I've just bitten the bullet and bought such a roll (150')
reluctantly. That's 21 cages at 6-1/2' each, though I
could make them smaller if I want. However, I felt
(somewhat doubtfully) that I will "eventually" use that
much. But, guess what? In the couple of weeks that I was
mulling it over, the price went up by $9, from $98 to
$107. It's getting expensive for what used to be an
economical alternative to some other methods.

Worse yet. The steel they are using for remesh now is
crap. For anyone who would like that spelled out, it is
See Are Ay Pee, CRAP. I don't know where it is made
as there was no label on the roll I got. Anyway, when
I tried to bend the wires from one end of the piece I had
cut around the other end to make the cage, a bunch of
them just broke off. That makes it hard to shape the cage
and get it secure. I sort of suspect, though I have no
evidence, that it will probably rust out more quickly too,
reducing the life of the cages.

So, all in - it's lower quality, higher price, harder to
get and really hard to carry. Anyone wanting remesh cages
could well consider these factors before going ahead.

But thanks for the warning as I was considering this as a solution for a new garden area I'm planting in the next couple weeks. Do you have a brand name? Was it from Home Depot?

Everyone seems to love the Texas Tomato Cages....they're just so expensive. (American made good quality...but we can't really afford them anymore!)

American made wire is much better than imported, but even that seems to be going down hill. I've had really good luck with Red Brand (Red Top) wire, but the quality costs. Worth it, as far as I am concerned.

2) Only one gauge available at HD. I believe it's #6 wire.
A thicker gauge would have been a lot harder to work with.
In any case, I don't believe the problem was in the thickness
of the wire as much as in the quality of the steel. It is
just very brittle.

3) I had no idea you could get remesh at a farm store and
have never seen any there. Around here we have Agway and
Tractor Supply. I suppose I could have tried a construction
company of some kind. Had no idea you could get it by
brand and what I got was unbranded.

happy gardening :)

And for those looking for smaller footage, look for sheets which often come in 5ft x 10ft sheets. Sheets are often available in galvanized as well as "bridge pale green."

The home centers often sell very shoddy chinese made product.

You may consider shopping at a rebar fabricator or concrete supply yard.

I can't imagine any better solution for growing tomatoes off of the ground.

It's very easy to wrap into a circle and bend the wires to fasten.

My wire is 6 1/2 feet tall. It also comes in 8 ft tall. It could be cut down to make it shorter.

160 ft roll costs $116 at the farm supply store. I used it to build a deer-proof fence and the tomato cages are made from the scraps.

I only buy American made fencing. The imported stuff breaks when you try to stretch it.

Thanks for your suggestion on fabricator or supply yard.

oregonwoodsmoke:
I could probably get game fence but it sounds too light
for this. Should probably look anyway.

To all:
Thanks for the suggestions. I just wish now I didn't
already have this stuff, which I will have to use up
before getting any more. I probably should have looked
around more but at the time "big box" seemed the easiest
way to go. It isn't, clearly, though a few years ago,
the last time I made cages, when you could get a 50'
roll, the wire was ductile enough and there was no
problem. Now, garbage rules. Sigh!

I don't have a wire chart handy to look it up but think it's around .125 or .135 or similar.

If you are in the northeast, Barker Steel had galvanized 5ft x 10ft sheets available. That size also works great to make 3x7ft ''pens'' 5ft tall that you can partition down the middle or other ways.

5x10 sheets also work great to make triangular cages, 1 plant in each corner, or cut the sheet in half to make two round cages just under 18'' diameter. Of course, you can also make stalls too.

Hope this helps.

As far as rusting goes, just wear gloves while handling. The rust is not harmful to plants. Actually it might be beneficial. The draw back of non-galvanized material is that eventually they will rust out and fall apart. But that might take decades.

Remesh (aka CRW)? Yes they usually rusted and used that way with no problem. It is just an appearance issue not one of function. Rust (iron oxide) is a normal component of soil. But sure you can paint them if you want to.

There are many different kinds of galvanized fencing that can be used too as in Korney's pics above. Big hardware stores and lumber yards will have a wider selection of options than HD does. And how many cages you can get out of one panel or roll all depends on the diameter you want them to be.

OTOH if you are talking about cattle panels being rusted, that would be very unusual.

Dave

In my area the CRW is cheaper and a heavier grade than HD or Lowes.

You might also want to check Craigslist or another local advertizement place. We have the SC Market Bulletin here, which is all farm related.

I picked up a 100' roll of CRW and a 75' roll of galvanized steel fencing for $50 from a Craigslist ad a few years ago!