Is it better to stake or cage tomatoes?

My journey to the ideal tomato trellis system has not been an easy one. It started with using a flimsy round “tomato cage,” which couldn’t bear the weight of my vining tomato plant loaded with fruit.

Then, I turned to the Florida Weave method. This worked beautifully for my Roma tomatoes but not the vining, indeterminate varieties.

Finally, I decided to try two other popular methods — tomato staking using a trellis system and a heavy duty professional tomato cage. Then I tested each method and took detailed notes on the yields of each.

In this episode of the Beginner’s Garden Podcast and in the article below, I share the results of my testing. You’ll learn the benefits and drawbacks of both the single-stem tomato staking method and the heavy duty tomato cage. By the end, you’ll see which one I settled on and why.

Click below to listen or read the article below.

Tomato Stakes vs. Tomato Cages

Before I talk about the single-stem tomato staking method and the heavy duty tomato cage, I need to return back to the second method I referenced above — the Florida Weave.

I still use the Florida Weave for my Roma tomatoes for so many reasons. If you’re growing Romas or any other determinate tomato, I urge you to read this post.

But if you’re growing vining, indeterminate tomatoes, you probably want something that can handle these larger varieties.

Single-Stem Tomato Stake Using T-Posts, PVC, and Rebar

A single stem tomato staking method requires that you train the tomato plant to one main stem. You also will want to prune most or all of the suckers. You can do this many ways — one of the easiest being to train and tie each plant to one tall tomato stake.

But since I was looking to trellis close to thirty tomato plants, I had to ask, “how do you stake a row of tomatoes?” That’s why I decided to build a bigger trellis using t-posts, PVC couplers, and rebar.

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How I Built My Single Stem Tomato Staking System

First, I purchased 6′ tall t-posts and set them in the ground about 6′ apart. Then I affixed PVC couplers to the top of the t-posts and set rebar in the couplers for a horizontal trellis.

From the rebar, I tied twine and brought it to the ground next to my newly planted tomato transplant. I tied the twine to a landscape pin, which I plunged in the ground next to the tomato stem.

As the plant grew, I used tomato clips to affix the main stem of the tomato plant to the twine at intervals of about 12″.

I planted each tomato plant two feet apart, aiming for an intensive planting method to get more plants into a smaller amount of space. In the test I planted Amish Paste, Arkansas Traveler, and Black Krim varieties.

Toward the end of the season, after the vining tomatoes outgrew even the horizontal rebar, I trained the stem horizontally across the rebar.

Heavy Duty Tomato Cage

With a heavy duty tomato cage, the goal is for the tomatoes to grow freely while being well supported. The cages should be at least 5′ tall — enough to accommodate most vining tomato varieties. You want to be able to reach your hand into the cage both to harvest and to hand-pick pests. Six inch by six inch square openings are ideal.

Though you can use concrete mesh, welded wire, or other heavy duty tomato cages, I chose to use concrete mesh.

How I Built Tomatoes Cages Using Concrete Reinforcing Wire

For the heavy duty tomato cages, I used leftover concrete reinforcing wire mesh that we had after we poured a patio.

Using bolt cutters, I cut the mesh into 6′ sheets and rolled them into circles. (I have also seen others make more narrow cages and only cut 5′ sheets.)

At the bottom of each 5′ tall cage, I cut the bottom layer of horizontal wires so the vertical wires would serve to stick into the ground for stability.

In order to test the cages against the single stem method, I used the same varieties — Amish Paste, Arkansas Traveler, and Black Krim.

Tomato Stakes vs. Tomato Cage: Which Yielded More?

Although I only tested these methods against each other over the course of one season, the results were staggering.

The tomatoes I planted in the heavy duty tomato cages yielded twice the amount of tomatoes in pounds per plant.

Though I tried to make the tests equal in every other way, I need to share some variables that may have contributed to the stark difference in yield.

The tomatoes using the tomato cage were planted further apart. Due to the sheer size of the tomato cage, the tomatoes themselves were spaced three to four feet apart on center. This could have contributed to the heavier yield because they didn’t have to compete with each other for nutrients.

The tomatoes using the tomato cage were planted in a different area of the garden. While both sets were only about twenty feet apart, the garden area where the caged tomatoes grew has not been in production as long as the area where the staked tomatoes grew. It’s possible, therefore, that the caged tomatoes had more access to nutrients in a less depleted soil.

Pros & Cons of the Single Stem Tomato Staking Method

Besides the lower yield in my test, there are other considerations when it comes to using a single stem tomato method.

Using the staked tomatoes, I was able to spot tomato hornworms more easily. This method also allowed more easy picking of the tomatoes themselves. And when pruned to a single stem, rows of tomatoes offer a neat and tidy look to the garden.

By contrast, my staked tomatoes showed higher vulnerability to sunscald. This probably had more to do with the less amount of foliage available (due to pruning) to shade the fruit from the sun. These plants also succumbed more quickly to Septoria Leaf Spot. Again, I’m attributing this to the lower amount of foliage, thus a quicker demise.

Though you can stake tomatoes using a single stem using any vertical stake, the system I used cost about $60 for two rows of approximately 28 feet. This supported 24 plants at a cost per plant of $2.50. And if I were to continue using this method, it would last for years to come.

Pros & Cons of the Heavy Duty Tomato Cage

Besides the higher yields in my test, I want to make sure to share both other benefits to the heavy duty tomato cage and a few drawbacks.

I loved that my cage ended up doubling as a bean trellis. Since I had grown pole beans the year before in that spot, volunteers grew up the cage, giving me even more harvest and providing aesthetic appeal to the system. I also know that these cages will last for years — some people using this method attest to 10-15 years of use.

I have to admit, picking these tomatoes wasn’t as easy, as I generally had to reach into the tomato cage to harvest. And because the concrete mesh rusts quickly, I had to be careful not to cut myself on the rusty metal. (This wouldn’t be a problem with welded wire.)

Perhaps the biggest drawback to the heavy duty tomato cage is cost. Not everyone has concrete remesh lying around from a construction project like I did. If you were to purchase this concrete reinforcing wire, you would have to pay over around $165 for a roll. Although this roll gives you 150 feet and you could make 25 cages, you might not need that many. Still, at a cost of $8.25 per cage, this is much cheaper than heavy duty cages you can price elsewhere.

Tomato Stakes vs. Cages: Which is Better?

If you can’t tell by now, I choose heavy duty tomato cages hands-down. But, if you have the time and sense of adventure, I urge you to do a similar test in your own garden.

Tomatoes grow differently depending on your climate, and you may find different results. But for me, the ease of cage (once it’s built) and not having to prune the plant makes this an easy decision for me.

Heavy Duty Tomato Cage for the win.

What about you? What results have you found in your garden with different tomato trellis methods?