Custom-made wood tomato cages

To realize the maximum potential of your raised bed garden, grow vertically. Using the space above your beds will make your garden more productive. In addition to increasing yield, the practice helps fruit develop off the ground, keeping them cleaner and less susceptible to rot. Elevated crop canopies dry quicker, reducing the risk of foliage disease. Spraying, pruning and harvesting are easier when crops are grown vertically.

There are many support systems gardeners use to grow plants vertically. The one used most extensively at the Noble Foundation consists of cages constructed of 6-inch by 6-inch concrete reinforcing mesh and used to support crops such as tomato, pepper, eggplant, pea, bean and cucumber.

A 5-foot by 150-foot roll of re-mesh costs about $60 and will make 37 cages 4 1/2 feet tall (height above soil level) by 15 inches in diameter or 74 cages 2 feet tall by 15 inches in diameter. If you need only a few cages, check out local construction sites. Chances are you can find enough scrap pieces to suit your needs.

Plan on using the taller cages when growing pole bean, pea, cucumber and indeterminate tomato. The shorter cages work for eggplant, pepper, dwarf pea and determinate tomato.

Custom made pea and bean cage

Removing a 48-inch section of mesh from roll