How to Build a Tomato Cage
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How to build a tomato cage comes down to one material and three decisions. The material is concrete reinforcing mesh, which several of the pages below recommend for homemade cages. The decisions are the cage diameter, the cage height, and how the cage will be anchored in the soil. The five pages agree on the materials and the basic steps. They disagree on size, and on whether a caged plant needs pruning, and this guide shows where those gaps sit.
Quick answer
- Start with a roll of concrete reinforcing mesh. Oregon State describes stiff 9- or 10-gauge wire on a roll about 150 feet long and 5 feet tall.
- Cut a panel, bend one end into hooks, and close the panel into a cylinder. The sources give cage diameters from about 18 inches to 4.5 feet, so choose a size that suits the variety.
- Leave short spikes at the bottom to push into the soil, then anchor the cage with one or two stakes.
- Set the cage at planting time, as Purdue advises, and finish homemade cages by April, as Oregon State advises.
Choose the cage size from the sources
The sources do not agree on a single cage size. Oregon State gives about 18 inches across for a 5-foot panel and about 23 inches for a 6-foot panel. Iowa State recommends a cage 20 to 24 inches across and 4 to 5 feet tall. K-State says six feet of wire makes a cage almost two feet across, and it recommends about two feet for proper containment. Purdue gives a much larger cage, 4.5 feet across and 4 to 5 feet tall, and says that cage will support most tomato cultivars. The table below puts the stated figures side by side.
| Source | Diameter stated | Height or wire length stated |
|---|---|---|
| Oregon State Extension | about 18 inches from a 5-foot panel; about 23 inches from a 6-foot panel | roll 5 feet tall; panels cut from it |
| K-State Research and Extension | about two feet recommended; almost two feet from six feet of wire | cage height not stated |
| Iowa State Extension | 20 to 24 inches | 4 to 5 feet tall; 5 to 5½ feet of fence for a 20-inch cage |
| Purdue Extension HO-26 | 4.5 feet | 4 to 5 feet tall |
Iowa State also gives a formula that helps with the wire. It says the circumference of a circle is 3.14 times the diameter. For a 20-inch cage that works out to about 63 inches, or about 5.2 feet, which sits inside the 5 to 5½ feet the guide gives. That arithmetic is ours, based on the guide’s formula, and no page gives it as a finished figure.
Size should follow the variety. The Illinois page says to use cages that match in height the variety you are caging. Oregon State puts determinate varieties at about 3 feet when mature. Indeterminate or vining tomatoes grow about 6 to 10 feet tall and produce fruit throughout the growing season. For the bed the cage stands in, see our guide to companion planting and layout in raised beds.
Cut and shape the mesh
Use a bolt cutter to slice the mesh into the panel length you need, as the Oregon State guide advises. Make sure one end of the panel has a row of straight vertical wire, and that the other end has wire ends that can be bent into hooks. The straight end and the hooked end are what close the cage.
Bend the prongs at 90 degrees with pliers, then link the hooks to the straight vertical wire so the panel forms a cylinder. Purdue describes the same closure in its own words: hook the two cut ends of the mesh together to form a cylinder. Iowa State’s formula is a useful check on whether a panel is long enough for the diameter you want.
The bottom needs legs. Oregon State says to cut and remove some horizontal wires at the bottom to leave 6-inch spikes, so the cage can be pushed into the ground. Purdue says to remove the bottom rung to form prongs that can be pushed into the ground for support.
The openings in the mesh matter for picking. K-State says the openings between the wires are large enough to fit a hand through for harvesting, and that even large slicing tomatoes can slide through. Iowa State says wire cage openings should be large enough for harvest. Purdue says the mesh should be wide enough for a hand to reach in, preferably 6 by 6 inches. The sources do not give a maximum opening size.
Anchor the cage before wind arrives
Anchoring is what keeps a loaded plant upright. The Illinois page says to anchor cages firmly to the ground with stakes or steel posts, so that fruit-laden plants do not uproot in late summer windstorms. K-State is more specific about the number: at least one or two wooden stakes are needed to keep the cage in place. It says to hammer the stakes into the soil several inches and attach the cage to them with wire or garden tape.
Purdue adds a second step for extra protection. It says to weave a stake in and out of the cage vertically, until the stake sinks about 1 foot into the ground. Iowa State gives a similar instruction, using the phrase that a stake makes the cage more sturdy. Both use the stake as a brace for the cage.
When to build and set the cage
Timing is set by the planting date. Oregon State says to finish homemade cages by April, before planting begins. Purdue says that, as with stakes, a cage is best set in place at planting time. That is the schedule this guide follows.
Stakes follow the same logic. Iowa State says a single stake should be driven in within two weeks of planting, about 3 to 4 inches from each plant. Purdue says stakes should be set at planting time to avoid later injury to roots. A gardener who plans to use a cage on one plant and a stake on another can set both at the same time.
Using the cage through the season
Here the sources disagree most. Iowa State says plants grown in wire cages do not need to be tied to the cage or pruned, and that wayward stems can simply be placed back inside. Oregon State recommends pruning tomato plants in July and August to help keep growth inside the cage. The two pages describe different levels of attention, and the choice depends on how much pruning a gardener wants to do.
Purdue adds a point about yield and light. It says caged tomatoes tend to be more productive, since suckers do not need to be removed, and that caged plants are less prone to sunscald injury because of greater foliage cover. The sources give these as advantages of caging.
The variety also decides the support. Iowa State says staking is not recommended for shorter, determinate cultivars, because yields are drastically reduced, and it says a wire cage or the weave system is more appropriate for those plants. Illinois notes that many gardeners train their tomato plants to stakes, trellises, or cages with great success. The cage is one option among several, and the guides do not treat it as the only choice.
Materials and where to buy them
The Illinois page lists three materials for homemade tomato cages: concrete-reinforcing wire, woven-wire stock fencing, and various wooden designs. Oregon State says to buy a roll of concrete reinforcing mesh made of stiff 9- or 10-gauge wire, and that a roll about 150 feet long and 5 feet tall can make about 30 cages from 5-foot sections. Those figures let a gardener estimate how many cages a single roll covers.
Store-bought cages are the alternative. Oregon State says that ready-made cages at garden centers are available, but that some are flimsy. K-State says the store-bought cages often come in fun colors, but tend to be more expensive than building your own. It also says their support is minimal and often insufficient for most tomato varieties. Oregon State adds that the wire will rust over time but should last for years.
For the crops that grow well in raised beds, see our guide to vegetables to plant in raised beds.
Mistakes the sources point to
- Choosing a cage shorter than the variety needs, since the Illinois page says to match the cage height to the variety.
- Leaving the openings too small for a hand to reach the fruit, which K-State and Purdue both warn about.
- Setting the cage after planting, when Purdue advises setting it in place at planting time.
- Skipping the anchor, since the Illinois page and K-State both say stakes or posts keep the cage in place.
- Staking determinate plants instead of caging them, since Iowa State says yields are drastically reduced for those cultivars when they are staked.
How we chose
This guide uses the build steps and size statements in five university extension pages, read as text after the page was fetched on 2026-10-23. Four of the five pages describe building a homemade cage, and the Illinois page covers materials and anchoring. Each step in the build section is tied to at least one page, and where two pages disagree on a figure, the table shows both.
We did not rank the methods, and no product is recommended. The guide names materials only because the pages name them. Where a figure is our own arithmetic, the paragraph says so, and that applies only to the wire-length calculation from Iowa State’s formula.
What we could not verify
The five pages do not show how a homemade cage performs in a specific garden, in wind, or under a heavy crop. They do not give a weight a cage will carry, and none ties a wire gauge to a cage size.
What the sources do not say
The sources do not give a single cage size that suits every variety. K-State gives no height for its cage, and the Purdue cage is much larger than the others. None of the pages explains why the diameters differ so much, so the gap is reported here rather than resolved. The sources also do not give safety guidance for cutting mesh or handling its ends, beyond the advice to bend the cut ends into hooks. Oregon State says the wire will rust but should last for years, and no page gives a number of seasons for a homemade cage.
Frequently asked questions
What size should a homemade tomato cage be?
The sources give different sizes. Oregon State gives about 18 inches across for a 5-foot panel, Iowa State recommends 20 to 24 inches across and 4 to 5 feet tall, and Purdue gives 4.5 feet across. The Illinois page says to match the cage height to the variety, so the mature height of the plant is the deciding figure.
How much mesh does one cage need?
Iowa State says a 20-inch cage needs a fence section 5 to 5½ feet wide. Oregon State says a 5-foot panel makes about 18 inches across and a 6-foot panel about 23 inches. Using Iowa State’s formula, multiplying 3.14 by the diameter, a 20-inch cage needs about 5.2 feet of wire, which matches the guide’s range.
Should the stems be tied or pruned in a cage?
Iowa State says plants grown in wire cages do not need to be tied or pruned. Oregon State recommends pruning in July and August to keep growth inside the cage. Purdue says caged tomatoes tend to be more productive because suckers do not need to be removed.
Is a cage better than a stake for tomatoes?
Iowa State says staking is not recommended for determinate cultivars, because yields are drastically reduced, and that a wire cage or the weave system is more appropriate for them. The same guide lists single-stake training as one of three common methods. Illinois says many gardeners train tomatoes to stakes, trellises, or cages with great success.
When should the cage go in the ground?
Purdue says to set the cage in place at planting time, as with stakes. Oregon State’s deadline for a finished homemade cage is April. Both pages place the work before the season.
Sources
- https://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/help-your-tomatoes-stand-tall-diy-tomato-cage (opened 2026-10-23)
- https://extension.k-state.edu/news-and-publications/news/stories/2025/05/horticulture-tomato-cage.html (opened 2026-10-23)
- https://yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/how-to/how-train-tomatoes-home-garden (opened 2026-10-23)
- https://ag.purdue.edu/department/hla/extension/extension-publications-library/ext-pubs/ho-26-w.html (opened 2026-10-23)
- https://extension.illinois.edu/gardening/tomato (opened 2026-10-23)
