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Post by mjc on Apr 15, 2014 10:50:49 GMT -5
zeedman...is that rebar that you are using for the top bar of the trellis?
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Post by zeedman on Apr 15, 2014 16:56:31 GMT -5
zeedman...is that rebar that you are using for the top bar of the trellis? Yes, there is rebar both on top (held by 1.25" PVC T's) & about 6" above the ground (held on by zip ties), with strings tied between. The cucumber plants are 24" apart in the row. With minor variations (such as taller poles for beans, and 1/2" rebar for squash & gourds) I use 400-500 feet of this trellis style each year. With stout twine, it is pretty much indestructible (I've never had one blown down) and can be easily adjusted to any row length by pole spacing & overlapping the rebar. Fortunately for me, I bought most of the steel when prices were more reasonable... still, it took a couple years to accumulate. It will all last until I'm too old to garden though, so it was a good investment IMO.
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Post by mjc on Apr 15, 2014 18:04:50 GMT -5
I usually use 'pig panels'...because that's what I have around, but that looks a bit easier to deal with, besides, I have plans to put the pig panels back into use for their intended purpose...
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Post by steev on Apr 15, 2014 20:49:28 GMT -5
T-posts, re-bar, PVC fittings/pipe, zip-ties; how did people garden without them? These are tools of the third agricultural revolution, making gardening so easy and adaptable. I admit to preferring fencewire over twine, it being less destructible; I think I'll go research twine, where it comes from, what it's treated with.
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Post by littleminnie on Apr 15, 2014 21:44:07 GMT -5
I think all that sounds like over engineering.
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Post by steev on Apr 15, 2014 22:25:45 GMT -5
Nah; it's just barely enough engineering for mostly re-use for a lifetime. Granted, the zip-ties get shorter, each use, but I get ~6 uses from a zip-tie, same as a trash-bag, provided I treat them as re-usable, rather than crap. Granted, there's a bit of conscious technique involved, as to how one handles these resources, but are there not many areas of human activity that need a bit of conscious technique to be optimally rewarding?
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Post by philagardener on Apr 16, 2014 16:09:24 GMT -5
Fit the thin blade on a Swiss army knife into the throat of the zip tie, lift the catch, and it slips right off good as new for reuse. Just be conscious of the fingers!
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Post by mjc on Apr 16, 2014 17:25:23 GMT -5
For reusing zipties, I use a small screwdriver...like the ones you get in eyeglass repair kits.
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Post by philagardener on Apr 16, 2014 19:54:10 GMT -5
I like that idea even better! No sharp edges! Thanks!
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Post by steev on Apr 16, 2014 23:01:52 GMT -5
Wow! I've just been clipping the inserted end and discarding the quarter inch of waste. I always have the small screwdriver that I use for adjusting sprinklers; that'll work. So now the zip-tie's only enemy is the sun, which makes them brittle (after years). Sweet!
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Post by steev on Apr 17, 2014 21:09:01 GMT -5
Back to cukes (sort of), I was going to start pots of cukes, but I got distracted by zukes, crooknecks, and watermelons. I'm used to having at least another three weeks before dealing with these.
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Post by littleminnie on Apr 23, 2014 19:31:41 GMT -5
I still haven't figured out what to do with one of my cucumber beds. One is just going to be a direct seeded long row with pea fence. The other planting is a parthenocarpic variety I want to do in a low tunnel and will have to monkey walk to pick them. So I am not sure how I want to contain them and arrange them.
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Post by littleminnie on Apr 24, 2014 18:05:18 GMT -5
Maybe one row of tomato cages down the center of the low tunnel so I can pick on either side.
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Post by littleminnie on Apr 24, 2014 19:18:05 GMT -5
I am going downstairs to start the seed. I think I made a decision.
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Post by steev on Apr 24, 2014 19:45:11 GMT -5
I forgot to start my cukes! Here I go, too.
(Later) OK; got my Suyo Long seeded for transplants; that's about all that doesn't bitter out on me; maybe when I'm on-site more I can raise other cukes.
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