For that matter, many people will go for the more convenient cage,
buying it either at the same time and place as they buy their tomato
starts, or later on during a routine trip to K-Mart or some other
one-stop store that has a garden center

I bought stakes because the plants were coming over the top of the cages. I
like wood because the ties don't slip. I don't mind throwing away the stakes
at the end of the season. Of course, I don't have hundreds of tomato plants.
Question: If you buy stakes taller than 6', who pounds them into the ground?
I'm 5'3" and shrinking.

Marilyn