Ring Supports Make Healthier Plants

Ring Supports Make Healthier Plants 30-3-8 Tie a plant up tight, and it grows tall and thin. That's as true of tomatoes as it is of young trees, says Amil Kleinert. "If you can't move a muscle, it atrophies," notes Kleinert. To give plants movement yet still provide support, Kleinert came up with a system of rings that snap onto standard "T" posts. He offers a three-ring (8-in., 10-in. and 12-in.) T-Mate-O system for tomato plants and a one-ring Tree-Mate-O system for young trees with up to 2 1/2-in. dia. trunks. "All our rings are made in the U.S. of the highest grade UV-protected plastic," says Kleinert. Snap-out sections make it easy to place the rings around existing plants. Durable rubber bands hold the stems or trunks at the center of the rings. Kleinert's rings have caught on fast. Some large tree nurseries have bought tens of thousands of them for use with trees grown in the ground as well as trees grown in pots. A third type of ring support can be attached to cable wire, rail or pipe. This system works especially well for trees grown in pots. "Our tree supports survived hurricane winds in Florida when trees supported by other systems blew over." Kleinert sells the 3-ring T-Mate-O set for $8.99 and the single ring Tree-Mate-O support for $7.99. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Amil Kleinert, T-Mate-O, 6921 Stacy Road, Charlestown, Ind. 47111 (ph 812 256-1069 or 888 854-5497; fax 812 256-9344; trees@cwgo.com; www.treesupports.com).

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