10 Ideas For Homemade Tomato Cages (Cheap & Easy)

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Tomato cages are one way of supporting the long growing vines of indeterminate tomatoes, but there are serious limitations to store-bought tomato cages including their small size, flimsy construction, and the price. At $10-50 per tomato cage, it can get really expensive to buy enough cages for all your tomato plants.

I know, theoretically, you could use them every year, but the reality of that is not quite so simple. Tomato cages are often damaged from inserting and removing them from the ground. The welding on the wire will come apart after a couple of years of use, and their bulky size and shape make them inconvenient to store from year to year.

But you can make your own tomato cages pretty simply.

In fact, there are many ways to create tomato cages for your garden that are fairly simple, inexpensive, and attractive.  Take a look at these 10 different ways to DIY tomato cages that I found.

1. Make tomato cages from cattle panels

Tomato cages made from cattle panels.
Cattle panels make strong tomato cages. Image source

If you have someone to help you, then using cattle panels (16 foot long pieces of sturdy welded wire) make great tomato cages. Here’s a straightforward tutorial for building a tomato cage from hog wire.

2. Make a cage/stake hybrid

Tomato cage hybrid: stake-a-cage-romas
The stake-a-cage hybrid works like a charm. Image source

The stake-a-cage a combination of a stake with wire panels is easier to access than a traditional cage. Learn how to make your own at Old World Garden Farms.

3. Wood frame tomato cages

Wooden tomato cages diy
Wooden tomato cages are much prettier than the wire ones.

Small wooden tomato cages like these are great for determinate plants. They’re simple to make, sturdy, and inexpensive. Find the tutorial at Ella Claire Inspired.

4. A DIY obelisk would be great for supporting tomato plants.

Tomato tower DIY
Tomato tower DIY

For indeterminate tomatoes, you need to build something pretty tall. This 6-foot wooden tomato tower is very attractive. Learn to make your own at Flower Patch Farmhouse.

5. Use PVC to make an easy tomato cage


PVC is lightweight and easy to work with. I Dream Of Eden has a great tutorial to make your tomato cages from PVC.

6. A folding tomato ladder

Tomato cage folding ladder
Great idea for a tomato cage that stores easily. Image source.

This homemade tomato cage is attractive and folds away for easy storage in the winter. Find this tomato ladder DIY tutorial at Mother Earth News.

7. A tomato teepee

Tomato cage teepee from bamboo sticks.
The tomato teepee in action at the Elliot homestead. Image source

The teepee tomato cage is super simple and just look at how cute it is! Learn how to make a tomato teepee at The Elliot Homestead.

8. Simple stake and twine tomato cage

stake and twine tomato cage
A simple idea that works like a charm. Image source

Simpl7 tie some twine around a few stakes to make your own tomato cage. See how to make this stake and twine cage at My Home Ideas.

9. Beautiful bamboo tomato cage

These bamboo tomato towers look great in the garden. Bamboo tomato cage DIY at The Painted Hinge

10. One cage for all your tomatoes

Tomato cage for multiple tomatoes.
Support all your tomatoes with one cage. Image source.

Making one tomato cage for all your tomatoes sounds like a great idea! This one is simple but effective. Learn how to make it at Mosaic Gardens.

Putting together a tomato cage doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated.

Tomato plants are healthier and produce more fruit when you can keep them lifted off the ground.

Learn more tips for growing delicious tomatoes

If you simply don’t have time to make your own, you can certainly buy them at your garden supply center. I’ve used the spiral stakes before and they actually did okay as long as I kept up with pruning. When you’re shopping for tomato cages, go for the biggest, sturdiest one you can find.

mature tomato plants with many green tomatoes growing on red and yellow colored spiral tomato stakes

Have you ever made your own tomato cage?

I’d love to hear your ideas. Leave me a comment below.

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15 Comments

  1. I have made supports from bamboo poles. Last yearnni made the tent style with 2 by 2s with a bolt top with a wing nut. Screwed that between beds. Put cattle panel on it with chicken wire over that. It makes a great support for climbers or verticle gardening tomatoes, cukes, etc.

  2. Hi Laura!
    Thank you for compiling all of these tomato cages in one place! There are a lot of good ideas.
    I am looking for a tutorial on the cattle panel tomato cages and clicked on your link for the tutorial at Rodales Organic Life and it sent me to Good Housekeeping!
    Do you think you could find the link that works and send it to me? Take care and thanks again! Jovane’

  3. I used concrete reinforcing screen. Already cut to half size from Lowe’s. They’re easy to roll into a cage shape and last for years. Mine are going into their 3rd year with no failures. Much less expensive, and a lot easier to work with than cattle panels.

  4. I’m just adding to my cage as plants grow, using sticks I find in the yard and twine. It’s rustic 😁 and effective

  5. Really good ideas.
    I’ve decided not to use the old metal ones I’ve been using for years but didn’t want to spend the money in new ones.
    Thanks for the ideas on what direction I can go to make my own.

  6. Hi I am going to try using an old clothes airer. The kind that you told up. I just wondered if anyone tried using anything similar, and had any success with recycled items used as supports

  7. I’ll be making trellises of various sorts for my garden. We expanded our garden, as we do yearly, and like cheap to free if possible. It’s that time of year people are pruning trees so I find big piles at the edge of the roads. Lots of freebies. Using willow tree for lashes on some. Many design and easy. My 14 yr old needs to do various skills fit his ADST course so free help. 😜

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