Tara, I did make mine in various sizes so I could nest them. To nest them, you need for the smaller ones to be 6" smaller in diameter so they easily nest inside the larger ones. It has been a long time since I made mine, and I am not sure I remember the exact lengths of the pieces before I formed them into circular cages, but if the largest was 72", then the next one was 66" and the next one 60" and the next one 54". It makes storage a lot easier. I match the larger cages to larger varieties and the smaller cages to smaller varieties. I have them in 4 or 5 diameters so I can nest a bunch of them to store them. I use the smallest size for pepper plants because my pepper plants often are so heavy by midsummer that they just flat fall over on the ground if they aren't caged or staked. I have used everything on earth to stake tomato cages. My favorite stakes are green metal t-posts, but they have gotten a lot more expensive over the last 10 or 12 years. I have some of them that I use that are 8' tall and some that are 6' tall. I sometimes use the little ones that I guess probably are 3' tall, though I only use them with smaller plants. I've also used grade stakes that are 2', 3' or 4' tall, although the ones that are 4' tall have become hard to find. You also can use electrical conduit, sturdy bamboo, or rebar. Rebar is pricey, but I also use it to hold down the edges of floating row cover in winter and spring, so it is multipurpose. I have a friend who makes his own stakes from cedar limbs he cuts from cedar trees when he is clearing them out of his pasture. The cedar limbs last a few years. He cuts a tapered 'v' shape at the bottom so they are easier to hammer into the ground than a limb that is cut flat across the bottom. I've used cedar cut that way for fence posts before and they lasted about 8-10 years and some have lasted 14 years without having to be replaced. Dawn

mrs.b_in_wy Maybe it was last year (could be the year before that) that a Garden Webber showed pictures of his tomato cages, and he'd made them triangular from CRW, not round, so they could be folded flat and stored for the winter. I don't recall if he gave the dimensions, but probably around 3 feet to a side. They should be easier to store than round ones. Maybe easier to make, too. Just three pieces of 5-6 foot tall CRW attached at the sides with plastic zip ties and the bottom wire removed so the vertical wires could be pressed into the soil. I think he used one fence post to keep it all stable. You could make a square cage the same way, maybe with two fence posts for stability. They could be two-foot lengths of CRW connected with plastic zip ties. If you decide to go with round cages, maybe the following information will be helpful. Apparently a 23" diameter round cage is optimal for tomato cages. ttlight posted these helpful dimensions for cages made of CRW last year or the year before: If you want to explore other cage-materials, this lady has some ideas for non-round tomato cages made simply of PVC, and it appears that you can take the square one apart. Have fun making your decision!

I looked at the various posts before doing it myself the other day. It was much easier and safer than people let on. Keep the roll standing on a hard surface, let it spring open a bit and then cut down the row with a bolt cutter. Pull the section off, bend the tabs and there is your cage. Cut one in half, alternating the side of the square you cut the tabs and you have two height extentions to make 7 ft cages out of a 5 ft cages. It's not too windy here so I cut the bottom ring off for spikes.

I am having trouble pasting a photo. I will keep trying. grubby - Actually 5 foot can be rolled into a 19" with separate clips. If you ever try rolling CRW in that direction you will find it crazy hard and dangerous. digdirt - Is that you from the old Gardenweb forum ? My best year ever (2006 in Jersey) had plants 10 foot tall, yielding 50 toms each x 20 plants = 1000 toms. It is my goal each year and the closest I've gotten was 500 last year. I want tall cages which are sort of self fulfilling (ie. you don't have to do much except tuck in the branches). I've had 9 foot stakes for a decade and putting in 20 reasonably straight is actually a pleasure. Let me try again with the pic post. Its not working....I click Photo, Browse to the photo, Click open, and the screen comes back to this view and nothing happens. Any ideas ?