It is always fun to try new products and when I planted my 4” tomatoes the last week in March I picked up a plastic product called Better Reds Greenhouse that slides over the tomato cages to give the plants a fast start. It is a light weight red colored see-through plastic tube with little holes in it. Each tube is cut to the height of the cage with a little extra to gather at the top with a long twist tie. I pushed soil over a bit of the bottom of the tube to hold it in place.

I was concerned that the tube might make the tomatoes too hot on warm days and I would have to take it off and put it back on at night. That was not the case. I left the tube on for hot days and cold ones. I did see condensation form on the inside of the tube but it didn't seem to cause a problem. When I put my hand inside the tube it was warm and humid. I was also concerned that the flowers would not pollinate as the wind was blocked by the tube so it couldn't shake the flowers and no bees could get inside to pollinate either. Much to my delight the very early flowers developed into fruit. I must say I did take the place of the wind from time to time by shaking the cage.

I took pictures of the tomatoes the first day of May and two of the three had grown to the top of their cage, so I took the tubes off. You can see from the picture that I use old medium sized square cages inside larger square cages to accommodate their full growth potential. The used plastic tubes were in really good shape and I will be able to use them again next year. I think they will work well on peppers, too, so I will be trying that next year, also. I would do it this year but have run out of cages.

I was really impressed not just by how fast the tomatoes grew but by how thick the stems were and bushy the plants grew. Yes it is fun to try new products especially when they work really well!

NOTE: MGs are not promoting the product Better Reds Greenhouse. We are just telling you of our experience surrounding it's use with growing tomatoes.