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Home / Garden Projects / How To Make Sturdy DIY Tomato Cages

How To Make Sturdy DIY Tomato Cages

By Amy Andrychowicz | 45 Comments

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Building DIY tomato cages is a great project for anyone, and doesn’t take much time. If you want to learn how to make tomato cages that are super sturdy and strong, then this is for you!

How To Make Sturdy DIY Tomato Cages

I don’t know about you, but properly supporting my tomato plants used to be a huge struggle for me!

I would spend hours trying to stake and tie them back, only to watch them flop to the ground after the first bit of wind or rain.

What a pain! It was a constant battle for me every summer, and it was always so frustrating.

Well no more of that nonsense. I finally found the perfect solution. I built my own DIY sturdy tomato cages, and you can too.

Why You Need Sturdy Tomato Cages

Over the years, I have tried different sizes and strengths of commercial cages – all of them have collapsed under the weight of my full grown indeterminate tomato plants.

 

So I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands, and build them myself. These are by far the best tomato cages I’ve ever seen or used, and you will love them too!

If you’re tired of spending the summer trying to control your tomatoes, then you definitely need to make a few of these for your garden.

Related Post: Growing Vertically: The Ultimate Vertical Garden Guide

My DIY heavy duty tomato cages newly installed

My DIY heavy duty tomato cages newly installed

How To Make Tomato Cages From Wood

This tomato cages DIY project is perfect for anyone. You don’t need to be a skilled carpenter, or even be great with power tools.

Heck, I didn’t even need to cut the wood myself, the store did that for me. Trust me, if I can build these, you can too!

All you’ll need is the wood, some screws, a drill or screwdriver, and a few other tools you have around the house.

Staining Your Homemade Wooden Tomato Cages

After using these wood tomato cages in my garden for a couple of years, I decided I wanted to paint them to make them more decorative (and add some wonderful pops of color!).

If you want to do the same, it’s best use a wood stain rather than paint. You certainly could use an outdoor paint if you want. But stain allows the wood to breath, which helps it last longer.

Of course, this step is totally optional. If you like the look of the raw wood, there’s certainly no need to stain them.

Related Post: 15 Types Of Vertical Gardening Systems & Supports

My homemade tomato cages stained orange

My homemade tomato cages stained orange

Using Your DIY Tomato Cages

Once you have them installed in the garden, you should grow one tomato plant per cage. Then simply care for the plants as you normally would.

When you prune tomatoes regularly, they will fill the cages, and look fantastic. More importantly, the plants will stay off the ground. No more staking and tying!

A few of my favorite tomato varieties to grow are red cherry tomatoes, Beefsteak, Cherokee Purple and Brandywine.

Full grown plants in wooden tomato cages

Full grown plants in wooden tomato cages

I haven’t had a plant yet that’s been too large for these super strong tomato cages to support. Come wind, come rain, come hail (well, no hail please!), my tomato plants aren’t going anywhere.

Want learn how to build your own DIY Tomato Cages?
Click the “Buy Now” button to purchase the design plans with full step-by-step instructions.

A Step-By-Step Guide to Building Sturdy DIY Tomato CagesSturdy Tomato Cages Plans

More DIY Gardening Projects

  • How To Build A Squash Arch For Your Garden
  • How To Build A DIY Greenhouse
  • How To Make A Simple Cucumber Arch Trellis
  • How To Build A Pea Trellis Arch

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think of my DIY tomato cages.

How To Make Sturdy DIY Tomato Cages: Step-By-Step Guide

About Amy Andrychowicz

I live and garden in Minneapolis, MN (zone 4b). My green thumb comes from my parents, and I've been gardening most of my life. I’m a passionate gardener who loves growing everything from vegetables, herbs, and flowers to succulents, tropicals, and houseplants - you name, I've grown it! Read More...

Comments

  1. Mannie Peters says

    June 3, 2020 at 12:47 pm

    I made these over 10 yrs ago. I used just plain old 2X2’s without stain repaint. Now my 11th year I am making again. Retired now so plenty of time for a project like this.
    Best tomato cages I have ever used .

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      June 8, 2020 at 9:42 am

      Awesome! Have fun building your new tomato cages.

      Reply
  2. M. Ross says

    April 30, 2017 at 11:45 am

    Those homemade wooden cages look great. I gave up after years of failure staking my tomatoes, and started pinning them up to cattle panel. Next best thing. They grow up like trees

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      March 1, 2019 at 4:40 pm

      Thanks, I’m so glad you like them! Your tomato trellises sound very sturdy too.

      Reply
  3. Crystal says

    April 18, 2016 at 10:31 pm

    What a great idea, I love how you painted your wooden tomato cages! I am growing cherry tomatoes and only have one plant more next year!

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      April 22, 2016 at 6:21 pm

      Awesome! Glad to hear you like the tomato cages!

      Reply
  4. James says

    April 16, 2016 at 12:27 am

    I’ve just built 3 of these tomato cages using pressure-treated wood, thanks for the idea! To make mine more sturdy, I glued them together using waterproof glue in addition to using screws. We’ll see how they perform once the tomato & tomatillo plants which are going to go inside them are big enough to plant outside…

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      April 16, 2016 at 7:59 pm

      Awesome, you are welcome! And thanks for adding your tip about using the wood glue in addition to screwing the tomato cage frames together. That should definitely make them even sturdier, and help them last longer too.

      Reply
      • James says

        April 17, 2016 at 3:55 am

        I’ve got some new Fir Green wood preserver on the way- I wonder how they would look with a green tint?

      • Amy Andrychowicz says

        March 1, 2019 at 4:23 pm

        I’m not sure how long your DIY tomato cages will stay green when you use your own wood preserver. But it takes about a year for the color to start to fade on the treated wood from the store.

      • James says

        March 12, 2020 at 1:33 pm

        I use plenty of wood preserver too, applied by brush to the cut ends of wood. I dip the feet and soak them for a while to get good absorption.

  5. Kara Heiser Hible says

    May 4, 2015 at 8:33 am

    I am going to make an attempt to build some of these wooden tomato cages this week! Wish me luck!

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      May 4, 2015 at 6:11 pm

      Awesome Kara! Good luck!

      Reply
  6. Anna says

    February 15, 2015 at 10:00 am

    How have these tomato supports held up season to season? Is this a once a season build or usable for multiple seasons?

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      February 21, 2015 at 12:54 pm

      These sturdy tomato cages are definitely useable for multiple seasons, and many years. We built them about 8 years ago, and they are still going strong. The screws have loosened up a bit, but they are totally sturdy once they are in the ground (we move them around for crop rotation every year). The wood on the legs are starting to wear down a bit (in the area that’s underground), but it will take several more years for them to rot through. We pull them out in the fall, so they don’t spend the whole winter in the ground. They will definitely last several more years.

      Reply
  7. Deanna says

    June 16, 2014 at 2:45 pm

    Yep, we have so many cages and long stakes and tree limbs recycled and have tried so many thing sover the years to stake ours but always end up with a tangled mess of tomato plants in our raised beds. I am so making these using leftover wood and fallen limbs. I use pantyhose rings (learned from Martha eons ago!) as ties. My 7 yr old gets a kick that her (shredded!) red plaid tights are now plant ties.

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      June 18, 2014 at 1:56 pm

      Yes, I too have tried many ways to stake tomatoes, and these cages are by far the best. Hope they work out well for you too! That’s a great tip to use old pantyhose as plant ties! Repurposing is awesome!

      Reply
  8. Tarah DiGiovanni says

    May 30, 2014 at 10:15 am

    Did you use pressure-treated wood to build your tomato frames?

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      June 6, 2014 at 8:04 am

      Yes we did. But you could use any type of rot-resistant wood.

      Reply
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Amy Andrychowicz is the creator and owner of Get Busy Gardening (getbusygardening.com), an author, a blogger, and a passionate gardener.

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Amy Andrychowicz is an author, and the creator of Get Busy Gardening. She is devoted to helping new gardeners learn through guidance, encouragement, and advice that is easy to understand.
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