How to Choose, Install and Use a Tomato Cage

If you are growing tomatoes this year, you’re not alone. Easy to grow in containers or in the garden, tomatoes are the single most popular crop for home gardeners. No matter what type of tomato you’ve chosen to grow, providing tomato plants with structural support as they develop will help keep plants thriving and protect the fruit from disease and pest damage commonly seen when plants are left to sprawl on the ground.

Tomato stakes and trellises are sometimes used, but tomato cages have become an overwhelmingly popular choice for gardeners. Whether homemade or storebought, sturdy, open cages give plants room to develop, allow ample airflow to prevent diseases that are promoted by wet or dirty leaves, provide strength and support for branches burdened with fruit, maintain economy of space and keep a fragile harvest healthy and unblemished.

What Types of Tomatoes Need to be Caged?

Tomato plants fall into two categories: determinate and indeterminate. Determinate plants have been bred to grow to a specific height—perhaps three to four feet—and then bloom. Fruit tends to ripen all at once on these “bush” plants, and the compact size makes them popular with gardeners with limited space. Indeterminate plants continue to vine and produce fruit throughout the season, growing anywhere from 5-10 feet tall or higher, depending on the variety.

Although determinate plants require less structure to develop in a small space, both determinate and indeterminate tomato plants will benefit from the protection and support provided by caging. For determinate "bush”"plants, use a wide cage about as tall as the expected height of the variety you're growing; you can find this information on seed packets or plant tags. For indeterminate vining plants, you may not need as wide of a support but should use as tall of a cage as possible.

What’s the Best Type of Tomato Cage?

Selecting the right cage for your tomato plants may not be as simple as it seems. Found in many gardening supply stores, the 3-foot tall, cone-shaped variety may be adequate for some determinate plants, but they usually aren’t sturdy enough to handle indeterminate plants—the prodigious growers will soon outgrow the small confines, causing them to topple. Cages should be 14-18 inches in diameter with a height of 4 feet for determinate plants and at least 6 feet for indeterminate.

Sturdy cages may be expensive to purchase, but can be constructed by hand using cost-effective livestock fencing or concrete reinforcement mesh. Select galvanized materials to prevent rust and make sure the weave is wide enough to allow access to mature fruit. Use bolt cutters to cut to desired size and height, bend into a cylinder and bend tines into loops to secure. Clip tines at the top of the cage to leave a smooth edge and leave the bottom tines exposed to provide a ground anchor when installing.

How to Install a Tomato Cage

1. Choose the Best Cage: It’s best to research the size of your tomato variety before planting and install the correct size of support. Most plant tags and seed packets will include the expected height of the plant.
2. Install at Planting Time: Tomato cages and other supports, such as stakes, need to be positioned around tomato plants just after planting. Don’t wait until the tomato plant needs support. If you wait and install the cages after tomato plants have grown and started to fruit, you risk damaging roots and breaking stems and branches.
3. To Install the Cage: Position cage over your tomato plant so that the plant will be in the center of the cage. Drive pointed ends of the cage all the way into the soil. You may need to gently wiggle the cage to get it fully secured in the ground so that the cage will stay in place in windy weather and as the plant grows and bears heavy fruit.
4. As the Tomato Plant Grows: Gently place the tomato branches over the wire supports. In some cases, you may also need to loosely tie the plant stem to the cage using twine. Don’t tie too tightly, which will damage tender plant tissues. Keeping the plant open will allow for good airflow to prevent diseases, and it will also make ripening fruit easier to see and harvest.
5. If You Chose Poorly: If the cage you picked turns out to be too small and your tomato plant is flopping over the top, don’t try to remove the cage. Instead, try carefully installing a few tall stakes inside or around your cage and tying the tomato plant onto the stakes for support. It won’t look pretty, but it will give your plant support without risking damage by removing a cage.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the proper way to put a tomato cage on?

Tomato cages and other supports, such as stakes, need to be positioned around tomato plants just after planting. Don’t wait until the tomato plant needs to support. If you wait and install the cages after tomato plants have grown and started to fruit, you risk damaging roots and breaking stems and branches. Save yourself the potential headache and heartache by installing support just after planting.

If you’re using a wire tomato cage with a round cone shape, install it stakes down with the larger, circular end at the top. Adjust the stakes slightly outward so they stick directly into the ground around your newly planted tomato plant. If using a square wire cage or a handmade reinforcement wire cage, install it directly over the tomato plant with the plant in the center.

Is it better to stake or cage tomatoes?

While stakes can work, tomato cages require less maintenance and provide more all-around support for tomato plants than stakes do. But size matters. While they may work for compact and determinate varieties, basic round tomato cages will be way too small for indeterminate tomato varieties. Larger cages will be better for most tomato varieties. Ladder-style supports – like a cross between a stake and a cage – are a hybrid option with more support than a stake but less than a tall cage.

Stakes can be used for tomatoes, particularly indeterminate varieties, if you’re willing to tie them up often and possibly do some pruning. You will need stakes at least 6 to 8 feet tall, made of wood, plastic, metal or bamboo. Install the stake, pointed end down, a few inches away from the tomato plant directly after planting, securing it deep into the ground. You may need to use a mallet to hammer the stake into hard soil.

Don’t wait until the plant requires support to install your stake; adding a stake after a plant has already grown can damage the plant’s roots. As the plant grows, you need to loosely tie the plant stem to the stake using twine. Don’t tie too tightly, which could damage stem tissues.

Can you use tomato cages upside down?

Tomatoes will grow with almost any type of support and the right amount of care, so they will technically grow through an upside-down round tomato cage. However, the cage will not be secured to the ground, meaning it’s susceptible to toppling in wind and pulling your plant down with it, or you will have to install stakes in the soil around the cage and tie them to it. It’s far better to install a tomato cage in the proper direction at the time of planting than to wait and try to provide support of any kind after the tomato needs it. Save yourself the potential headache and heartache by installing support just after planting.

Do I really need a tomato cage?

Yes, you need some kind of support for your tomato plants, unless you’re growing extremely compact varieties meant for small pots, and even those plants will benefit from being supported by a small stake. Leaving tomato plants to grow along the ground makes them far more susceptible to damage from pests and diseases, gets the fruit dirty and makes it difficult to harvest.