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For you gardeners out there, I thought I would share this.
I am tired of the puny store bought tomato cages that fall over, break, etc..
So I decided to build my own.
What I read and found to be the best for this is concrete reinforcing wire. You can find this at building supply stores (Lowes, Home Depot) or at lumber yards. Here they had it in 50 or 150-foot lengths. Buy the 5 foot tall size with 6-by-6-inch squares (so that you can reach your hand into the cage to pick the tomatoes).
Build your own tomato cage
1. Wearing work gloves, unroll the wire part way and have someone or something heavy to hold down the springy wire.
2. Measure off a 5-foot length. Cut it off from the rest of the roll using pliers or other tools. I cut mine down the edge of one end, so there was loose wires to use for wrapping around to hold the cage in place once together.
3. Stand up the 5 foot piece you have cut off on end. It will tend to curl together.
4. Use the wire to make a hook with a pair of pliers and bend it over and hook it to hold the cage together.
I will be using a couple of stakes per cage to secure it from blowing or falling over. I plan to use conduit pipes, bout 1/2 inch pipe cut into 5 foot lengths. Then I will weave it in and of out the squares and hammer it down in the ground about a foot.
First year making these, but I think they are going to work great. Also, these cages should last for many years, since the concrete wire is made for the outdoors.
End result is like this
I will take some pics of mine tonight, I made ten of them yesterday.
I am tired of the puny store bought tomato cages that fall over, break, etc..
So I decided to build my own.
What I read and found to be the best for this is concrete reinforcing wire. You can find this at building supply stores (Lowes, Home Depot) or at lumber yards. Here they had it in 50 or 150-foot lengths. Buy the 5 foot tall size with 6-by-6-inch squares (so that you can reach your hand into the cage to pick the tomatoes).
Build your own tomato cage
1. Wearing work gloves, unroll the wire part way and have someone or something heavy to hold down the springy wire.
2. Measure off a 5-foot length. Cut it off from the rest of the roll using pliers or other tools. I cut mine down the edge of one end, so there was loose wires to use for wrapping around to hold the cage in place once together.
3. Stand up the 5 foot piece you have cut off on end. It will tend to curl together.
4. Use the wire to make a hook with a pair of pliers and bend it over and hook it to hold the cage together.

I will be using a couple of stakes per cage to secure it from blowing or falling over. I plan to use conduit pipes, bout 1/2 inch pipe cut into 5 foot lengths. Then I will weave it in and of out the squares and hammer it down in the ground about a foot.
First year making these, but I think they are going to work great. Also, these cages should last for many years, since the concrete wire is made for the outdoors.
End result is like this

I will take some pics of mine tonight, I made ten of them yesterday.