* I’ve taught mushroom foraging to more than 1000 people–chefs, arborists, organic farmers, everyday folks,
* Have written foraging columns in two national magazines and
* Wrote a top selling mushroom ID book—How to Forage Mushrooms Without Dying: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide–that novices and experts rave about.
If you want to get on my infrequent newsletter about foraging, chicken keeping, organic gardening and other fun outdoor avocations, just send me an email with “Newsletter” in the subject line, asking for that via–frankhyman2020@yahoo.com.
I’m making and selling the World’s Best Tomato Cages this spring. I have sold over 100 cages to gardeners each of the last ten years. Many were repeat customers wanting to grow even more tomatoes, now that my cages are making their gardening lives easier.
These cages are made from rolls of heavy-duty concrete-reinforcing wire ( you need bolt-cutters to cut it and a truck to haul it).
Their advantages:
1) They last forever (I’ve stored mine outside for over 20 years).
2) They look great. They acquire an earthy red-brown patina that stops rust and adds to the beauty of the garden.
3) The openings in the cage are big enough—6”x6”–for one-pound tomatoes to be harvested through.
4) The cages are tall enough (5’ high and 18” wide) to hold a big tomato plant. When my plants get taller than 5’ I just let the vines drape down over the sides. As long as the fruit doesn’t touch the ground, you don’t have to worry about them rotting.
5) You don’t spend any time tying up tomatoes like other trellises or stakes. The cage holds the vines upright from day one.
Here are the details to get your tomato cages:
· To place orders or to ask questions, reply to frankhyman2020@yahoo.com with “Tomato Cages” in the subject line. You can also let me know in the email, if you want to get my infrequent email newsletter with news of my classes, plant sales, links to articles in magazines.
· Cost: $25 apiece. Cash or check only, at time of pickup. Payable to Frank Hyman. The cost of metal for these cages has doubled, so had to raise my prices, but they’re still cheaper than any cages of comparable height and longevity, esp. when you include shipping, etc.
· Pickup Dates: Sunday from 3-5 pm on April 20 and April 27. If you can’t make those dates, please line up someone to pick them for you on those dates as I won’t be available otherwise and I don’t make deliveries. Thanks.
The cages have a light coating of rust, so bring an old sheet or something to cover them if you are going to put them in your car. Or just bring an old car or better yet a pickup truck/SUV/van. :-)
They’re big–5 feet tall x18 inches wide. So use a tape measure to make sure you can fit them in your vehicle. If you buy more than one, they will be nested together.
· Pickup location: 1412 N. Mangum St., Durham, NC 27701. Bonus: you’ll get to take a look at the innovative features in our front yard garden: the Lawnlet, the permanent herb garden mulch, the copper trellis, the rain barrel/water garden, as well as our tomato cages in the attractive, front yard vegetable garden.
Frank’s class calendar
Frank with a tender Chicken of the Woods that made Lots of “Chicken” Salad to share with friends!
Hey everyone, my website is being rebuilt, because I had a problem with my original provider, so the only thing onscreen now is the Classes page. Hope to see you at one. Read on.
“The cost of these classes is the best money I’ve spent on anything in quite some time.”
-Nancy Proia
“I would have expected someone with your comedic talent to be writing for SNL rather than speaking about gardening, foraging and chickens.”
-Tom
“The book is excellent.”
–Sam Thayer, author of four best-selling wild, edible plant foraging books, about Frank’s book–“How to Forage Mushrooms Without Dying: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide.”
Where does the name of the book come from? Early on, when people recognized I was one of the local experts, they would greet me and say: “Frank help me! I want to learn how to hunt mushrooms, but I don’t want to kill my family!” I must have had about three dozen people say that over the years.
Two one-hour classes on foraging at The Viking Experience on March 23 & 24 in Oxford, NC (get tickets to event and scroll down to get tix to my class): https://www.thevikingexperiencenc.com/tickets
(Check your junk file for my reply, as I find a surprising number of important emails end up there. Why? Because the internet is broken. That’s why.)
My chicken-keeping book costs $25, has almost all 5-star reviews and is called “Hentopia: Create a Hassle-Free Habitat for Happy Chickens.” Check out the humorous 2 min. video book trailer I wrote, directed and starred in. :-)
www.frankhyman.com 