First, I have no experience.. But it seems to me that the design is a bit upside-down. Note that most of the store cage designs have the wide part at the top and the narrow art at the bottom... the reason for this is bacause the plants get more "bushy" at the top. I was thinking they might?? be of use if placed upside down. However, your picture does not show how tall they are, nor do they show the diamater of the cone at the large end. Where did you see this?

That is what I was thinking too, Grandad, the design seems upside down.

Not saying it won't work though, just that the taper toward the top seems odd.

These exapand to 7 ft tall. So, I would imagine most of the plant's "bushiness" would be contained in the middle spirals.

I've seen this on a few websites. Approximately $20 for 3.

So about $7 per support.... If it were me I'd opt for something that were less expensive per cage. Two yeas ago I briefly considered the options when my remesh cages were, after 20 years of use, becoming non-usable. I found that choices abound - from tomato stakes in wood, plastic and metal, to numerous support cage designs. In short order, I decided to just purchase a new 150 ft roll of remesh at a local lumber store. It was about $75-$80 two years ago. The roll would have made 27 cages (using 5.5 ft per cage). But, I only needed about 20 cages. So I kept the remaining remesh to use as cuke, bean, pea trellis material. One problem with using remesh cages is in having place to keep the cages. Once you put them together they aren't coming apart. Secondly, depending on the size of your garden, you may need to share a roll with a gardening friend.

I concur with Grandad. The reinforcement wire is the best thing since sliced bread. I think I was able to buy a shorter roll, 'cause I seem to remember only paying about $50 at Menards. I've made tomato cages plus several other trellises. All you need is a bolt cutters and heavy gloves.
One other note, if you're exposed to any wind at all: stake that puppy down!! Once your tomato plant is loaded with fruit, a stiff wind will topple it. I stake each cage with 2, 48" wood stakes and zip ties.
That gadget in the first post is a joke.

Remesh cages are hard to beat cost wise. Their only drawback is most find them as concrete reinforcing mesh which is well rusted or soon will be. Doesn't have any bearing on structural strength since it is just surface rust, but kind of ugly where appearances are valued over function. Storage is also an issue where appearances are important enough to not leave them out all year.

The solution in the first post seems awfully overpriced, but if one has the disposable income why not try it? All you have to lose is money and if they don't do the job you generally will see signs of [structural] failure before before the plants are in danger so one can reinforce.

The spiral support would probably work if you pruned your tomato to a single leader. It seems to me to be a substitute for tying a tomato plant to a stake.

Grandad and Cranberry, are we talking concrete reinforcing wire here? The kind that rusts? I would love a type that didn't rust, but lacking that, I just bought a 330 foot roll of galvanized 47 inch field fence for under $150.00 with tax. Too heavy to move by myself. An appliance dolly is called for. The vertical wires are about 6 inches apart, the horizontal ones 8 inches apart at the top, 3 1/2 inches apart at the bottom, sort of like cattle panels.

With a friend, I turned a 37-foot section of the fencing upside down so the 8-inch holes are at the bottom and fastened it to parallel sets of 6-foot T-posts to make a support for my first tomato hedge. The bottom wire is 6 or 8 inches above soil level. The idea was to sandwich the plants between two rows of fencing. If the plants start to flop sideways in the row, I'll tie some twine between the plants, from one row of fence to the other. Hope it works.

I plan to make some tomato cages for volunteers which overwintered, too. I guess I can fasten them to two 6-foot T-posts. Another section of the fencing is fastened high on 8-foot T-posts with twine beneath the fencing. Even if I use it for cucumbers and melons, I'll still have fencing left over. They ought to sell the stuff in a 100-foot roll, which would be more manageable.

Gardeners are nuts sometimes. Imagine going to all this trouble for some fresh veggies.

CarolynC, Yep it's the kind that rusts... But you know it kind of grows on you after a while.. It actually makes it look kind of, well... "rustic".

i went out and bought 3 goat panels from the local farm supply store these are 16 ft. in length i cut them 5'4" each and made the best cages money can buy these WILL never wear out and made from galvinized steel so i wont have to worry about them rusting... i wish i could post a picture i will try to post it in the garden photo galleries under Proud Projects check them out and let me know what ya'll think ...

Thanks for all the responses.

carolync - rather than prune, could I not just keep tucking the stems into the center of the spiral? I'm wondering if these would not be better suited for peppers, eggplants and maybe some bush cukes.

That plastic spiral thingy is ridiculous, in my opinion. I would never even consider a lightweight item like that. There is a lot of gimmicky gadgety just plain junk on the market that someone is hoping an enthusiastic gardener will buy. In truth, you need something sturdy and reliable and THAT can be hard to find, so you end up figuring out ways to make it yourself. I'm not just talking tomato supports here, but many other kinds of plant supports and accessories.

Kwik1,
I don't know how strong the spirals are, but a fully-grown multi-branched indeterminate tomato plant is heavy and unwieldy. You would also need a sturdy, well-planted stake. Pruning a tomato to grow on a stake isn't so hard. Remover the leafy sucker which forms at the attachment of each leaf to the main stem. Don't remove the blossoming stems. Some people grow all their tomatoes on stakes.

The spirals might provide a little extra support on a shorter, sturdy stake for some determinate varieties, without pruning. I have no experience with them, though.

As far as cucumbers go, if the spiral stretches to seven feet, you might try it with vining, rather than a bush cucumbers. The spirals are kind of fun and pretty. Prettier than my inelegant wound-wire fencing and T-post contraption.

Hello friends, my first post here after reading a day or two. I'm in Northeast Atlanta Ga. This is a great site!
For tomato cages I've always used concrete reinforcing wire and made them two feet in diameter since my plants are planted two feet apart in a long row. I use rebar staked between each plant and two 5" pieces of solid copper #12 wire at top and bottom to secure both cages to the rebar at the same time. These better boys seem to grow 10 to 14 feet tall so I often add a second cage on top to make them 10 feet tall. I agree with the person who said those spiral things are a joke, the price is even worse. {{gwi:50491}}

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MrMulcher, your cages look great. I would bet they last a lifetime. So how much were the goat panels?

So funny how we've got different perspectives. Yes, the concrete reinforcement wire (6" openings) is rusty. For me, that was a positive. Once the plants leaf out, the cage positively disappears. I think it looks more natural.

I just bought a roll of the concrete wire, and I notice the average length to cut was 5'4" to 5'5" what is the diamter of the cage once assembled?

Thanks
Mark

Gardenman, I cut the remesh in the middle of the squares keeping 3 inches of stems on each piece. I cut again after leaving 10 full squares (5 feet) with the next section having the 3 inch stems. I then make a 5 foot tall column out of the 5.5 ft piece butting the wires together then wrap the stems around the paired wires. This will make a 19 inch diameter cage (diameter = 60 inches divided by 3.1415; with 11 full squares = 21 inch diameter; 9 squares = 17 inch diameter, etc.).

Thanks Grandad, that helps. I just didnt want to make my new cages to big or to small. I tried staking but that was way to much work, then I tried those tomato cages they sell in the store (what a joke).

We use concrete wire also with a piece of rebar bettween 2 of them and use plastic zip ties to secure the 2 cages. They don't move even during bad storms . We have made several hundred over the last 12 years for our farm and the old ones are as good and sturdy as the new ones. At the end of the season we have a huge stack of cages but they are barely noticable since the rusty cover blends in with the fall and winter colors.

I've been using the same old tomato cages for about 10yrs now, but they're getting tired. A few years ago I raised heritage-breed turkeys for a few years, and housed them in what was called a "hoop coop", that was made from two pieces of cattle panels. I assume these are similar to a goat panel?
Anyway, I think I may make some cages out of those, using the information above.

Thanks.

Jim

p.s. My heirloom tomatos are in the garage getting hardened off each day...6 varieties, and I can't wait to taste them come August.

grandad, i have a little less than 11.00 in each cage but to me if they last ten years which i know a man who has had his more ten years and they look just like they did when he made them each panel was 30.00 bucks but they are extremely heavy duty and will never wear out ... to me it is money well spent

Thanks MrMulcher, my guess would be that they last your lifetime or maybe more. The remesh does have to be replaced after a while. They would probably last a bit longer if I did not bury the lower ring in soil and instead staked them above ground. The slightly acidic soil breaks down the metal faster that the metal above ground and over the years they become shorter. However although shorter, I did get about 18-23 years of use from mine before they became too short for tomato cages. (I still have some of the shorter ones which I use for eggplant cages.)

I suspect another nice feature of the hog panels (after looking at your photo) is that they are very rigid. An upside down V shaped piece or vertical piece would work great when used for a trellis.

(By the way, the reason I had asked the price was because I was curious, and also because I thought others trying to figure out what to use might want to know as well.)

I just found something for tomato cages that are new to me.

They are wire mesh panels (4 or 6" holes) used to embed in concrete. I think they are 48" x 84" (4x7'). They aren't as heavy as the hog panels and should form a 26" diameter circle very nicely, fastened with zip ties (just overlap a bit for smaller circles). No cutting required.

I am going to fasten them to a frame (they do flex) for cucumber trellises.

They are only $6 each at Home Depot (WA state).

But I am getting away from circular cages for tomatoes, to tell the truth. Last summer I set up two hog panels, fastening them to three metal T-posts, and planted my tomatoes three feet apart along them. Then I tied the tomatoes fan-style to the mesh panel, pruning wayward branches. MUCH easier access to the tomatoes, and if you put the panel in the open, you can have access to both sides for harvesting.

Sue

in consideration of my lack of height, lack of strength and bad back, i have had to settle for commercially available support for my tomatoes. i tried the "classic" conical cages and they were pretty useless. then i tried squared cages - better, but still pretty insufficient. the best i've been able to find (and i even bought more for this season) are the slightly triangular "tomato ladders" which are far easier to set up than adequate stakes (no sledge hammer needed! just step on them). they're a breeze to store and much less expensive than the "texas cages". i was really quite pleased last year and only wish they were a foot or two taller.

so, for those, like me, who can't quite pull off the ideal DYI cages described above, check out... red tomato ladders and green tomato ladders. i have 20 of the green and got 5 of the red this year; dunno if they'll make a difference, but they look swell set up in the garden awaiting the end of hardening off time!