Those were grafted 2014 right?
Nice trees C-Ed. Just out of curiosity, is there a variety that seems to take off & grow better than others - once grafted ??
I purchased a roll of cement wire from Menards this fall and it was of a different style. I hope it works as well.Concrete Mesh. We buy it at Menards when on sale I think it's 150' rolls for $75 or $79. It's 5' tall, and we get 10 cages per roll. We have gotten completely away from using t-posts so it helps reduce costs. It's nice and firm, we put 1 or two stakes to hold the cage in place but havent had any issues with deer pushing them over. It blends into the surroundings pretty nice.
Ideally you have 2 people to cut cages. The stuff is wound up pretty tight with a lot of tension so it's way easier with 2 or 3 people. Just cut it with heavy duty bolt cutters.
Thanks for the suggestion with the conduit - I have enough t-posts for what I have currently planted but I am planning on adding an additional 63 trees next year and a similar amount in 2017 & 18. The conduit idea would quicker and cheaper - plus I wouldn't have to drive around buying t-posts from Craigslist.I am not Ed (or Matt) but I buy 10 foot lengths of conduit when on sale and cut them into 3 pieces for stakes. I also use about anything that is being thrown out from around the house. Metal poles from old lamps, shower curtain rods, various pieces of scrap iron, old lawn mower blades or handles from push lawn mowers.
If you have stony ground, 1/2" re-bar works well. The cheapest way to buy it ( that I've found ), is to buy 10' lengths and cut it to the length you need using a cutting torch or better yet - a re-bar cutter.