Besides the commercially built tomato cages, are there any other creative inexpensive ways to stake tomatoes?

Tom

Concrete reinforcing wire works great. You can cut it to length; it is about 5 foot high & lasts forever.

We tend to buy tomatoes that want to be really tall, like Brandy Wine, Golden pear and grape tomatoes. We start them off in regular cages and my husband builds like a scaffolding around them to support the branches that stick out 3 ft or more. The golden pear and grape tomatoes climbed to the top of the 7 ft scaffolding, went over the sides then back down to the ground. As the tomatoes get taller, you can add a level to the scaffolding. I tied the branches to the scaffolding with strips of panty hose. Here's pictures....

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=v3w ... 0&y=2w5m44

Thanks for the great ideas--both of them!

Sandih-

Wow-great tomatoes!


Patty

I'm going to update the images tonight to show what my husband has built at our new house. The images I showed were from 2 years ago. We moved to Lake Highlands a years and a half ago, finally built or bed at the end of March and he built his "scaffolding" out of cedar this time. The wood is a little thicker than he wanted but it is handsome. We have only 4 toms this year; 2 Roma, 1 Brandywine and 1 Sweet 100. The latter 2 will get over 6 ft. tall.

I have updated the images in the link above. The last 5 images are of the new garden at my new house with the cedar tomato supports.