into the ground?
How long between posts?

Sorry not very DIY capable but would love to build a cheap fruit cadge.

[pigletwillie]

Conduit is either 20 or 25mm (bigger sizes are too expensive)and comes in 3.75m lengths. I joined it together with conduit elbows and tee's etc. My fruit cage is 5m square and it goes about 18" into the ground.

[Sue]

Please explain what conduit is, I've been checking on fruit cage costs and the cheapest I can find is around £350 so it will have to be nets over the bushes this year. My DIY skills are pretty nonexistent - you should see the home made compost bin...
And I've learned, net early, I lost a whole bush of hard unripe gooseberries to the pigeons who broke a lot of branches as they sat on the bush gobbling the gooseberries which were like bullets.
Somebody on the vine said it was the water content they were after, but they have drinking water on the plot, the wretches.
Sue

[pigletwillie]

Sue, conduit is steel tube that electricians use to protect cables. The galvanised version is extremely robust and rust resist and and lends itself well to fruit cages as you can screw sections together using conduit boxes. It will take some moderate diy skills to do a serviceable job. However its cheaper than buying one and much more robust.

[Sue]

PW
Thanks for explaining, however your mention of moderate DIY skills means I would probably make a terrible mess of it as am not even at basic level
Sue

[pigletwillie]

No not at all, just that you would need to thread the pipe if you cut it to size and you need a couple of tools for it that are probably found only in electrcians sheds.

[PAULW]

PW
There is a guy on our lottie had a cage built using plastic conduit that slots together with T joints and elbows so no special tools required,
by the way Wyvale have a half price sale on at the moment just picked up a 8m x 10m fruit net for just over a tenner, as a replacment for the one I have used for three years now to protect my brassica's there is still no sign of rotting just a few holes appeared where I have snagged it.

[Stroppy scotte]

Saw the sale myself and thought it was a good deal.
We are going to build the frame out of pallets ( free also from Wyevale ) and hope it does the job for a couple of years at least. In fact virtually all structures, edging and pathways have been made in the same way so far!!

[NOG]

I tried to make one out of plactic conduit. But it was not strong enough. Even with cross braces and Vertical bracing. Also If had to buy the stuff and not use (hem) off cuts (as it were) it would have cost a fortune.