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How to Make a Fruit Cage
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If you are serious about fruit growing and have the space to grow all your fruit in one place it is well worth making a fruit cage. A fruit cage is like a walk-in larder where you open the door and all your fruit bushes are growing inside a netted room. It saves you having to remember to net each plant every year to keep out birds. You can buy fruit cage kits with metal frames and plastic netting supplied or you can build your own wooden frame and attach wire or netting to it. A typical size is 7m long, 3.5 wide and 2m high. You can adapt the length and width to suit your needs but bear in mind fruit cage netting is usually sold in 2.4m widths and a walk-in fruit cage needs to be 2m high. It is worth sketching out a design, apart from a wooden upright at each corner, you will need uprights for every 1.8-2m of the structure not only along the sides but in the middle as well plus an extra upright to take the door. Typically you need 13 uprights although it depends on the design.
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you will need
Wooden uprights (at least 2.4m long and pressure-treated with preservative); rough-sawn treated timber for cross members and to make door; door fittings ie hinges and catch; fruit cage netting with mesh about 13-20mm for the roof and sides (or galvanised chicken wire for sides); metal brackets; fixings. Gravel boards can be used at the bottom of the cage if rabbits are a problem. Choose fittings that you find easy to use as it is handy to be able to remove roof and side netting at certain times of the year e.g. to prevent snow damage or to aid pollination of fruit.
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step1
Cut the crossbeams to length and lay them on the ground to mark the shape. Position the uprights carefully and insert into the ground. All the uprights need to be the same height and vertical, check with a spirit level.
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step2
Fit the cross beams to the uprights with metal brackets.
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step3
Make a door frame and strengthen it using off cuts of sawn timber, fit netting. Fit hinges to the door upright and catches to the door.
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step4
Attach the netting (and wire if used) to the cage. The roof netting needs to be reasonably taut. Fix it so it can be removed if necessary.
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step5
Check the netting regularly for holes and repair promptly before the birds find them. If snow is forecast, remove the top net (or replace with 10cm pigeon netting during snowy seasons) or the weight of snow will rip the netting and buckle the frame.
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Fix the frame of uprights and crossbars together
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Put the door into the space you have made
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Make sure your netting is fixed to the ground

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