Velvet beans

Will velvet beans cross with Louisiana Purple Pod and Rattlesnake pole (green) beans?

Name withheld

Velvet beans are Mucuna pruriens where Louisiana Purple Pods are Phaseolus vulgaris, or common bean like the Rattlesnake bean. So the velvet beans will not cross but your Louisiana Purple Pods and Rattlesnakes might. — Jackie

Tomato cages

We will soon be ready to plant this year’s tomato plants. One of the problems that we have each year is that the store-bought inverted-cone tomato towers will not support the healthiest plants. They topple. We are hoping that you may have seen a better design.

Todd SeCoy
Beatty, Oregon

Tomato-cages

Oh yeah! If you check out the current issue of the magazine, there’s a big article on tomatoes and in that article I detail the tomato cages my husband, Will, made for our garden from concrete re-enforcing wire (photo above). Basically they’re cylinders about 18 inches in diameter and the full height of the wire. I stake the tomatoes first with either steel T posts or good sharpened wooden stakes then slip a cage over each tomato plant. As they grow, I tuck the branches out through the squares in the wire. This fully supports the tomato plants. I grow varieties that are 6-7 feet high every year so those wimpy store cones wouldn’t do a thing. — Jackie

3 COMMENTS

  1. Duncan 151,

    The reason we don’t do that is that our garden is still pretty rocky and the spikes won’t go in the soil evenly. We also get quite a few wind storms and I’ve found that our cages that have determinates in them and did have spiked bottoms blew over often, even with the spiked bottom. So we changed to no spikes and steel stakes.

  2. I make those same tomato cages except I cut the end ring off one end. That leaves me with a ring of 6in spikes to push into the ground. My cages are 6in shorter, but they do not need any stakes. I also make smaller ones for my cucumbers.

  3. You have that right. I discovered that a few years ago. The holes in the wire allowes your hands plenty of room to retreive the tomatoes. I love all your info, Jackie

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