How To Make the Best Tomato Cages—No Staking

Genie from The Inadvertent Gardener wrote a story about a broken tomato branch, How to Become a Fried Green Tomato. Her story gave me the idea to write about our tomato cages.
Marc at Garden Desk asked the question in his post How Do You Support Your Tomato Plants?
Here is my answer Marc:

When my husband and I started raising tomatoes, we purchased the small cone shaped tomato cages from our local hardware store. These we found only worked for raised tomatoes in containers and even then, often weren’t adequate.

The tomato plants we planted soon outgrew these little cages. We had to also stake them and fool with them.

I hate staking and tying up tomato branches because I inevitably break some and all those promising tomatoes come a tumblin’ down.

So my husband decided to construct his own.

Here’s how he did it.

Ingredient:
Hardware store (Home Depot) 6-inch, welded-wire concrete-reinforcement roll

Tools:
24-inch bolt cutters
Tape measure
Short piece of 1-inch metal pipe or conduit for bending over cut wire.
Gloves

1. Cut roll length to make 24-inch diameter cages, making sure to cut close to vertical wire, leaving 6-inch horizontal wires you can bend over to hold cage together.
2 Form the cut length into a cage, and use the metal pipe to bend over the 6-inch wires around and inside the vertical wires, so they don’t hook you when you walk by.

3. Stand them on end around your tomato plants.
Done.

With these tomato cages all you do is weave the tomato branches in and out of the wires.

I also use these cages when we grow tomatillos, gourds and sweet peas.

Comments

[Genie]

Chigiy, hooray! I've been anxiously awaiting this post, and I think I'm going to save this info for next year. It's too late to do much with my tomatoes at this point, but for next year, I might just have to go to the hardware store...

[Kalyn]

I love your tomato cages! You're right, the ones you buy are pretty much worthless.

[Jessica]

Great tomato cages!
Thanks for the comment and sending me here...hopefully next year I can fashion something similar!

[Muum]

looks great, you are right, the ones you buy are not big enough. Any special hints to anchor them in the ground?

[Annie in Austin]

Those are serious tomato cages, Chigiy - great idea! I love the photo of the tomatillo.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

[Kim]

Nice tomato cages--the tomatoes sure would have some serious growing to do to fill those babies out!

In addition to muum's question, I was wondering... how long do these guys last for you?

[chigiy]

Genie,
Next year give them a try.

Kalyn,
Thank you for visiting. You veggie garden is great.

Jessica,
Your welcome. Thanks for stopping by.

[chigiy]

Muum,
I don't anchor my cages. I have never had one fall over but I think the best way to anchor them would be to use those U shaped pieces of metal you by at garden or hardware stores to anchor drip systems. Just put them over the bottom reinforcement wire and push down.

Annie,
Thank you.

Kim,
The cages themselves last for a very long time. The cages in the pictures are about 8 or 9 years old. Other than a little rust they are just as strong as when my husband first made them.

[frontier_dan]

I read your post about these cages, and the replies that have been sent to it. Someone mentioned anchoring them to the ground so I'll leave this for you. On the bottom row of your wire mesh, cut out the horizontal wire between the verticals leaving about a 1/4 of an inch on each side of the verticals. This aids in supporting the column quite sufficiently. If you have high winds in your area at times then you can drive a 2 x 2 stake and fasten your columns to that. My tomato plants some times reach 8 and 9 feet high by pruning the sucker limbs and adding a handful of mens hair to the bottom of the planting holes. Trust me, high winds a 5 foot high cage and 60 lbs. of plant equal broken dreams if you don't stake them or tie them to a fencing system. Hope that helps you... Try giving them a gallon of fertilizer a week as well. Peters 20/20/20 full measure to a gallon of dechlorinated water works great if you use anything like that...
C'Ya

[frontier_dan]

One more thing, I've had some of these for almost 18 years now and that being said; they last indefinitely... Good Luck with your Yarden lol...

[DiJay]

I use the store bought ones because I already have them. but I use them turned upside down. then I put 2 stakes across the row , snake a rope in between the circles on the cage and connect the rope to the green stakes. As the tomato plants grow I tie them in various ways to the rope and cage itself. I rarely have any trouble with the plants breaking anymore. They can get up to 6 ft tall and I am only 5'2"

[Leia]

Good to read interesting posts on your blog. Thanks.
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