8 DIY Tomato Trellis Ideas to Provide Support and Style in Your Garden (2024)

FAQs

How do you make a sturdy tomato trellis? ›

Try PVC Pipes for Support

Another sturdy method combines metal stakes with simple PVC pipes. Place stakes at the ends and middle of your patch and top them with PVC pipe. This creates an overhead support beam which you can run your twine from. Then, clip tomatoes to the twine as they grow for continued support.

Build a traditional trellis shape, lash a ladder together, or get creative with a teepee form. Just be sure to dig the ends well into the ground or secure to an existing structure – a wall of tomato plants turns into a sail in windy weather.

#1 Tomato cages

Buying individual tomato cages is perhaps the lowest effort, but most expensive option for trellising your tomatoes, especially if you grow many plants each year. These cages are easy to find at your local hardware or garden store, and come in a variety of sizes and colors.

When a plant is 18 inches tall, we tie the bottom of a string to its stem and then twist the main stem around the string as it grows. If necessary, we use small plastic tomato clips to hold the stem and the string together. How close you plant the tomatoes depends on how you are pruning them.

Bamboo poles or 1-inch-square (or wider) stakes are used, spacing plants about 24 inches apart. Stakes are placed about 3 inches from the plants. Sisal twine or strips of cloth are used to secure the vines to the stakes.

Coffee grounds contain around 2% nitrogen as well as varying amounts of phosphorus and potassium which are all very important for the growth of tomato plants. By mixing some coffee grounds into the soil below your tomato plants you're introducing these nutrients that the plants need to thrive.

Adding Epsom salts to your plant either through foliar spray or direct watering is a great way of boosting micronutrient absorption. This helps your tomato plant produce large, juicy, and very sweet fruits. Remember that a little bit goes a long way and too much can cause more problem than it fixes.

Place a cage directly over one of the tomato plants.

Whether the plant is potted or in the ground, you want it to be in the center of the cage. The walls of the cage should be close to the plant; it's normal if some of the plant's vines and leaves extend outside of the cage.

Wire Trellis

The tops of the posts should be 5 or 6 feet high. Staple or tie concrete reinforcement wire or wire fencing with 6-inch openings to the posts. You can leave a space of about a foot from the bottom of the wire to the ground; it should be high enough that your tiller can clear underneath.

How do you reinforce tomato cages? ›

She said cutting the wire at the base of the cylinder will create prongs that can extend into the ground when placed around the tomato plant. “This will provide some security for the cage. For additional support, drive a T-post into the ground next to the cage and tie the cage to it,” she said.

The tops of the posts should be 5 or 6 feet high. Staple or tie concrete reinforcement wire or wire fencing with 6-inch openings to the posts. You can leave a space of about a foot from the bottom of the wire to the ground; it should be high enough that your tiller can clear underneath.

Stakes allow for easier pruning

Tie the stem loosely to the stake with strips of soft cloth or nylon. Loop the material entirely around the stake before tying it around the stem. This will cinch the tie and hold it in place as the plant gets heavier.

Concrete reinforcing wire is thick and strong – after all, that's why it makes great tomato cages! The best way to cut it is to use heavy duty wire cutters (like the ones pictured below) that will cut through the thick wire like butter. Heavy duty wire cutters are a must-have when cutting concrete reinforcing wire.