Craigslist is your best bet, IMO. You could even put up your own free "wanted" ad.

On the subject of t-posts, I bought a bunch of 8 footers at Tractor Supply Co. They cost about $6 each. Astonishingly, t-posts at Lowes were over $25 each. I have no idea why such a huge difference in price.

Ditto Craigslist. I recently built a fence and had to rip an inch off many slats and gave them away on CL. So you might look for old fencing too if you have a way to rip them into the size you need.

Free ? I don't think so.

I buy 2 by 4 cedar lumber and rip it into 3 stakes. I found some on clearance at HD @ 70% off, two days ago. I grabbed every thing. Each 6ft stake costs me 60 cents. Of course I do the ripping on my table saw. At regular price ith costs about $1.50

The next best deal is 5/8" REBAR, sold at 12ft lenght. But they won't cut it for you. It will cost like $2.50 for 6ft length.

People who have giant bamboo often are relieved if you will come and cut it.

Yeah. I used to do that years ago.
Bamboo make good use for trellising , staking peppers, bean, peas, eggplants but not sturdy enough for tomatoes.

I have thought about bamboo but what I can get probably would not be strong enough.

Thank you for the ideas, I will keep an eye out on craigslist.

10' 1/2 " EMT conduit is pretty cheap at Lowes maybe $2.40 plus tax.

I just picked up a bunch of free bamboo. Seems there are often people offering that on cl. I was planning to build tomato cages but out of necessity I just added it as horizontal support between two existing boards. I've used bamboo remnants as stakes but this is the first I've used it with screws. It split a bit so I think for a finished look it could be wrapped at the joints with twine but so far it's sturdy.

weird i'm having deja vu. thought i replied to this thread but i guess not....;)

i second the conduit idea - i got 10' 3/4" lengths for less than $3 apiece. you can cut it down yourself with a hacksaw.

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This post was edited by slowjane on Sun, Jun 29, 14 at 14:04

Bamboo is very strong and used in high wind areas...used for scaffolding even.
Lasts a few seasons and i replaced once over 10-15 yrs...(i get serious wind sheers)
Now use recycled free clear cedar that i ripped down and works great as well...on season three. Lots of free materials with a search. But advised to search casually for the next season rather than trying to find it when you need it....if you need it tomorrow, it usually will cost ya $

I always see adds for free bamboo removal...(oh poor people)...and a neighbor is practically barricaded by an over-run mess up the street...thankfully not a close neighbor.

I got my bamboo from freecycle this year. There's also Habitat for Humanity re-store, craigslist or our dump has recycletown.........Nancy

Yeah, 1/2" conduit is good and fairly cheap. It is galvanized, so it holds up pretty well. Rebar is cheap, but rough in texture, and it starts rusting immediately.

If you buy a conduit bender you can make nice looking bends in conduit, also.

If you choose to go with conduit, a hacksaw does work, but I would highly recommend getting a cheap rotary pipe/tube cutter. Cuts through conduit easily, without leaving as much shaving mess as a hacksaw. See link for type.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tube cutter for conduit

Yeah. That tube cutter is versatile. It can cut copper, pvc and emt. It makes a nice clean cut.

I keep my eyes on dumpsters in my town. I'm thinking of the ones people rent and keep in their driveways or parking lots. Sometimes you'll see perfectly good wood sitting there waiting to go to the dump.

I just use 2 by 2 untreated pine from the lumberyard. I get it in 8 foot pieces. Cut it in half for peppers and determinate tomatoes. Just drive them in the ground with a post driver and you are good. I pull them out and store them. I am working on 3 years with them.

Jay

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This post was edited by slowjane on Sun, Jun 29, 14 at 14:03

Thanks Jay and everyone else.

I think I may end up going with 2 by 2s and Florida Weave.

I Florida Weave my tomatoes, have been for years. I think it works really well, and at the end of the season, I just cut all the twine and the whole thing comes down in a snap.

If you end up liking it, you may want to slowly replace your 2X2's with t-posts. The notches in the t-posts come in really really handy for the Florida Weave.

But like you, I started first with 2X2s that I ripped from 2X6's. Still have those and use them for other things.

Yes after much deliberation I think you are right. I may be overthinking it.

I know T-posts (as well as remesh cages) last a long time but it's a relatively big initial cost.

I got mine at Tractor Supply. Way, way cheaper than the ones at Lowes or Home Depot. But yes, they were about $6 each. I have a small garden so I didn't need too many.