What do ya'll use other than the $10 storebought ones

1 dollar rummage sale ones

dad used to use a 2x2, ponded into the ground and tie, the tomato to it

I made mine from a roll of 48" woven fence wire, I have also used concrete wire,both work really well.

concrete mesh and t post

The ones that I have now are concrete wire. It doesn’t have a coating to help prevent rust so I’ll have to see how long they last.

I've got some I made out of cattle.panels.there probably a little overkill but they work good.

You can grow then on fence wire panels like grapes or apples
My best results are in semi hydroponic

To produce fruit you need to remove the vines that don't..

Mine are going on 10 years old and still working fine.

Going on twenty.

I use concrete reinforcing wire like some of these other guys. The rolls are five-foot wide. I cut it so I get a 24" diameter cage for maters and 18" for cucumbers. I cut the bottom horizontal wires off between the verticals (with the cage standing up). That leaves about a dozen 6" spikes to bury 6" in the ground to anchor the cage.

Yup, cut that bottom wire leaving spikes. Surpringly sturdy for only six inch spikes. Once the tomato is up and wrapped up in it it ain't going over. Just keep tucking the vine back into wire as it grows through.

The only issue I have with concrete remesh cages is airflow in our humidity. Blight can be an issue in wet years. Work arounds that have helped is spacing them further apart, not planting near anything that blocks airflow, pruning everything off the bottom of the plant, good layer of pine straw mulch inside the cage and a regular fungicide spray.

If all goes well the next issue is what to with all the growth coming up and over the top, lol.

I've toyed with the idea of cattle panels and fanning the plant out into a single flat layer and tying it off to the panel. Seems like that would get maximum drying and airflow but would require more labor.

When or son and D-i-L bought their farmette from her parents. There was several hundred feet of 4 by 4 square but 5 foot woven fence used for calves. We rolled that all up and used some for taining our sheep for pasture, but most was put away. I made 3-4 dozen tomato cages by cutting the pieces to 3.5 foot tall and then cut them about 36-38 inches long and made circles and wired them together. Have been using them for about a decade.

Bryce

6ft fiberglass pole with hagz brackets and wire them up!

Concrete mesh here also! Happy trapping! ScottW

Thanks guys

I'm still using the one's that I made twenty five years ago.

I've made cages from cattle panels .... simply the best money can buy. I've probably sold thousands over the last 20 to 30 years or so. I quit advertising 5 or 6 years ago and yet I get call from people who still want them because they seen their neighbors or the kids took the parents cages so mom and dad have to buy more. They last forever .... some of the first ones I made for my mom 30 years ago are still like brand new.... little rusty....but works like day one !!

I've used a lot of different cages. when I got lazy I just used a galvanized panel with 2 t posts inline. 3 or 4 plants to a panel an works pretty good. got sick of cages blowing over from the wind