How to Build a Squirrel-Proof Tomato Cage

Lay two 2-inch-by-4-inch-by-7-foot wood boards parallel to each another on their 2-inch sides. Space the boards 3 feet apart. Place one 2-inch-by-4-inch-by 3-foot board over the top edges of the 7-foot boards to form a U shape. Insert two 3-inch long galvanized screws at each corner to connect the boards. Repeat this process to make a second U-shaped unit.

Dig one 1-foot deep hole in each corner of the ground where you’ll plant tomatoes, making the holes 3 feet apart. The holes will form a square.

Stand the U-shaped units upright with the 3-foot boards along the top. Set the units into the holes opposite one another. Fill in the holes, and pack them with soil.

Drive one 6-foot tall garden stake 6 to 8 inches into the ground in the center of the square where you want to grow tomatoes. Use a rubber mallet to pound the stake into the ground. The stake will provide the direct support for your tomato plant's main stem.

Cut chicken wire into one piece that is 13 feet long and one piece 4 feet long. Trim the 4-foot piece to only 4 feet wide. Lay the 4-by-4-foot chicken wire over the top of the U-shaped pieces. Center the wire so it overhangs all four sides by 6 inches, and fold the overhang downward to cap the U-shaped units. Staple the chicken wire to the boards every 6 inches along the top and at each corner where the overhang is folded down.

Position one end of the 6-by-13-foot piece of chicken wire to one of the 7-foot boards. Staple the chicken wire to the board. Wrap the chicken wire around three sides of the square framework. Staple the chicken wire to the boards at each corner.

Wrap the last 4 feet of chicken wire across the remaining side and around to the first side to create a door to close the cage. Cut 8- to 10-inch lengths of 20-gauge wire. Hold a second 6-foot tall garden stake upright, and align it with the end edge of the chicken wire. Secure the stake to the end of the chicken wire with your lengths of 20-gauge wire.

Wrap three evenly spaced lengths of 20-gauge wire to secure the garden stake to the first wall of the cage to hold the door shut. Secure the wires only enough to keep out squirrels, but wrap it in a way that is simple to undo when you want to check on or harvest your tomatoes.