Question about tomato cages in my Seattle garden

In my experience, everyone around here uses those flimsy cone cages from the big box store and then wonders why their plants fall over by August. I switched to building my own from concrete wire mesh, a 5 foot tall cylinder with 6 inch squares, and my plants doubled their yield last season. It matters because a strong support lets the plant focus on fruit, not just staying upright. Has anyone else tried a different homemade cage design that worked for them?

3 comments

3 Comments

wesley38510d ago

Yeah, those store ones are junk. I used to zip tie a bunch of them together into a wider cage, but it was still wobbly. Last year I made squares out of wooden stakes and some old chicken wire, about four feet tall. The plants could really spread out and I didn't have to fight to pick tomatoes from the middle. The wood made it sturdy enough to handle our windy days.

the_anthony2d ago

Smart... wood beats wire every time.

mary_martin2210d ago

Nice, @wesley385, that wood and chicken wire combo sounds way sturdier than my flimsy cages.