On Sat, 13 Feb 2010 19:09:35 +0000 (UTC), enigma
wrote:

brooklyn1 wrote

For home
grown I've found the square/triangular foldable vinyl clad steel
wire cages are best; they offer the best support without
damaging plants, are virtually labor free, they last years and
years and years and years, and fold flat for storage.

yeah, those *are* nice. where did you get yours, & how many tomatoes
do you usually grow?

I bought mine some 20 years ago, Home Depot... don't recall the price
but they weren't very expensive... they also open up flat to use as a
trellis for beans and snow peas. I put in anywhere from 30-50 tomato
plants... cherry tomatoes and other small kinds don't
really need support... I use weed block fabric from LeeValley.com,
very heavy weight, lasts many years... smaller tomatoes can lay on it
with no damage. I someti9mes find myself with an abundance of tomato
plants so I put those inside my fenced foundation plant beds, the
tomatoes lay right on the pine bark nuggets with mo problems. I use
the cages for the larger/heavier bearing tomatoes. I like that the
cages open up, makes it easy to remove when not really needed and
place around a plant that needs the support. Nurseries probably
should classify tomato plants and tomato cages like bra sizes. LOL

I'm sure vinyl clad galvanized wire is available in rolls... for
someone who is handy with a pair of diagonal cutter pliers and round
nose forming pliers it would be no biggie to make ones own... can't be
any more difficult than when I made up my turkey wire fencing with
removeable gates and bent back all the ends so there are no sharp
points to jab me. For hinges simply form rings similar to split key
rings.