How to Use a Mason Line for a Tomato Trellis

Creating Cages

• 1

  Pound four stakes into the ground to form a square 2 feet across around a tomato seedling. Drive the stakes at least 1 foot in the ground. The best tomato stakes are about 6 feet tall and at least 1 inch in diameter but can be wood, bamboo or metal.

• 2

  Tie the mason line to the top of one of the stakes. Unroll the line to a the next stake and wrap it around two or three times at the same level so it holds the string taut. Wrap the line around the other two stakes in the same way and back to the original one. Tie it off on the first stake and cut the line.

• 3

  Repeat the procedure at 1-foot intervals down the length of the stakes.

All in a Row

• 4

  Pound 6-foot stakes about 1 foot deep in a row in the center of the bed where the tomato seedlings will be planted, spacing them every 6 or 8 feet. Install a heavy metal "T" post at the ends of each row.

• 5

  Tie the mason line to the top of the T-post at one end of the row. Unroll the line to the second stake and wrap it around the top of the stake several times. Continue down the row, keeping the line taut, until the line has been attached to the top of all of the stakes.

• 6

  Repeat the procedure at 1-foot intervals down the length of the stakes.

• 7

  Plant the tomato seedlings directly under the trellis line.