Prices on tomato post and cages!

[Bobberman]

What would you pay for a nice tomato holding product? I have seen cages in orange and bright green coated heavy steel wire for $10 each! I usually buy 5 and 6 foot rough lumber post for a $1 that last three years. I have also bought bamboo but the ties slip down! The thin wire cages rectangles or loops are about 3 to $6 and rust and break.
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There is a green plastic rod that lowes sells for 4 to $5 for 6 to 7 feet but it seems to become warped and not staight in a year! I even bought a 4 foot white plastic electric wire plastic post at tractor supply that has a steel peg at one end. I liked it but too small but lasted .I have about 8 from last year and they are fine for this year! I use about 50 supports or more a year! This year will probably be a 100!Any suggestions?

[Dillbert]

I found those heavier gauge tomato cages at Ace last year - they make great supports for green peppers (g) - still not so hot for tomatoes.....
they are much sturdier than the thin cheaper ones.

1985 I bought steel spiral stakes - I still have every one and they still work great. similar to
https://www.gardeners.com/Rainbow-Spiral-Supports/36-377,default,pd.html
but mine are not powder coated - just flash galvanized. the bottoms rust - but they've lasted 20+ years.

several places sell them - shop for price&shipping.
be aware - they come in steel and aluminum. go for steel - I've seen the aluminum ones buckle / fold in half under load.

the only issue I've had with the spirals is they really can't support themselves vertically when the plant gets big and heavy with fruit. wind can blow them down, heavy with fruit all the way near flat to the ground.

I arrange mine in threes, teepee fashion, with a wood cross brace at the top so the three "legs" angle in a support each other.

[nedwina]

What would you pay for a nice tomato holding product? I have seen cages in orange and bright green coated heavy steel wire for $10 each! I usually buy 5 and 6 foot rough lumber post for a $1 that last three years. I have also bought bamboo but the ties slip down! The thin wire cages rectangles or loops are about 3 to $6 and rust and break.
+++
There is a green plastic rod that lowes sells for 4 to $5 for 6 to 7 feet but it seems to become warped and not staight in a year! I even bought a 4 foot white plastic electric wire plastic post at tractor supply that has a steel peg at one end. I liked it but too small but lasted .I have about 8 from last year and they are fine for this year! I use about 50 supports or more a year! This year will probably be a 100!Any suggestions?

Google "Florida weave". I do four 60 foot rows of tomatoes, and the weave is the only way to go for long rows with lots of plants. I use heavy duty 6 foot T-posts (that I pound in with a sledge standing on a small step ladder) and a big roll of twine. At the end of the season you just snip & compost the twine & dead plants, and wiggle & pull up the T-posts to store. The T-posts are tough, you can leave them outdoors for the winter if you don't have a spot inside for them. Just raise them up on something so they're not touching the ground.

The only drawback (aside from a fairly big outlay of cash the first season for the posts) is that you absolutely must weave before the plants they get too big, otherwise you're in for a long afternoon, LOL. And try to plant tomatoes that reach a similar height together- it doesn't work as well when you have tall & short in the same row. But otherwise, it's great.

[hendi_alex]

I use concrete re-enforcing wire, and for rows, two posts with wire stretched between. The cages from the re-enforcing wire are 5 feet tall and are twist tied to the support wire between posts. This works well for 6-10 plants between two posts. Lately I've started planting more single plants in individual locations. I use a $4 t-post and twist tie the cage to that. While t posts cost $4-$5, they will last a lifetime. Same with concrete re-enforcing wire. A 150 foot roll which makes about 25 baskets costs $107 at Lowes, but the baskets will last for decades.

[PunkRotten]

I was planning on trying the Florida weave method myself this year. But I am using bamboo instead of T Posts.

[gixxerific]

I get mine from a local farm store. They are $0.67 a piece and are 1 X 1 inch. These are hard core. Check out something like that if you can.

[BrianIllinois]

I go to the local concrete plant for the 5-foot-high, heavy-gauge wire. They cut it into sheets for you. They sell it so often for gardeners, they know what size to cut it. Can't recall exactly what they charge, but it's less than what those junky cages at the stores cost.

[PunkRotten]

I bought a bunch of U posts a few days ago. I am gonna stake 2 of them in between a tomato plant and then use the florida weave.