TINNEE’S 2 PIECE GOPHER CAGE

(10” ROUND X 9 “ DEEP)

 MATERIALS:

24” wide roll of 1/2 inch hardware cloth

3” zip ties

TOOLS:

1 pair wire cutters

1 pair gloves (cotton or leather)

1 yardstick (or other measuring device)

1 thick red sharpie

4 bricks

MEASURING AND CUTTING:

Each cage requires 1 piece 12” X 33” and 1 piece 6” X 6” hardware cloth, 2 zip ties.

1. Decide how many cages you need. This determines how many feet of hardware cloth you need to buy.
   For a 10” round X 9” deep cage you will need a sheet of 12” wide X 30”-33” long hardware cloth.
2. On a 24” roll of hardware cloth measure 33”, mark with red sharpie and cut. Use the 4 bricks to hold down the hardware cloth. ALWAYS WEAR COTTON OR LEATHER GLOVES.
3. You now have a sheet of 24” X 33” which will give you 2 cage bodies. Measure 12” on the 24” side and cut, giving you 2 sheets 12” X 33”.
4. Roll up the hardware cloth overlapping it 2”, tie the top with a zip tie  and measure 4” from the bottom and tie with a zip tie.
5. To make the folds, measure 3” from the bottom and make 5 cuts evenly spaced. Fold in after cutting.
6. The bottom piece is a 6” X 6” piece of hardware cloth. A piece of hardware cloth 6” X 24” will give you 4 bottoms.
   
7. INSTALLATION:After digging the hole for the cage, place the bottom in first, then the cage on top.

When I dig out the cage a year later, I pull out a bottomless cage. If I have to wash the dirt out there is no bottom that will hinder the flow of dirt, stones, and other debris, making the extraction of the tubers go easier. Don’t forget to retrieve the bottom for next year.