Don't have any pic's of the way I grow mine which really wouldn't work for you. All I grow is the determinate types which don't get very tall. Found these when I googled tomato cages, hope this is of some help. If I was going to grow the indeterminate types I think I'd go with cages.

Annette

Here is a link that might be useful: Cages and other supports

I have broom sticks, old cages, old copper plumbing bits, some sumac stalks......you guessed it, not appropriate. I keep thinking I'll arrange something better.....if you go over to the ...hmm.. gotta think now...either veggie or tomato forum, there's a really cool guy who's done these pvc towers. Rectangles that you put over them as they grow....I've not been so clever as to copy it....however, hmmm...I went over to the DARK side - I remember a few years ago they used to fight like heck... there was one organic guy I could relate to who had the dimensions. Crap, no memory, but he did these inverted h's, and built them up as the toms grew. Very cool... but I'll have to research more to find them!!!

Nancy - who lost most of her brains in the '70s ;-))

For years I used cages that dh made out of concrete reinforcing wire. The only real negative thing about them is they rust and aren't very attractive in the garden. I've also used a trellis system along with plastic-covered metal poles. This year I used the poles exclusively, with the exception of an obelisk that I let one of my Sun Gold cherries climb. That was a great decision! Most of my plants can be trained to the 8' poles, but those Sun Golds love to vine 10 feet and more and the obelisk was the perfect structure.

In this May pic you can see the green stakes and the obelisk on the right.

Here is a link that might be useful:

That's not so bad, and think of the minerals...etc, etc,etc.

I usually use steel farm fence posts for mine; however, this year I did a lasagna bed and used two cattle panels on steel posts to support them. It worked really well, but because of all our early rains, the tomatoes got much taller and fell over the tops. It still supports them ok and I will use it again next year. For just a few tomatoes, I think 6 foot steel t posts works really well.

I have used tee pees made with very tall bamboo poles tied together at the tops with wire. I have used wooden poles driven into the ground. I have tied them to various garden fences, etc. As you can, see it varies.

Of all the styles, I believe the cattle panels are the simplest and require the least tying.

Nancy, I was thinking of using PVC pipe. But Im not sure how easy it would be for someone whos never worked with it before? They do have all those attachments to make cross bars and such.
I wonder if copper tubing would work? I saw some show where they twisted it (its very flexable) to make a fountain spout. Ive seen rolls of it at the hardware store. I wonder if it would work?
Thanks for the link Annette, i'll have to grab another cup of coffee and look thru those.
Naltal-you veggie garden looks really neat! I wish mine looked that pretty.
I have broomsticks holding up my potted tomato. But last night we got a heavy rain and it all colapsed. No damage done, but I do want to get a better system for next year. Im not complaning about the rain though! We needed it; maybe it will help with the wild fires.
CMK

Lengths of rebar. That how I support my dahlias.

cmk, pvc is the easiest thing you will every do in the garden.

Just get the fittings you need, pvc cement. Pre-fit the pieces to be sure you have the design you want. Brush on glue, push together and that's it. you can cut it with almost any type of saw.

Now, regular white pvc will eventually degrade in the sun and become brittle. If you decide on a design, maybe you can find Schedule 80 which is grey in color and lasts much better.

This year I tried something I saw on a British site. It worked very well, and it would fit in with a cottage garden. I made a trellis for them out of bamboo poles. I got the poles from AM Leonard. I tied them together in the shape, basically, of a swingset using sisal cord. I pushed the ends of the poles well into the dirt. Then from the top crossbar you drop a line, in this case, a double length of sisal cord. You wrap the end of the line around the bottom of the stalk of tomato, and then as the tomato grows, you wind the main stem around the twine. You pinch off all suckers. Throughout the summer, you just keep winding the top of the plant around the twine and pinching off suckers. That's all. It works very well, and it looks nice, and it is way cheaper than a bunch of cages, especially if you are growing a bunch of tomatoes. And it's all natural and recyclable.

Its interesting how everyone does tomato staking diffrently, and the things they use to do it!
gldno1- I think I may try the PVC. It sounds sturdy (we need sturdy things here to hold up in our winds!).
What do you use for potted tomatoes? Thats a tricky one. It cant be something that needs cement or a takes up lot of room. I wonder if a narrow obelisk would work?
CMK

As I said before I just grow the determinate types (not growing any this year), mine are grown in a raised planter with a fiberglas roof. It sounds like my method is similar to crankyoldman's. The posts that support the roof have pieces of lattice covering them, we pushed an old piece of pipe through the lattice, over the bed, into the lattice on the other side at about the height the tomatoes grow to. The twine is looped around the bottom of the plant and the plants are wound around this as they grow. All I'm growing there this year are beans on netting the back side of the planter and the lettuce I'm letting go to seed.

Annette

I found some nice square tomato cages at the Ace hardware store. They are about 4-5 ft tall and after you clean up the garden, they fold up so you can hang them up or stack them to store away for the winter. They are made well and of a heavier material then the old round ones. I really like them.

You could try the Spiral Stand, I haven't found anything better.

Here is a link that might be useful: www.spiralstand.com

I use bamboo poles I lashed together to form a large trellis. In my case, I grow containerized tomatoes so I have about 2 large poles per pot. Pots are aligned and so I am able to use a long continues crossbar to lash everything together. Easily done.

As the tomatoes grow upwards, and after they begin to fruit, I would secure the stems to the poles with loose ties.

Just a heads up if you had late blight last year to be sure to wash off your supports if you plan to reuse them. I'm not sure how it can remain on something that's not living, but I was cautioned and so I'm passing it on. Better to be safe - last summer was so sad.

Daniele, I haven't heard anyone else recommend the spiral. They're too lightweight to offer good support and you have to prune the majority of the plant.

Last year I tried a few Texas Tomato Cages. They worked beautifully! And at the end of the season they folded flat for storage. Unfortunately, they're a little pricey.

Here's a site that compares a lot of different methods.

Here is a link that might be useful: tomato staking evaluations

This is my favorite question! LOL! It's also the one I get asked the most. I make walls with my tomatoes. It's kind of hard to explain (I swear I will make a tutorial this spring on my blog), but it's 2 10 foot EMT conduits and 2 3/4 inch connecters. One EMT conduit is bent and the other one is cut in half to make 2 5 foot legs. The wall ends up about 8 feet high, but this year I am making longer legs and making them 10 feet tall. Then I used plastic netting to cover the "wall" and weave the tomatoes through the netting as they grow. This year I am using wire fencing insead of the plastic netting, because I think it will be easier to pull the spent tomato plants off of the wire.
There are pics on my blog just follow the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: my tomato walls

Ugh. I hate trying to support tomatoes. I have never found a good way.

This year, I ordered quite a few 'patio' or short varieties. The rest I'm putting in Topsy Turveys. Of course, the girl I order from always sends 'extras,' which is really nice, but I run out of room. (My neighbor has already loaded me up with unrequested plants.) :-/

They are messing with my system! haha.

-daniele, seems that is the only thing you ever talk about ;-) Got spam?

-catalinagrey, loved looking at your blog! That tomato wall is impressive. Hope you let us know when you get that tutorial up...
CMK