Staking Tomatoes

• 1). Purchase a wooden stake, bamboo pole or coated metal stake of an appropriate length for your tomato plant. Determinate tomato varieties need a 6-foot long stake, allowing for the part that is below ground. Indeterminate varieties need 8- or 10-foot long stakes. Longer stakes are preferred when available.
  
  
• 2). Insert the stake into the ground at the base of the plant. Pound the top of the stake with a mallet if needed. Make sure it is inserted far enough to support the plant, to a depth of around 2 feet.
  
  
• 3). Tie the main stem of the tomato plant to the stake loosely with cotton twine or strips of soft cloth. The Oregon University Extension website notes that using tight string or wire could cause injury to the tomato plant.
  
  

Using Tomato Cages

• 1). Make a tomato cage from concrete reinforcing mesh wire with 4 inch holes. Cut a piece of mesh approximately 56- to 60-inches long with heavy-duty wire cutters. Wire the cut ends together to form a barrel -shaped cage.
  
  
• 2). Place the cage around the tomato after planting. Stake the cage down in two or three places to keep it from being toppled by wind.
  
  
• 3). Lift branches into place as the tomato grows, guiding the branches through the holes in the mesh for support.