You are trying to fit a lot into a small amount of space. Tomatoes grow pretty quick and you'll have a solid wall of tomato plants in a month and a half and they will really be crowded in a couple months. So you will have crowding issues with the beans being inbetween the tomato plants. If you were to prune the tomato leaves on the bottom foot of the plants you can probably get by somewhat. Your plan with the radishes can be done easily. A lot of radishes can fit into a single square foot so you may want to succession sow small blocks at a time to get a long, regular harvest.

Rodney

The beans are already 2 weeks old. The beans should be pulled out a month after I put them in between the tomatoes

Really don't think this will hurt much, but you may not get much beans. You can have a May planting of radishes in between the tomatoes, then pull them by the start of June before the tomatoes get large.

I would pick one or the other with the snap beans and radishes. Or change the plan.

You could have only 10 tomatoes and then leave 6 feet for a staggered row of beans. Or 8 tomatoes and 10 feet of beans? Or try some pole beans with a bean tower/ support in 4 feet of space?

Bush beans take around 55 days to start producing and will produce for 2-3 more weeks after that. Even with giving them a head start you are still looking at another month and a half to two months from today until the beans are finished. This timeline is what I based my initial comment on.

Rodney

I agree with Rodney. Unless you are going to pull the beans when they first start to flower they will be there for a couple months yet. I do think your plan will work OK if you prune off the bottom 15" or so of foliage from the tomatoes like Rodney mentioned. Pruning is a wise thing to do anyway to minimize soil splashing on the leaves which can promote disease/fungus issues.

Thanks.

How about the 2 feet spacing between the tomatoes to fit 13 plants in this space, is that too crowded?

I bought the Triomph De Farcy variety because it had the shortest grow time, 48 days. I really thought by now my beans would be a lot further along by now. I started them over a month ago. The weather kept getting cold and they would not grow. I guess I will put them in and hope for the best. If I see that the tomatoes are getting too close before I get any beans, I will cut my losses on the beans in favor of the tomatoes.

2' spacing on the tomatoes is not ideal but it should be adequate. I use 2' spacing in my 4x10 raised beds and put 5 plants in there. You'll have to plant the first plant right next to the end of the bed to get 13 plants in a 26' bed though. 12 plants would be better so you can plant the first plant about one foot from the end. It will turn into a tomato hedge by July. Is the bed up against the house or a fence? If so then air circulation may be a concern and pruning will help with that issue as well.

The beans won't bother the tomatoes a bit. The tomatoes will eventually shade out the beans probably making them take a little longer to produce.

The bed runs along a driveway and wire fence. The bed is longer than 26'. The 26' is from where the first plant would start to the last one.

Sounds perfect then...good luck and good growing to you!

2' spacing on the tomatoes is really pushing it, but could probably be accomplished if you are prepared to prune them to just one stem. (Something that I find impossible to actually do, so I end up with a jungle at 3' spacing).

Some bush beans mature in 50+ days, so you might be ok with them planted in between the tomatoes.

How much space is best between tomatoes?

Also that sounds like too many radishes. Are you really going to want to eat that many? A few other things that might grow and finish quickly, before they get crowded over by the tomatoes, could be lettuce and arugula.

The minimal space between tomato plants is 3'.

3' spacing is ideal but 2' works if garden space is an issue. In my 4x10 raised beds I put 5 tomatoes down the center at 2' spacing and plant an early crop like radishes, lettuce, spinach, or green onions along the edges. I try to alternate red, yellow, pink, black tomatoes in the row so I know what I'm harvesting after they grow into a tomato hedge.

With determinate tomatoes you can get by with closer spacing, say 18 inches. Indeterminates, if allowed to grow on their own, can get by with 2 feet but 3 feet would definitely be better. If you allow the plants to sprawl instead of staking/caging then 4 feet or more is needed. How close you can plant also depends on how you are pruning or training them, if you are. You can plant closer if grown as a single stemmed plant or if you allow just a few stems to grow.

Rodney

I am planning to plant at least 4 Brandywine. The rest i am not sure. This is what I saw at the farmers market to buy. Any advice on which are good varieties to plant?

• Big boy
• Early Girl
• "beafsteak" (doesn't say anything else)
• Little bing
• "Beafmaster"
• Sweet million
• "viva italia"
• Parks whopper (OG50) VFFNT - (what do the numbers and letters mean?)
• 'sunsugar'
• 'Patio'
• 'cupid'
• 'husky cherry red'
• 'Celebrity'
• 'jet star'
• 'lemon boy'

I like Park's Whopper and Celebrity. Both these are vigorous, productive and tasty. I can't exactly remember what the OG 50 stands for Organic something 50th anniversary or something like that. The VFFNT stands for resistance to diseases and nematodes (fusarium wilt is one). Celebrity is between determinate and indeterminate.