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Can someone please explain to me why the tomato cages you can buy at the stores are so poorly designed? I HATE that whole "triangle" design because they do not stand up right for very long. Why hasn't someone invented a better tomato cage?

Light weight... cheep to make and transport.

Make some using reinforcing wire intended for concrete slab, you can make them easily and they will last forever. Paint them or let them rust... short of making your own you will have to shop around a LOT to find heavy gage round or square cages... KennyV

I make mine out of re-wire! Make one with 5-1/2' piece of wire, the next with 6', the smaller one will store inside the bigger one. ~~ grnspot110

Everything has to be mass produced now a days and that effects product quality. I don't even waste my money on those things anymore and I really won't waste my money on those topsy turvy things.

We just put a stick in the middle somewhere and then tie the branches up to the stick (very loosely). When we use the buckets we tie them up to the back of the deck. I don't like those cages at all.

I have to agree, quantity is substituted for quality way too often in today's world. Maybe chicken wire would be an effective substitute?

BlueGrass said:

Everything has to be mass produced now a days and that effects product quality. I don't even waste my money on those things anymore and I really won't waste my money on those topsy turvy things.

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We are borrowing a few cages from a neighbor this year instead of the "triangle" ones from last year. I guess it's all about the dollar and mass producing - but seriously - do people really like those things??? They are so dang annoying.

mamaA said:

- but seriously - do people really like those things??? They are so dang annoying.

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mamaA:
I doubt that after getting them in the ground and having big tomatoes hanging on them, anybody actually likes them... or uses them the next season.
Unfortunately a lot of things are made to sell... but not to buy. KennyV

KennyV said:

Light weight... cheep to make and transport.

Make some using reinforcing wire intended for concrete slab, you can make them easily and they will last forever. Paint them or let them rust... short of making your own you will have to shop around a LOT to find heavy gage round or square cages... KennyV

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You got that right !!! I thought those cheapo cages were a ripoff and several years ago I got a 150 foot roll of the concrete mesh and started making my own cages. Only problem is, you need a pair of bolt cutters, and the cages are a b---- to store because they don't nest inside each other. I put mine in my empty silo when the season is done. The advantage of making your own cages is the size can be varied, I made a lot of smaller ones for green pepper plants.