I don’t use the cages anymore, I buy cheap woods from Home Depot and stake them down. I used to have those cages, lots of them, but they are too flimsy for my use.
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I too do not use cages; instead, I use bamboo stakes, multiples per plant, and these “clamps” to tie stalks to the stakes.
https://www.amazon.com/PERSZEN-Plant-Supporting-Climbing-Gardening-Straight/dp/B093FFQTQL
Got my clamps at Dollar Tree for $1.25 a package of each size.
ETA: I got tired of fighting with metal cages. I try to reuse the stakes as much as I can, throw the rotted ones in the yard waste bin, and the clamps have been going strong for 3 years now.
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I use bamboo sticks too, I buy my clips from 99c store.
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Saved those clips to my wishlist - maybe try next year!
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I use concrete reinforcement wire to make my tomato cages. They are extremely sturdy, can handle the biggest plants and they last for a long time.
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This would work great in a bigger bed. 
my tomato garden is in containers on our deck, so I have to be creative with lightweight supports.
I think we grew about 100 lbs of tomatoes 
in my measly container garden this summer! Still have a giant box of green ones to ripen… and I just picked up the last eggplant 
off the bush that was closer to the house. Yikes 
Freezing temperatures are coming next week! I need to pick all leftover green fruit.
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Product review! We bought a Weston machine that processes tomatoes (removes skins etc for sauce). It saved us hours of prep work. It worked great for two months and then, hubby says he made a mistake and he doesn’t blame the machine, the auger (?) seized and cracked and the machine was toast.
Reason hubby says it was his fault is that he was using tomatoes frozen whole, and had not realized they were not all completely thawed.
Anyway, I contacted Weston by email, expecting crappy service tbh, and no, they sent an entire new machine.
I’m still not convinced the machine will last a long time - it has a lot of plastic parts - but I can’t argue with the customer service.
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Luckily a neighbor about a mile away has a bamboo problem from a prior owner and she’s been cutting it back for years. I have an endless supply of bamboo stakes 
I also like those clamps you linked to, but I’ve found them flimsy and several have broken on me after a season or less.
I really like this stuff - like the ties for bread bags but rubberized. It’s not cheap but it does last:
https://www.amazon.com/Growers-Edge-Soft-Garden-Plant/dp/B00VNQXF5C/ref=asc_df_B00VNQXF5C/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=193139379506&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16566153256523919714&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9007025&hvtargid=pla-307722535355&psc=1
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I use tomato cages only for pepper plants.
For tomatoes I use cattle panels from Tractor Supply. Either arched or staked with T-posts.
This is what we use for arches:
Some links for inspiration:
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You might be surprised-tomato presses are pretty study. I don’t have a Weston–I have an Italian brand tomato press/strainer and it’s probably 7 years old. it’s the best investment I’ve made in a long time.
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My chiltepin plant is still going strong here in year #2. It’s covered in tiny peppers.
And after 2 1/2 years of waiting, the bamboo is now tall enough that I can’t see the 2 story house next door when you sit on the back patio. The sugar cane is doing well, too. Our next door neighbor has commented before several times about how much she enjoys looking out her windows at us and then asks prying questions about what we are doing.
And there’s a new flower on our ambrosia pomegranate tree.
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This Ohioan is going to rely on you warmer weather folks to keep posting pics of garden “hope” till the 2023 thread!
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I had fantastic luck with Rocket marigolds this year (yellow at right). I planted 3 wee plants (from a 4 pack) and had to move one later as they grew. I’ve pulled them out now and am contemplating crocus bulbs for that space near driveway, so I’ll see them sprouting early next spring as I when I pull up the garage. But if I did so not sure if I could plant marigolds there again later in spring… would it make it too shady for crocus to survive for the next years? Other suggestions?
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I think you should give it a try and the worst that will happen is the bulbs won’t come up again the next year, and at that point, you’ll know for sure and can adjust your garden plans accordingly.
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Crocuses (here anyway!) are among the very, very first signs of spring. A very early bulb. They will be shriveled and long gone I’m thinking by the time you plant your marigolds.
When do crocus bloom there? Here we might see them sometime in March depending on weather. And when do you plant your annuals? Here it’s like mid-late May.
The one thing though is that I’m wondering if in planting your marigolds will you be able to avoid disturbing or uprooting your crocus bulbs???
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I planted by garlic at my community garden yesterday put the bed away for the winter by then adding several inches of mulch on top. It was a beautiful day though - upper 60’s and bright sun. One thing I love about my community gardens grounds is that there are other things there - it’s an old huge estate and people visit the bio-dome, a used book/craft shop, pottery building, etc. so there are always a few people wandering. A man stopped and asked what I could be planting this time of year so I explained the process of planting garlic in the fall just like other bulbs.
I just love, love the community garden concept especially when based in sharing and learning together. Can’t wait till our first garden meeting of 2023 in late February!!
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I just LOVE community gardens. Everyone always seems in a good mood when they’re there. And I especially love community gardens that are in socioeconomically depressed areas. Community gardens have a special way of bringing people from all different walks of life together, I think, because everybody loves to eat.
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I’ve really enjoyed being part of my church’s Giving Garden. It’s out in the country at a member’s home, so about 5 mile drive for me (some folks farther away, some closer). Sometimes I lament the gas/pollution to get there, but then I remind myself that group fun time together at a coffee shop or other hobby get together would cause same.
Over 2 summers we’ve donated more than 2000 pounds of fresh produce to one of the local nonprofits that runs a free food pantry and serves daily free lunches. Granted, much of that poundage is zucchini’s and fall pumpkins. However there’s also a lot of tomatoes and some lighter stuff (lettuce, radishes, green beans). Thankfully we have automated drip irrigation because in CO gardens do need “help” to survive.
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In October 2021, I harvested a boatload of luffa from my backyard. They all came from just 2 luffa plants that I’d planted 6 months prior. I still have luffas from that harvest. And had a boatload of luffa seeds.
And in Oct 2021, I posted on a local Facebook gardening group offering up free luffa seeds to anybody who wanted them. Offered to mail some to each person who wanted seeds. no charge. Many people responded. I mailed seeds out to everybody who asked.
Well, guess what? Today - November 9, 2022 - over a year later, one of those people sent me a FB message asking where are the seeds that I was supposed to send to her.
IT’S BEEN OVER 12 MONTHS, FOR PETE’S SAKE! What the heck. 
So I asked her to please confirm what types of seeds she’s asking about and if I still have some, I’ll be happy to mail some more out to her. Also mentioned that perhaps they got lost in the mail because stuff like that happens sometimes, you know.
And let’s not even get into the dozen people in that same gardening group who said they wanted rooted sugar cane cuttings and would come pick them up at my front door (labelled w/each person’s name on it)…and they were no shows.
So that’s it. I’m DONE with giving away seeds or cuttings from my garden to people who I am not actually friends with.
</end plant person rant>
Back to your regularly scheduled programming.
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I can’t believe it’s almost mid-November and we just ate caprese salad with dinner using tomatoes and basil from our (mid-Atlantic) garden.
Dh pulled the tomato plants weeks ago, but there were still some green tomatoes on them so I put them in the sun on a window sill. We still have one basil plant outside, brought one that’s in a pot inside, and froze the rest. I noticed the tomatoes have finally ripened, so bought some mozzarella and used some of the basil from the plant outside since it is still thriving. I think by next week we will need to remove the rest of its leaves.
This is highly unusual for our zone, but I’m not complaining! We never have produce this late in the season. Still have a cucumber and a few more tomatoes to eat!
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