Yeah those things are useless for most varieties except for dwarves. Good for peppers!! You can buy bigger such as Texas tomato cages or make your own.

Just need to buy the right size or make your own. This is a Texas Tomato cage with extensions. 7 feet above ground and 24 inch diameter.

I agree with dean. The cages you typically can buy work great with pepper pants. I don't think many new gardeners are prepared for a plant that can get six feet tall in less than 90 days. If you live in a high wind area, you have one more riddle to solve:. How to keep the towering plants from tipping over. The plants usually survive, but if the stress pulls the plant from the roots, you have problems. I crw cage and stake with four foot sections of rebar. The crw cages represent an investment, but they are indestructible . Here is the link from a discussion a few days ago,in case you missed it:. Cages

Here are pics of my home made crw cages. I think I put these plants to close together this year (shown in the pic). The tomatoes like space to sprawl out horizontally. See bottom pic.

Sorry you got sucked in by the false labeling. They call them "tomato cages" but they aren't. Valuable lesson learned but now you are stuck staking them to keep them from falling over and jury-rigging some sort of supports for your plants for the rest of the season. As with many things in the world of advertising, gardening is "buyer be aware or get burned".

Dave

I happened to have a few 4 ring ones (~ 45" ?).

I am using them on more compact plants (dets) . Even then I drive couple of stakes next to them and tie them together. Up here in PNW we don't have high winds problems during the summer. .

Nowadays they have some with better quality than the El cheapo 3-ring ones.

Sey

Buy two. Cut open and bend over the ends to each other. This is a nice sized cage.

CRW cages are inexpensive and long lasting. A bit of work to get them made the first time but so worthwhile.

This is my first year with Texas cages. They are great...but I think I might need extensions in the future (we will see). The CRW ones get rusty and look bad...but they are functional for sure. I try to make my garden attractive...so I pay the price. It is your call. I feel that support is one thing newbies often under-shoot.

Those small cages are usually adequate, if you don't give your plants fertilizer, soil amendments, or other special treatment, i.e., just plant them in the ground and forget about them until you pick tomatoes.

Those big commercial cages are incredibly pricey. Hard to understand how you can cut off a piece of CRW, bend it into a circle, and sell it for $30.

Hey, the rusty CRW cages just add a touch of shabby chic. That's what I tell myself.

The real howler is trying to use those cages for cherries. My trellised cherries are upwards of 10 feet tall right now. I've actually heard of folks using these mini-cages to make Christmas trees. Wrap with garlands and lights.

Rust (iron oxide) is good for the soil and once the plants fill out most the CRW doesn't even show. But if it really bothers you make the cages out of galvanized fencing. No rust and still many $$ cheaper than Texas T cages.

Dave

Agree with Ed. CRW get real rusty. I have made just one couple of years ago. This year I lightly pained it.

PS: There is a Riesentraube and a Tumbling Tom in it.