I bought some ultamato tomato cages this year, being unhappy with previous commercial tomato cages. They were great until the tomato actually began to fruit. The weight of the fruit toppled them. I now have them propped up with additional twine and stakes, which is OK, but it's not as great as advertised.
An easy home-grown alternative if you don't mind the rustic look:
a single concrete reinforcing mesh panel (I forget what the dimensions are, but it stands 4 feet tall). Available at any home DIY store, I think I shelled out 4.50 each for the 3 I have a couple years ago. Roll into a cylinder, and wire up or bend the panel ends over to keep the cylinder shape. I've seen some books recommend just snipping off the end and sticking the cylinder into the ground, but I'm sure my plants would topple that. I use a metal stake pounded into the ground and wire/string the cylinder to it.
Openings in the mesh are 4-6 inches, just right for harvesting tomatoes when the plants reach up and over the top. My plants can look me right in the eye, and I'm just 6 foot. No special plastic mulches, etc. The plants seem to love it.
Added bonus: wrap the cylinder in early spring with plastic for a mini-greenhouse.
Now I have a handful of those silly little commercial tomato cages that I see everywhere in the spring I use for marking special plants, holding up peppers, etc. Tomatoes get the support they need with the heavy duty cages :)
(snip)
I use the concrete wire too, we buy it in big rolls and cut as needed. Lasts forever and the mesh is big enough to stick your hand through. You do need to stake down the cylinders. The plastic wrap in the early season works like a charm.
Cyndi
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