ninnyMary & cwhit590 should see these :)

journey11

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I was going to cut hickory saplings for my tomato stakes this year, but my BIL (keeper and protector of the forest!) talked me into using bamboo instead. He's got a lot of bamboo. So far so good, the tomatoes are up to 4 feet and still standing. I couldn't hammer them in, but they are so sharp, if you lean your weight on them, they go right in.

Now for pole beans, I think they are perfect. They are really long and lightweight, so it's easy to make a teepee out of them and poke it in the ground. They also worked out great for my cucumber trellis and I think it's one of the best looking and most functional cucumber trellises I've had.

I really like the hickory saplings for the tomatoes though... We have a big, tight grouping of them on a section of my FIL's woods that was cleared once and came back in hickory seedlings. Close together, they grow straight up, with no side branches, and they don't have enough space or resources to fill out and become a real tree any time soon. I think they need thinned myself! :rolleyes: If you cut them in the fall and let them dry out before you use them in the garden, they become VERY hard and you can't cut the bark with a knife. They'll last through MANY seasons.

I could not bear the thought of spending $50 on 6 ft. tomato stakes at the hardware store. They are soft wood and they break and warp too quickly. Less than 1/3 of what I bought last year survived to be reused this year.

I suppose if you wanted things pretty, you could buy cages. But with 56 tomato plants in the ground, I prefer CHEAP over pretty!! :lol:

Cattle panels also make wonderful trellises. And they are so indestructable, I think they are worth the minor investment. They're about 4' x 16', welded steel and cost about $20 each.

You could also make a pole bean teepee out of 1/2" pvc pipe, also very cheap and reusable.
 

cwhit590

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journey11 said:
I was going to cut hickory saplings for my tomato stakes this year, but my BIL (keeper and protector of the forest!) talked me into using bamboo instead. He's got a lot of bamboo. So far so good, the tomatoes are up to 4 feet and still standing. I couldn't hammer them in, but they are so sharp, if you lean your weight on them, they go right in.

Now for pole beans, I think they are perfect. They are really long and lightweight, so it's easy to make a teepee out of them and poke it in the ground. They also worked out great for my cucumber trellis and I think it's one of the best looking and most functional cucumber trellises I've had.

I really like the hickory saplings for the tomatoes though... We have a big, tight grouping of them on a section of my FIL's woods that was cleared once and came back in hickory seedlings. Close together, they grow straight up, with no side branches, and they don't have enough space or resources to fill out and become a real tree any time soon. I think they need thinned myself! :rolleyes: If you cut them in the fall and let them dry out before you use them in the garden, they become VERY hard and you can't cut the bark with a knife. They'll last through MANY seasons.

I could not bear the thought of spending $50 on 6 ft. tomato stakes at the hardware store. They are soft wood and they break and warp too quickly. Less than 1/3 of what I bought last year survived to be reused this year.

I suppose if you wanted things pretty, you could buy cages. But with 56 tomato plants in the ground, I prefer CHEAP over pretty!! :lol:

Cattle panels also make wonderful trellises. And they are so indestructable, I think they are worth the minor investment. They're about 4' x 16', welded steel and cost about $20 each.

You could also make a pole bean teepee out of 1/2" pvc pipe, also very cheap and reusable.
Good ideas journey! That would be nice to have a big bamboo thicket available (unless it was invading your yard! :ep ) but the tall bamboo doesn't really grow wild much around here. I'll probably go out in the woods and scrounge for what I can....then maybe this fall I can cut and prepare some nicer ones at my friends house...they have a young forest choked with silver maple saplings! :)
 

journey11

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cwhit590 said:
Good ideas journey! That would be nice to have a big bamboo thicket available (unless it was invading your yard! :ep ) but the tall bamboo doesn't really grow wild much around here. I'll probably go out in the woods and scrounge for what I can....then maybe this fall I can cut and prepare some nicer ones at my friends house...they have a young forest choked with silver maple saplings! :)
You'll be doing them a favor to thin them out. :cool:
 

digitS'

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obsessed said:
What kind of Dalhias do you have? I got some from lowes and they are stunning but they are not very big. Do you have any pics of your flowers?
Here is my first dahlia: Duet. I originally planted it about 1990 when I had only 3 plants.
4989_duet.jpg

cell phone camera

I've had a dozen or so blooms in the dahlia garden!

Steve :)
 

vfem

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Congrats Steve! Beautiful!!!

My Dahlia's are still struggling in the pot. I really need to move them... they are slowly getting stronger.
 

obsessed

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They are very pretty. The ones I planted gave pretty flowers as well. But slugs one one, another I broke with aggressive weeding (I hope it comes back). But they are short. I was thinking I would put them in a planter next year for more gratification. Seeing as how they are hardly noticable in my front bed.

I am more impressed this year with zinnias. I grew the giant ones pink and white and I realy like them. one they are easy. LIke I grew them from seed and you know what a seed killer I am. and they are like 2-3 ft tal and they stand up with no staking. They are blooom pretty good as well. a week ago al the white blooms started to look brown and so I cut them off and viola more blooms came. They even take the heat. The look bad at the end of the day like dried out but not wilted and with a bit of water the next moring they are all spritely again. I will grow more of them. They are nice and easy not like those pansies I grew earlier in the year.
 

digitS'

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The zinnias are just starting to bloom here, O.

When I arrived at the garden yesterday morning, they looked so cheery!

Benary Giants. By September they will have been blooming for 6-8 weeks and be as tall as I am . . . Stakes, they need stakes!

Steve ;)
 

lesa

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I've been waiting for that pic! Just beautiful! I was sorry to note that the Japanese Beetles love mine- they actually eat the flower blossoms- sometimes you can't win!
 

digitS'

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This variety usually does very well in my garden.

I must have spent a couple hours last year trying to come across the name . . . found 1 old order form but, this variety wasn't on it.

Even tho' my memory has failed me, I like this one a lot :)!

Steve

4989_dahlia_a_favorite.jpg

cell phone camera
 

journey11

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Wow, Steve, those dahlias are really something else! I love them in all colors, but that purple/white one is really stunning. :rainbow-sun
 

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