No need to spend hundreds of dollars on store-bought tomato cages. You can make your own affordable, functional DIY cages and stakes straight from your homestead. Check out your options below!
RELATED: All About Tomatoes: Your Spring Growing Guide | Homesteading Tips
In this article:
- Standard Steel Mesh Tomato Cage
- Wooden Tomato Plant Obelisk Stake
- Makeshift PVC Pipe Tomato Cage
- Super Easy Tomato Plant Teepee/Cage
- Predator-Safe Wire Cage
5 DIY Tomato Cages and Stakes to Set up in Your Veggie Garden
1. Standard Steel Mesh Tomato Cage
This is a standard steel mesh tomato cage. It is very similar to the ones you can find in hardware and gardening stores. Only this one isn’t overpriced.
What makes it a great option is it not only provides railings for your tomato stalks to crawl on, but it also shields your crops from critters and pests. You won’t have to worry about large pests destroying your tomato garden.
What You’ll Need:
- 1 roll of concrete reinforcing mesh
- 2 wood stakes
- jute twine
- 2 wooden crates
- bolt cutter
- 2 cinderblocks
Instructions:
- Unroll a quarter of the concrete reinforcing steel mesh and hold the ends in place using the crates and cinderblocks. One crate for each of the two unrolled corners.
- Next, use the bolt cutters to cut out a 66-inch strip from the steel mesh. This will wire will enclose the cage.
- Afterward, slowly remove one end’s crate and pull the mesh toward you to cut and mold a tube that has a diameter of around 18 inches.
- Repeat until you go through all the steel mesh available.
- Next, plant the cages in your tomato garden. Make sure they are positioned back to back with no gaps in between.
- Tie with the jute twine. Test to see if it’s stable enough to withstand a bit of shaking and tremors.
- Finally, drive the rebar stakes into the ground just outside the cages. That’ll help guide tomato stalk growth.
2. Wooden Tomato Plant Obelisk Stake
This obelisk structure is a great hybrid between tomato cages and stakes. It’s enclosed like a cage so pests and critters can’t get near your crops. At the same time, it has poles to serves as stakes for your tomato stalks to climb on.
If you feel this tomato cage doesn’t provide enough pest protection, you can opt to enclose it with steel mesh.
What You’ll Need:
- 8 fir or pine wood (8 ft. and 2 x 2)
- exterior wood glue
- multiple 3-inch wood screws
- screw gun
- miter saw
Wood Measurements:
Cut out two pairs of 72-inch poles of wood. These will serve as the tomato cage’s stalks.
For the ladder rungs, make five pairs of rungs measuring at 8, 11.5, 15.5, 19.5, and 24 inches respectively. Meanwhile, for the side rungs, make another five pairs of rungs measuring 11, 14.5, 18.5, 22.5, and 27 inches.
Instructions:
- Cut and measure the wood accordingly using the miter saw. The exact measurements are listed above.
- Next, spread out two of the 72-inch wooden pieces on the working table.
- Grab a measuring tape and mark six inches from the bottom of the wooden pieces.
- Next, drill the screw holes and attach the bottom rung on the areas where you marked the 72-inch wooden pieces.
- Once the bottom run is firmly screwed on, you’ll work on the top run next. Grab the 8-inch run and attach it at the top of the obelisk.
- Continue attaching the following rungs until you finish the first set of legs. By now, your piece should look like a ladder.
- Then, grab the other pair of legs and repeat everything you did. Make sure the measurements are exactly the same with the first piece you did.
- After finishing the second piece, attach the two ladders together with the side rungs.
- Finish the cage off with some paint or varnish.
3. Makeshift PVC Pipe Tomato Cage
PVC pipes are lightweight and easy to work with. They’re the best tomato cage material for beginners who have no prior experience in woodworking.
Apart from its size and versatility, what makes PVC pipes a great cage choice is you can customize them to make water run through the pipes.
That way, you won’t have to worry about watering the plants anymore.
What You’ll Need:
- 21 pcs. 10” PVC pipes at 10” diameter
- 38 T PVC connectors 1/2″ diameter
- 8 X PVC connectors 1/2″ diameter
- duct tape
- miter saw
- marker
- tape measure
Instructions:
- Attach the PVC pipes together to make multiple 3D rectangular cages. They should look like portions of a jungle gym.
- Next drive t four of the 20” support pieces into the ground. Then, attach one segment of the PVC tomato cage onto it.
- Keep repeating until you run through all the available pipes.
- At this point, you’re free to either modify these PVC tomato cages or leave them as they are. If you want a self-watering veggie garden, attach the pipes to the main water supply.
- Meanwhile, those who are gunning for better aesthetics can opt to coat the PVC pipes in colors that complement your outdoor living space.
RELATED: Get Started With Your Tomato Garden Soil Preparation For Spring!
4. Super Easy Tomato Plant Teepee/Cage
As the name suggests, this is a very simple and inexpensive tomato stalk project. In fact, homesteaders can finish the task in just a few minutes. Plus, the materials you need won’t cost more than $10 all in all.
What You’ll Need:
- bamboo stakes
- jute twine
Instructions:
- Form the bamboo stalks together to form an inverted cone. It should like the kind of teepee or tent depicted in Native American Indian movies.
- Next, tie the stalks together tightly using the jute tie. Make sure they’re tight enough to withstand a few pest attacks every now and then.
5. Predator-Safe Wire Cage
If your focus is to build tomato cages that will repel and hurt invading critters and pests, then opt for this predator-safe wire cage. It’s an enclosed tomato cage reinforced with barbed wire or wire that can scratch and hurt pests.
Not only will the pests be unable to reach the crops, but they’ll also hurt themselves. This means there’s a lesser chance of them coming back to your garden.
What You’ll Need:
- galvanized hog wire or barbed wire
- 4 pcs. rebar stakes
- jute twine
- wire cutters
Instructions:
- Drive the rebar stakes into the garden soil. Make sure they form a cube around the tomato patch.
- Next, trim the barbed wire to the height of the stakes. Make sure you have enough to enclose the entire cage.
- Next, tie the wire and stakes together using the jute twine. Squeeze the twine tightly so the cage won’t easily collapse.
Check out this video by Burpee Gardens as she discusses in detail how to support tomato plants with tomato cages and stakes:
Overall, the purpose of tomato cages and stakes is to elevate and support the tomato crops so the leaves and vines can spread upward. This reduces the risk of plant diseases and infections.
To make your DIY tomato cage even better, make sure you use high-quality materials resistant against harsh rains, strong winds, and of course, thieving pests. You wouldn’t want a flimsy tomato cage that would break after a few hours of rain, would you?
Which of these tomato cages would you set up in your veggie garden? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
Fellow homesteaders, do you want to help others learn from your journey by becoming one of our original contributors? Write for us!
I have been gardening in raised beds for the past 4 years and have a tomato tower in each bed that will support all the plants I put in that bed. I can send photos if I knew where to send them.