[corndolly]

Any tips for building a fruit cage on a budget ? The area is about 16' by 40' ! Suggestions please.

[WG.]

Height required?

[corndolly]

Well I'd like to be able to stand up inside , it'll cover raspberries/redcurrants and strawberries .

[noshed]

Quite a popular method on our site is to get those metal fence panels that they use round building sites, lash them together with wire and then cover the whole lot in scaffold netting. This looks interesting but brutal and you do need some friends to help you get the stuff on site but there's often loads in skips round building sites.

[WG.]

Well I'd like to be able to stand up inside , it'll cover raspberries/redcurrants and strawberries .

Strawberries, I'd suggest Geoff Hamilton's alkathene cloche supports with a net which you remove for picking / maintenance.

A polytunnel frame with net would look pretty good for the bush fruit.  Do you have charitable status?   Perhaps an advert in Freecycle?   I know someone with LARGE frames previously used for a commercial mushroom farm but he'd be selling them, cheap but still cash needed (and they are much bigger than what you say).

[GrannieAnnie]

We got a greenhouse frame off freecycle, its now got glass in it, but I said to OH I could make a fruit cage out of that if I could get the netting, but your area is BIG!!!!!!!!  But a polytunnel frame, yeah, great.  Sometimes you can get them off Ebay really cheap because the polythene costs so much, it puts some people off.  Just got to source some cheap netting then, which is what I'm trying to do at the moment

[sausage]

Well I'd like to be able to stand up inside , it'll cover raspberries/redcurrants and strawberries .

I use an old rabbit cage for my strawberry's, I just drilled some holes in the bottom for drainage, popped in some soil topped with the contents of a grow bag. It certainly does the trick, see the pic below. Hope this helps.

[GrannieAnnie]

Only thing is sausage, I've never seen a 40ft long rabbit cage!!!    

[sausage]

Only thing is sausage, I've never seen a 40ft long rabbit cage!!!    

 :oops:  :oops:  :oops:  

[GrannieAnnie]

   

[corndolly]

Thanks for all your suggestions, I'll look out on freecycle for polytunnel frames.

We have got some chain link fencing I thought we could use for the sides somehow but I wonder if small birds would get through .

I like the idea of the poly tunnel for sale cheapish WG ! what size is it , also would we need to travel north to collect ?

We are a charity so we try to do things on a limited budget but if it puts good food on the table its worth it !

[Ann]

We have got some chain link fencing I thought we could use for the sides somehow but I wonder if small birds would get through .

We've got some chain link fencing in the garden and the small birds get through quite easily.

[WG.]

I like the idea of the poly tunnel for sale cheapish WG ! what size is it , also would we need to travel north to collect ?

It is vast; actually they are vast - think he has about 8 or 10 of them.  Currently positioned near RAF Kinloss - maybe the RAF'd fly it down for you??

Do you want me to get the owner to phone you?   If so, PM your phone number.

[noshed]

They probably fly OK if you drop them roughly in the right area

[splodger]

i can't help directly with your problem - but thought you might look at other  possibilities - i've just put up my fruit cage - it looks fab and many of my allotment neighbours have remarked on it.

best of all - it didnt cost me a penny.   (basic bits cost may dad £2 in a junk sale - but i forgot to repay him...ooops)

it's an old avairy - i strengthened the panels, refixed the loose wire, treated the timbers and drilled holes for some bolts - top of car onto plot and bolted together in less than 10 mins. i put netting over the top (tripled over)

avairy wire is by far the best material to keep the birdies out - and if a stong and substantial structure.

it also acts as an invaluable wind break on my plot.

if you could get hold of the wire. you just need a feww lengths of tannalised timber to build your frame.

look out for old farm surplus sales in your area - you might pick up all sorts of goodies for peanuts.

i don't think chicken wire will be that effective and certainly not chain link.