Making inexpensive tomato stakes.

[ChrisC_77]

I thought I would share how I staked my tomatoes. I like the idea of staking better than cages first off. Cages cost anywhere from 3.00-7.00 roughly. Wooden tomato stakes cost about 1.50-2.00 each. Here is what I did.

I bought relatively inexpensive fence board and used a table mounted saw to cut them lengthwise. They final cost per stake was roughly 0.40 cents. Seem to be working just fine.

[jal_ut]

Excellent idea. Thanks for sharing.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Very nice.

Other sources are your personal orchard or woods. Willow, Red twig dogwood, Ocean Spray, Spiraea, etc. Prunings / thinnings from your orchard.

I thinned out my Highbush Cranberry ( Viburnum trilobum) yesterday afternoon.



These sticks will need to cure. Should be ready by Spring


Eric

[n8young]

if you make your own metal tomato cages from concrete wire, they will last 10 times longer than any stake you make, my guess anyway. I am using the tomato cages my dad made about 25 years ago, with virtually no sign of aging.

That being said, I am a huge fan of pruning growth around my house. Little one to two inch thick saplings encroaching on my property, get lopped down, and made into garden stakes for the season.

[erins327]

Here is what they call 'Florida line' or 'Florida staked' er something like that.

Basically two steel rebarb posts ($3 each at Lowe's) with twine going back and forth. As the tomato plant grows, I just carefully intertwine the stems around the twine for support. Worked out pretty well. By the time my twine got weathered, my tomato plants were kinda done anyways.

Note: Dog comes with no support whatsoever, as you can see, with garden duties.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Florida weave

Stay Charlie! Good dog


Eric

[dtizme]

n8young. that's the way I'm going to go. Do it right the first time and they will last for years to come.

[n8young]

Here is what they call 'Florida line' or 'Florida staked' er something like that.

Basically two steel rebarb posts ($3 each at Lowe's) with twine going back and forth. As the tomato plant grows, I just carefully intertwine the stems around the twine for support. Worked out pretty well. By the time my twine got weathered, my tomato plants were kinda done anyways.

Note: Dog comes with no support whatsoever, as you can see, with garden duties.

Need a kickstand for that poor lil guy

[webmaster]

Florida weave for supporting tomato plants! That's an interesting solution.

[lakngulf]

I am sold on concrete wire hoops. They do last forever, but you still need some support for them to protect against the wind from those summer storms. But this year I tried a new concept to (1) stake them quickly (2) keep them off the ground and (3) easy exit after the season....Cattle Panels on concrete blocks. Worked great!





I must say this is the fastest way I have ever "staked" a dozen tomatoes. The plants found their way through the wire and then just spread out, keeping the fruit above ground.

[Cola82]

I did something like the florida weave this year--strung twine between big wooden stakes that I used a staple gun on in increments (I held he staple gun at an angle so I could loop the twine through the gap and keep it from sliding down the stake).

It's worked very well, but I think it would work better if I had more than two stakes per plant. The real estate between them got used up very quickly, so I have this very jury-rigged system where I looped extra twine through some staples as a kind of sling for branches that got away, to keep them from snapping.

[Gary350]

I buy steel cement rebar $4 for 20 feet. I cut each one into 3 = pieces each tomato steak is $1.33 each. They don't rot away like wood but they do rust a little. I have been using rebar for 35 years it works great. I have some rebar that belonged to my father that are probably 50 years old. I stake bell peppers too they sometimes get 7 feet tall.

[imafan26]

I use rebar too. I use the rebar to anchor the tomato cages otherwise the wind can knock them over. They are heavy but they last for years. I also use bamboo. There a a lot of places here where bamboo grows pretty wild so I can get it for free and they last a few years. I have made stakes out of 12 guage wire for the orchids. I can buy ceiling wire in bundles at Home depot or Lowe's and cut them to length. They aren't useful for heavy vines like tomatoes but are fine for staking peppers and eggplant.

[gixxerific]

I have made my own stakes before but that is a lot of work. I have been buying stakes from the local farm store that someone else makes. That is much less work. The are just shy of 1" inch square and about 6 1/2 ' long they are only $.99

[mattie g]

I drive a half mile down the road and cut down bamboo that grows along a creek on county property. You can cut stakes to pretty much any length up to about 14'.

Incredibly convenient, and it doesn't cost a thing. You just have to make sure to cut the bamboo a few feet up so the trunks don't serve as punji sticks!