A garden club member told me my tomato cages looked sad, so I switched to Florida weave

I used to think those wire cone cages were fine for my tomatoes, but a lady named Diane at our local garden club in Austin politely said my plants looked like they were in tiny prisons. She suggested I try the Florida weave method using twine and stakes down a whole row instead. I gave it a shot last spring with my 12 tomato plants, and honestly the difference was night and day. The plants got way better air flow and I could reach the fruit without fighting metal wires. I also ended up with about 40% more ripe tomatoes by August compared to the year before. Now I'm wondering if I should switch up how I stake my pole beans too. Has anyone else had a random piece of advice from a fellow gardener that totally changed their setup?

3 comments

3 Comments

simon_wood7215d ago

Read a blog post from some guy up in Minnesota who swears by using bamboo teepees for pole beans instead of traditional stakes or netting. Said the beans climb way easier and the whole setup is more stable when those summer storms roll through. Might be worth trying a few different methods on a small patch first to see what works in your soil and climate. Makes you wonder how many other little tricks are out there that could make a big difference.

paul_webb4515d ago

Has anyone tried sealing the cut ends of the bamboo with anything to keep the rot at bay? I know some people dip them in copper sulfate or even just a bit of deck sealant before sticking them in the ground. @river_bailey2 that is the exact problem I'd worry about too, especially with all the rain we get here in the spring. We used cedar fence pickets for years and they rotted out after two seasons no matter what we did. The bamboo idea sounds good if you can get it to last, but I agree with Simon that testing a few things on a small patch is the smart move before going all in.

river_bailey215d ago

How did he keep the bottoms from rotting out in wet soil?

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