I made new tomato cages this past summer from concrete reinforcing mesh.    They are sturdy and others who have made them claim they will be the last cages ever needed.  Time will tell.  The first few cages were very challenging to make, as the wire does not bend easily to form, is springy, is five feet tall and needs to be cut off the 150 ft. roll.  I eventually stopped trying to use wire cutters, and bolt cutters, and settled on using a 90 degree grinder cut off wheel to easily cut the lengths I needed,   my cages are roughly 2 feet in diameter.  I counted the number of 6 inch squares in the metal mesh instead of measuring each of them. 

I am really happy with the cages and will make more in due time.  The one thing that these cages need, is a sturdy support, so that the weight of the tomatoes and any wind does not knock them about.  I used T posts driven in to the ground and attached to each cage. 

Next spring I plan to make a fence around the garden with the cages to deter invasion by my larger four legged neighbors.  The tall border should be an interesting change. When placing the cages, I intend to space them approximately a foot apart, to allow good flow of air between the plants as they mature, access for picking and pruning, and sun light to pass between into the center of the garden.  There will be  strands of  wire or twine connecting the rows  of cages,  and the t-posts will be anchoring the ends of the rows.

Weed control is the main reason we keep goats on our property.  The goat meat may be eaten and many people love the milk as a beverage or for its hypo-allergenic properties in making lotions, soaps and salves.  We don't eat them and we tend to keep bucks or wethers.  They are entertaining pets and of course they can be cute when they are young.

Our goats are protected from predators and kept in the areas we want them to be within by an "electro" mesh fence.   The fence is portable and easy to relocate on the property when the goats have done their job of munching down the poison ivy and other weeds.   We use a fencer from Premier 1 Supplies.  The staff at Premier is knowledgeable and friendly.  The service we have received is top notch.  You can learn more about the electric net fence by following this link.