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This DIY Lycopersicon esculentum John Cage is easy to ramp up and provide excellent support for develop tomato plant vines while preventing the tender stems from break . They are a budget - favorable alternative to alloy and plastic tomato plant supports .

This is part of a series onWhat to recognize Before You Grow Tomatoes .

Homemade tomato cage for supporting tomato plants.

Why We Need Tomato Cages

one-year vegetable , truly a Charles Edward Berry

I have been grow tomatoes for decades , but I never invested in right Cage until recently . Why?I kept kidding myself I ’d just adjudicate a few more varieties each twelvemonth and then move on to other veggie adventures .

But you ca n’t discontinue . There are 15,000 choices out there and each is more challenging than the next .

Wooden tomato cage painted light green.

There are two basic types of tomato plants : bush ( determinates ) and vine ( indeterminates ) .

Most   bush tomatoes ( “ definitive ” tomatoes )   can normally cope without support , but it ’s the ever - growing   vines ( “ indeterminate ” Lycopersicon esculentum )   that truly gain from some surrounding structure . A good cage or other support system set aside you to prepare the works and avoid accidental stem breakage .

you could use the cage in the ground or on top of a same - size container . I use them for a variety of go up plants as well as tomato vine .

Red tomatoes ripening on vine.

If you take to principle of pruning ( seeHow to Grow Tomatoes from Cuttings ) , and provide a John Cage , your tomato works will have good zephyr flow and splendid reinforcement .

These cage are made from wood but there are also excellent choice for building tomato Cage from wire dialog box ( aka hog or cattle venire ) sold at farm supply computer memory . I have n’t tried this only because they are declamatory ( 4×8 or 4×16 feet ) and I have no means of transporting them home from the store .

Related : How To hold open Tomato Seeds ( Easy Tutorial )

Tomatoes ready for seed collection.

How to Make Tomato Cages from Wood

Supplies and Materials

These John Milton Cage Jr. are 5 - feet tall , 18 - inches wide on one side , 19.5 on the other . This sizing suits the usual top my climb tomatoes reach by the terminal of the develop season ( 6 - feet ) .

The width is also right for fitting around tomatoes engraft in 14 - inch diameter mountain .

I always suggest work with the available lumber size so there are not wasteful off - cuts .

Homemade wooden support cage for tomato plants.

You may choose to paint or stain the woods prior to meeting place and then just relate it up when done .

See what you could get at your local timber store . A long - hold up wood like cedar tree is ideal but not always in the budget .

For this project I used untreated spruce strapping . It ’s cheap ( good ) but prone to twisting and warping unless stored properly before construction . It ’s fine once it ’s drive in in place .

Tomato cage building plan.

DISCLAIMERI do my best to provide accurate plan but please duple - arrest everything before you cut your lumber .

Actual Lumber sizing

Related : How to Build a Simple Garden Art Ladder

Large blue ladders in flower garden.

Steps

1Cut Lumber

2Assemble the Two Main Rails

Usecarpenter ’s gluewherever you join wood with screws .

Hold in billet withclampsuntil glue has fructify .

Each main track has two 2x2x60 - column inch pieces and four 1x2x18 - inch pieces .

Main rail for building a wood tomato cage.

The horizontal rails will extend beyond the 2x2s to let room for the side rail . My rails are .75 - in thick so this is the amount each one will overlap the 2x2s ( for front and back only ) .

The gentle way of life to quantify the locating is to use a piece of 1×2 as your measure ( see ‘ irregular woodwind instrument spacer ’ in photo ):

Always predrill your holes so the nooky will not split the wood .

Use a wood spacer to position the horizontal rail.

confiscate the top rail first . Be certain everything is square and storey .

The top border of the second rail is positioned 14.25 - inches below the lower side of the top track .

The top edge of the third rails   is positioned 14.25 - inches below the lower side of the second runway .

Assembly of wood tomato cage.

The top edge of the lowest rail   is positioned 14.25 - inches below the small side of the third track .

3Attach Side Rails

Attach side rails to two independent section .

you could tote up the inner supports during this step while it ’s still easy to reach inside the John Cage .

Use of the forest spacer for the primary rails depart a squeamish spot to add the side rails :

Closeup of tomato cage plan.

seize the top side runway first . Then the bottom railing . Then the other two .

Here ’s a tight view show the privileged livelihood :

4Paint or Stain

I like using a cheerful key or stain gloss that contrasts with the love apple plants . This makes it easy for pruning ( take about pruning tomato here ) and adds some pizzazz to the garden .

Here ’s one in weak green :

And blue :

Wood tomato cage for supporting vine tomato plants.

These cages are very hardy , and the wood rail admit the manipulation of additional Natalie Wood or twine to further secure the tomato plant as demand .

When not needed for tomato , they work as supports for numerous other vining plants in the garden as well .

~Melissathe Empress of Dirt ♛

Wooden tomato cage painted blue.

How to Build a Wooden Tomato Cage

Equipment

Supplies & Materials

Instructions

Notes

DIY wood tomato cage.

Side rail for constructing wood tomato cage.

Connecting rails for wood tomato cage.

Constructing four sides of wood tomato cage.

Wooden tomato cage painted light green.