Make easy, sturdy, and inexpensive DIY tomato cages to maintain healthy tomato plants all season long. I’m joining a few friends today with garden ideas. In Connecticut, it’s a little early, so we took our plants back indoors until May 15th. But once mid-May arrives, we will be ready for tomato season!
Over the years of growing tomatoes, we have tried a lot of different tomato cages – metal cages, tomato trellises, big stakes, a square cage, and many others. We’ve had varying degrees of success. Some have worked better than others but year-after-year we’ve continued to search for the ideal cage. And we think we found it this year.
So, what is the best cage for tomatoes?
We don’t really love wire cages, and here’s why. Having tried the cone-shaped wire cages, we’ve found that as the tomato plants grow and begin to bear fruit (especially large varieties), the cages tend to get weighed down and tip over. And they just never look great. We have had great luck with different wood cages we’ve built over the last few years, but we think this year’s tomato cages are the best yet. And they are the best-looking cages we’ve had.
But the most important thing for tomatoes to flourish is support. If you start out with the right support and a great tomato cage, the weight of the tomatoes will be supported, and by the end of the season, your tomato harvest will be plentiful!
What is the best material for tomato cages?
What’s more important than the material of a cage is the support a cage gives to the tomatoes. When choosing the kind of cage you want, pick the one that best fits the look and feel of the garden space you are trying to create. Then, make sure your tomatoes are adequately supported.
The tools you’ll need for making your own DIY tomato cages
- Cordless drill/driver
- Tape measure
- Pencil
- #6 1 1/4″ screws
- Drill bits
- Paintbrush
- Gardener’s tape
- Rubber mallet
Materials for making a sturdy DIY tomato cage
- 3/4″ X 3/4″ X 5′ wood stakes – You can buy long garden stakes in the garden centers of your local home improvement store or at any of the big box stores (we got ours at Home Depot). Or, you can make your own stakes. We made our own because it is much less expensive, but you do need a table saw. We started with 1″ X 6″ X 6′ pine boards and with the table saw, we ripped them into 3/4″ pieces.
- Black stain – we decided to stain the stakes black this year. However, last year, we left them natural, and as they weathered, they turned a light gray color and looked fine.
Instructions for making DIY wood tomato cages
- Cut each wood piece to the same length. Ours are five feet long. Our tomatoes are in two stock tanks that function as a raised bed garden (two tomato plants in each tank). You can read more about our raised bed stock tank garden here. We needed a total of 10 pieces – two for each of the end stakes and one four-foot-long piece for the cross beam.
- Once we had all the right sized pieces we stained them all black and let them dry. Drying time will vary depending on the sun and the outside temperature.
- The next step is to place the stakes at a slight angle in the garden bed where you are planting. The tomato plant should be centered in the middle of the two stakes. Once we drove the stake into the soil, we measured six inches down from the top and pulled the two stakes together, forming a V at the top. Then, we attached them at the six-inch mark with a screw. It’s best to pre-drill a small hole before inserting the screw. This will keep the wood from splitting when screwing in the screw. Near the ends of narrow wood, boards tend to easily split if you don’t pre-drill a hole.
- Now it’s time to lay the top bar across the stakes. Ours just rest in the V shape of the stakes. But if you’re worried about high winds or shifting, just attach them with some garden twine.
- Plant your tomatoes in the middle of the two stakes. Two of our tomato plants this year are on the larger size so we’re using tall stakes for additional support the main stem will need until the side branches are large enough to attach to the sides of the cage. For smaller tomato varieties, bamboo stakes work well too. But we decided to be consistent in our look and we used leftover pieces for a wooden stake for each plant. Larger tomatoes tend to weigh down a plant and require extra support. Otherwise, they will collapse, the stem will break, and then it won’t bear additional fruit.
- As your tomato plants grow, you’ll need to attach them to the stakes. Make sure you do this carefully so as not to harm/cut the plant. We’ve seen people recommend using zip ties but we think the sharp edges can cut and harm the plants. We recommend using gardener’s tape or simple garden twine.
- At the end of the growing season, remove the stakes and store them to use for next year.
Good luck and we hope this helps you grow a lot of tomatoes by the end of the summer!
Turn thrifted file cabinets into high end looking metal planters with a bit of elbow grease and some spray paint! You will save hundreds on this easy project!
Turn thrifted file cabinets into high end looking metal planters with a bit of elbow grease and some spray paint! You will save hundreds on this easy project!
Blogger’s Best Spring Garden Ideas
Seven Lessons I Learned from My Kitchen Garden | My 100 Year Old Home
The experience of growing a kitchen garden has taught me the basics of planting and tending to a kitchen garden and has changed my outlook on gardening forever. Now that my garden thrives and provides a bountiful harvest, I want to share the seven invaluable lessons I’ve learned.
How to Make a Tabletop Fire Bowl | Tater Tots and Jello
Add coziness to your outdoor space this summer with a DIY tabletop fire bowl you can make in minutes.
Make Easy, Sturdy & Inexpensive DIY Tomato Cages | Most Lovely Things
We made simple tomato cages for our stock tank garden.
Watering Potted Plants While Away | Happy Happy Nester
Watering Potted Plants While Away can be a bit challenging. I came across these fantastic glass bulbs that you fill with water, and they gradually water your plants. It’s a simple self-watering system that simplifies plant care and removes the guesswork from the process.
DIY File Cabinet Planters | My Sweet Savannah
Turn thrifted file cabinets into high end looking metal planters with a bit of elbow grease and some spray paint! You will save hundreds on this easy project!
These are so much prettier than the store bought ones! Great job!