Tomatoes are the most popular home garden crop , so as the gardening season approaches, many gardeners are planning how best to support their tomatoes as they don their juicy fruits. Stakes or tomato cages help the plants grow vertically instead of horizontally, saving space in the garden while keeping the fruits off the ground to prevent rot.
Store-bought cages are often flimsy and fall over easily. For a sturdier — and often cheaper — option, consider building your own heavy duty tomato cages. You can use many different designs and materials to build your cages. Here are four plans that we think are especially good for creating sturdy, low-cost cages. Take a look and see which is the best fit for your garden!
The Indestructible Tomato Cage is made from plastic PVC pipes and electrical conduit to make a long-lasting, heavy duty cage.
Create a stunning addition to your garden with wooden folding tomato ladders.
Make reinforced wire mesh cages for an easy, cheap support that can be covered in plastic to extend your growing season.
Repurpose cattle panels to create a trellis to grow your own wall of tomatoes.
Illustration by Christine Erikson