I make my tomato cages out of concrete reinforcing wire. 5' tall and 22" diameter. Then I zip tie 2 cages to a 8' t-post for added support when the plants get heavy with fruit.

Depends on the tomatoes for me. My big ones go on the fence- it's sunk into concrete and I strap cages to it. Mostly contains the tomatoes, but often end up tying a branch or two to the fence. Last couple years I've used some triangular cages. I've also used cages made with 2x4" mesh 6' tall. This year I'm trying twinning for the first time. I'll likely place the triangle cages to the outsides of the twins and give them a bit of a lacing.

If I'm growing a bunch of dwarfs, I'll use posts and large heavy tomato cages. Strap it all together. I do the same with peppers if I'm growing them in a bed that year.

And I tend to have a snacking tomato in the kitchen garden. That one goes in a large pot and gets one of the 6' cages. The cage gets strapped to the post of my porch.

I've been staking our tomato plants using 1/2" x 10' rebar, sinking 2' into the ground offers 8' of tieing up. The rebar lasts forever, have them for going on 30 years now, but they were a lot cheaper back then. Here's one full grown example..., a younger plant is in the background on the right.

For indeterminate types I also make my cages out of concrete reinforcing wire like Jack but shape mine into a cone with about 14" at the base to 36" at the top, tie the tops together and stake them to the ground good. Many indeterminate varieties 5' isn't tall enough and made some taller for plants like Amish paste.

For determinate tomatoes I use a Florida weave with a stake every 3 plants to hold the strings.

I've been using the large tomato cages, but they don't really provide enough support. I'm using an occasional post and tie off the cages to a post and to each other and the fencing. Occasionally one falls over especially the Yellow Pear every year that one bends the cage and goes over.

@vgkg Z-7 Va how many vines do you allow to grow up the rebar? I've tried the rebar and was always overwhelmed with vines and vegetation. In my cages I usually only allow 5 to 7 vines grow to manage the density.

Hi Kevin, I sucker my plants down to 4 main vines and try to keep the remaining suckers under control with the Missouri suckering (pruning) method. This keeps the plants tall and controllable with ties (I use and recycle the nylon green tape/rolls). The Missouri pruning method is just pinching off the sucker tips (semi-suckering) while they're still small which helps control their length and growth. The extra foliage from the semi-suckers helps feed the plant and also helps shade the fruits from sunscald.

I like to produce fewer but biggger tomatoes rather than more medium size tomatoes and this method works for me. When/If a plant gets overwhelmed with vines (usually by mid/late Aug) I'll just add another rebar to help out with the load. Also, 3/8" rebar doesn't work well (maybe ok for determinates), with high hanging fruits it'll bend over during late summer storms. 1/2" is best.....we're getting a good rain here now so I'm a bit long winded, nyuk.

You are right, they are pricey.

They do last, and look nice in the garden, tho. I bought my first set years ago and only bought the second last year. The color faded a bit on the older set, but it's otherwise in good shape. I don't grow that many tomato plants either.

We tried the lower lean technique (for the indeterminate tomatoes) last year and really liked it.

A rif on this because we didn't use the hooks: (4) 3 DIY Tomato Trellis Ideas, Perfect for ANY Budget 🍅 - YouTube