What about Florida weave?

how many plants are you growing and what are you growing in? ground or containers? you dont have to prune. about the money factor, i grow extra plants plants to sell for buying things i need. like tomato supports, fertilizer, soil etc. 175 plants @ 3.00 each = 525.00

How many plants are we talking about? 4 or 5 plants or 50+? Plus what is the size/lay of your garden? Small raised beds or one big long garden? Do you plan/want to do lots of pruning or not? All those factors influence your choice.

The best isn't the least expensive. CRW cages IMO. Florida weave would be my second choice and definitely cheaper. Then good metal stakes would be my 3rd choice. The TT cages are just far too expensive and unless you are into "pretty" the obelisk's serve no purpose that you can't accomplish with cheap bamboo and some string and hope the wind and the plants co-operate. :)

Dave

I buy 6ft oak stakes pre sharpened at Southern States Co-op for about 90 cents apiece in Huntington W.Va. I usually
have about forty plants and sometimes two or three fall over with no real damage done. I stand them back up and tie off with string in two directions. Oak stakes last for yrs if you store them in the dry over winter.

Let me try to answer some of your questions.

I am planning on 15-20 plants (wintersow some and 2 indoors, and I will buy transplants)

I will have 3 or 4 Determinate, a couple cherry toms and the rest herilooms and hybrids of different varities (Ind)

I am planning on growing all in the ground. I have one 25 foot area about 4 feet wide for tomatoes. I also want to sneak some in other garden areas here and there.
Growing extra to sell is not a bad idea :) maybe next year!

I prefer not to do lots of pruning. I am afraid I would not be good at it anyway.

Thanks for all the opinions and advice. I have read about florida weave also. I am not sure how much I like it but I know people love it here from what I read.

Looks like big wood stakes or CRW is winning so far
The texas ones are pricy!

Years ago I had leftover chicken wire from a project and used it to make 1 tomato cage. I only grew one plant that year. So I know I could make the CRW. I just hope I can find some cheap enough.

Karen

Being a frugal(aka cheap) gardener, there is no way I am going to spend the outrageous prices charged for quality cages. Inexpensive stakes and the Florida weave work just fine for me.

As for pruning, I never have and never will. Plants need to photosynthesize for energy, so I never understood why anyone would want fewer leaves.

I rarely prune. I tie and tie and tie. I treated myself to 6 Texas cages a few years ago and a couple obelisks. I use the plastic-coated metal stakes for the rest of my tomatoes. Some plants need more than one stake as they start vining.

I grew 18 tomato plants last year in ground and one in a big pot (for comparison).

I was almost sold on making CRW cages, but the mesh around here was not cheap and it was only 5' and ... just didn't appeal to me.

I bought 20 seven foot steel stakes that were painted green at around $2 per. Should've bought 8 foot ones, but shipping was much higher and by the time I found a coupon on the internet for a flat shipping fee from that company, they already shipped them.

I pounded them in the ground about a foot and a half deep in two rows (row of 11 and a row of 9). I had some 22 gauge steel wire laying around so I cut that up, had enough to make bottom set of rings. Then I bought a roll of 18 or 19 gauge wire and made two more sets of rings.

So I ended up with a cross between tomato cages and those flimsy tomato rings on a stick. Only rings were supported by two sticks and they were all connected to the others in that row.

Worked out pretty good. I had a few plants that grew about 12 feet tall, folded over and grew all the way back to the ground. And some of the bottom rings got bent a bit by the end of the season.

I did find some stakes for cheap too at a farm and fleet. I may opt for those with some twine or extra wire loops on them...

thanks for the ideas everyone!