My tomato cage buckled under a single cherry tomato plant last Tuesday

I had this cheap wire cage holding up my patio tomato, and the whole thing just folded sideways after a light rain - the plant wasn't even heavy yet. Turns out the bottom ring rusted through where it touched the plastic pot rim, so the cage basically snapped at ground level. Has anyone else had those flimsy green cages fail on them, or did I just buy the worst brand at the hardware store?

2 comments

2 Comments

barnes.brian1mo ago

Oh man, the whole thing folded sideways - that's exactly what happened to mine, but it was a beefsteak plant that wasn't even close to full size. I think those cheap green cages are basically a scam, like they're made out of recycled paper clips or something. Last year mine started tilting after a normal breeze, not even rain, and I found the wire had snapped clean through where it kinked at the bottom. My neighbor swears by the old school concrete reinforcing mesh he cuts into squares, but I'm too lazy to go find that stuff at the hardware store. So now I just twist the green ones back into shape with pliers every few weeks and pretend that's working.

juliaa251mo ago

Is it weird that my garden goals now include "buy sturdier wire" instead of "grow actual food"? Guess we're all just professional cage-tamers now.