How to Make Your Own Tomato Trellis or Cage Support

It’s not uncommon for me to grow too many tomatoes – WAY too many.

Last year I finally made it a point to seriously minimize my supply, mostly to get a good season of crop rotation in.

I decided to grow just two Romas in my garden for roasting. Mmm…

In the past, I’ve used a few different types of cages and they have never worked out like I hoped.

Standard cages are too restrictive and typically aren’t tall enough.

I’ve also tried stapling chicken wire to garden posts. But keeping up with tying each individual plant to the support was really time consuming.

So, even though I have a small crop, I’m trying something different – the Florida Weave.

While I can’t pin down the full creation story of the Florida Weave, also known as the basket weave, it seems some farmers in Southern Florida began experimenting with trellising tomatoes in the 1920s.

It’s no surprise that Florida farmers had an early role in this, as it is the one of the highest tomato producing states in the country, second only to California.

The Florida Weave cuts materials requirements and demands on your time, and it still yields a large harvest – and the fruit is much easier to access.

And although I only grew two Romas last year, starting small is a great way to try out something new.

The concept is to weave twine in and out of stakes and around tomatoes to create a trellis.

Now, with just two Romas, it’s true that I wasn’t able to get the full effect of the weave. But, that’s what’s so great about it!

Whether you choose to grow just a couple of tomatoes, or an unending row of them, this support system will get the job done.

Standard cages just don’t seem to cut it. And as much as I love DIY projects (like my