Tomato Cages and Supports - Looking for the Best Tomato Cages
Start looking at the topic of tomato cages and supports, and you’ll find that there is a rush of creativity that has been unleashed in the world of gardening when it comes to tomato cages. We take a look at the variety of tomato cages that have been designed over the last few years and see which cages might work best for you.
First, there is a lot of information on making your own cages and tomato supports. The plans for these can be found in many places. There are plans for making them with reinforcing wire, for staking with wooden stakes, for trellises made from twine, and more than we can list here. One very popular approach these days is to use a support made from PVC pipe. PVC works well because it’s not only strong, but doesn’t rust, and can be made almost any size. At the bottom of this post is a couple of videos on making tomato cages that will appeal to the tinkerer and experimental gardener in some of us.
But others of us prefer to buy rather than build, looking for an idea that’s tested and quick. Here’s a look at some ideas that can work for your tomatoes.
The Veggie Cage and Tomato Spirals - It would not be completely accurate to call these tomato cages, but more accurately to call them supports. There are similar in that they are spirals that have the plant grow up through the spiral and are supported that way. The primary difference is how they are supported. The Tomato Spiral is inserted in the ground, and supports itself, so won’t hold up quite as large a plant, but is fine for some of the smaller determinate varieties.
The Veggie Cage needs a central stake, and the Cage is attached to the top of the stake, and then droops down to the ground. The strength needed for support comes from the stake itself, and not the cage, so you can beef that up to support about any plant that you want. It can stretch to a height of seven feet if needed.
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Tomato Cages - If you are looking for something thats more like a traditional tomato cage, you can find some good ones that not only do a good job of holding the tomatoes in place, but can easily fold flat for storage in the off season.
The Ultomato cage can not just be folded flat, but because it hooks together on itself it can actually be added to a tomato plant that is already well established. So if you have a plant that you were tying to a stake but it’s getting unwieldy and you don’t want to go back and prune it aggressively this can be a life saver for your tomato plant.
Those are just a few of the many tomato cages and supports you can find. Add your comments on your favorite types of tomato cages below.
Here’s a video on making your own tomato cages.
Filed under Growing Tomatoes by John
Comments on Tomato Cages and Supports - Looking for the Best Tomato Cages »
Pruning and Staking Tomatoes to Increase Tomato Yield @ 12:39 am
[...] plants are left to sprawl around the garden. Here's a look at the advantages of pruning and staking tomatoes. Title: Pruning And Staking Tomatoes For More [...]
Linda Conlee @ 7:08 am
I found your video about constructing tomato cages very informative and useful. Can hardly wait to tell my husband so we can get the wire and make our own. The tomato cages you buy already made do not hold up very long, and end up thrown away. Also enjoyed watching your labs play around you. Reminds me of our two labs when we are out in the garden and they are always around us playing and cutting up!!
Tomato Cages and Trellises Increase Tomato Yields @ 4:05 pm
[...] folks like to build their own tomato spirals or cages. There are a few advantages to making your own tomato cages. If you buy materials like a roll of [...]
Growing Cherry Tomatoes - Tips on How to Grow Cherry Tomatoes @ 2:30 pm
[...] sprawl out several feet. Unlike smaller varieties like Celebrity tomatoes, you will want to use a large tomato cage or even a tomato trellis with these [...]
Hanging Tomato Planters – Which Hanging Planters are for You? @ 3:42 pm
[...] the tomato plants hang down, the whole problem of trying to set up stakes or tomato cages is eliminated, just let them grow down to the ground, and for large indeterminate varieties you can [...]
Michel @ 4:52 am
If you are looking for the best tomato cages or stakes, well you can have both with the Tomato Ring. I bought those Tomato Rings last year and I Dare anyone to find a better tomato support anywhere. Even all those homemade cages that you make out of cattle fencing that would just fill your garage with a buch of clutter. Actually the Tomato Ring is a galvanized metal ring that is molded to a clamp that fits any tomato stake you might be using. It even fits fence posts, 2×2, rebar etc. You need to put 2 or 3 on your tomato stakes and just slide the Rings up as your plant grows. This is a challenge. See if you can find a better tomato support and let us know. You can see the Tomato Ring on YouTube and hit tomato ring or go to their web-site at http://www.veggiecage.com.
Michel