Hi,
I am engaged to a florist, so i'm all about those green painted funeral stands
that are about 3' tall. they don't last forever, but are free. I just use the
ones that are too ugly for a proper funeral, and sort of tie up the tomatoes
(and peppers, and bush cukes,....) with some hemp twine as they grow.

but building some serious heavy duty ones sounds good to me. my ones from
Walmart a couple years ago didn't even last the season, got the hell bent out
of them when trying to sink them in the soil, and cost a fortune to boot.
later
john