Cans for tomatoes

I put tin gallon cans around my tomato plants just like my parents did in the garden. I never gave it a lot of thought until a few years ago. There are a few reasons to put cans around your new transplants. They are as follows: 1) it gives protection from the wind for the first few days. The wind in Kansas can be relentless. The last few days we have 30 to 40 mile gusts. 2) It can keep some small animals like rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks away from digging, chewing or plain eating your plant. 3) Bugs. It can keep ground crawler type bugs away from the plant. 4) They can be used in the watering process. I do not recommend this for the first 30 days, , but after they are close to full size. The one gallon cans are about the perfect quantity of water for each plant once a week unless you have adequate rainfall. The water in the can slowly soaks directly down around the plant and does not run off. The can saves water resources. So you may want to consider cans around your tomatoes. I get my cans from a friend who runs a restaurant and goes through about 50 cans a week. It works so give it a try.