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Oklahoma Gardening

Tomato cages -- how large ?

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

Several years ago, I made my cages from concrete reinforcement wire. I made them " 9 square " large, which is about 18" to 19" diameter.

A few years down the road, I'm thinkin that was a mistake. Every year at this time I'm spending too much time keeping the plants inside the cages, else I get these long limbs reaching out to the ground.

And I think a larger cage would allow more air flow, the plant won't be so crowded inside the cage. My plants always grow out the top eventually, and that may be that they are reaching for space and sun.

Its too late this year, but I think I can modify my current cages by cannabalizng some extra cages and just adding a couple squares, increasing diameter to around 22" .

Or maybe what I have , is bout as good as it gets ?

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Comments (5)

Macmex
5 years ago
I think it'd be worth a try, especially if you have some extra cages. I make mine from the same kind of wire. My favorites are about as big around as I can reach with my arms, and I'm about 6' tall.

Some varieties will grow out the top anyway, but the wider cage seems easier to work with.
Lynn Dollar thanked Macmex
p_mac
5 years ago
We use the same wire only our squares are about 6" and the pieces are 2 ft x 6 ft. And we place ours in a triangle around the plant, most often back-to-back with another so that they share the same support piece (makes the panels go further after this group enables you to grow and extra fifteen kinds)......=)

This works for both my 6'3" hubby and my 5'2" self too. I'll post pictures later if it would help.
Lynn Dollar thanked p_mac
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HI Graficaamy: Home Depot sells the concrete reinforcing mesh in both rolls and sheets. I believe the roll is 150' feet and cost about $100. That was more than I needed, so I went with the sheets. You can shape either form (roll or sheet) into a cylinder. See the original instructions I posted at the below link as well as the other materials you'll need for the project. I would not recommend trying to flatten these out at the end of the year; it's not that you couldn't do it, just doesn't seem like it would be worth it to have to redo them each year. Here is a link that might be useful: Best DIY Tomato Cages
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okoutdrsman
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Mine are also the 9 square round cages. Many of them are over 30 years old, so it's getting close to time to build more!

I'd love to have the square foldable type cages, but I'll probably just go to an 11 or 12 square round on the next set.

Basic economics drive how I do mine. Out of 150' roll I can get 30 ea 9 square cages, 23 ea 12 square or 12 ea square foldable cages. At today's steel prices, it can be quite a shift in cost per cage.
robert_higgins_okc
5 years ago
Am I the only fella that just uses the rolled wire? 5 feet tall, 50 feet long = 10 cages with about the same diameter......like $45 total investment. I wire them to a side fence when not in use, just grab them as I need them.

At 5' x 5', the diameter is 18 inches or so. You want wider, just roll off another foot or two....you could do 7 at 7 feet with a little extra wiggle.

You can see mine, past the beans and okra. Some are still wrapped:

Icdollar, let us know if more air flow feels better! I am open to experimentation!
Lynn Dollar
Original Author
5 years ago
Robert, I looked at that type wire, I think its called hog wire. But if that's what it is, then my hands could not fit through the openings.

I have one CRW cage that is 11 square, with a 24" diameter. And the plant in that cage is not growing as tall as those in my 9 square. And it just looks more comfortable :) . I can't say that its now or will produce more fruit, just have to wait and see. And its only one plant. Far too many variables to draw a conclusion. This year has also been a wacko year for my tomatoes. I've never had a year like this.

This one plant in the 24" cage is in the front, in the corner of my garden. You can see the others are taller, reaching to the top of the cages.

Same plant from a different angle, its not anywhere near the top of the cage

And here's a closeup of a plant in a 9 square, notice the blight is already working on it. I have a theory that plants with better airflow are less susceptible to the leaf blight, but I could be wrong, I'm not a scientist.

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