Our friend Jean is one of those git-‘er-done gals. She has a beautiful garden and  is sharing her amazing DIY tomato cages that never tip over and don’t need any extra supports.  So if you’re dreaming of homemade salsa this summer, listen up. 

Tomato Cage Instructions

Build the cages:

Purchase a spool of wire fencing that is 36” wide. One 50’ roll of fencing will make 8 cages. (about $3.75 each)

Wear gloves as cut ends of wire are sharp.

You will need some strong wire cutters/pliers for cutting and bending the wire. 

Cut each cage 6 feet 1 inch, leaving the wire ends sticking out on one end. 

Overlap ends by one square and twist the wire ends around to secure.  (be careful when picking tomatoes near these sharp ends)

Planting:

Prepare soil.  Plan to plant your tomato plants at least 4 feet apart.

Use your tomato cage to mark a circle in the dirt around where you are going to plant your tomato.

Dig a 6 inch trench on this circle.  (You will bury the bottom of your tomato cage in this trench to secure it)

Plant your tomato plant in the center of the circle.  Place cage in trench and replace dirt, burying the bottom part of the cage.  Stomp around it to secure it. 

Build up the dirt a little around the cage to create a water trough for the tomato plant.

These cages work great!  If your hands are small enough you can reach through the holes to pick the tomatoes and hand-over-hand them to the top to get the tomatoes out.  You can also reach down through the top of the cage.