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Re: What do you like for tomatoes?

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From: Anita Keller <annie_de@yahoo.com>
> I guess I have an unusual circumstance in regards to
> tomato plants, but it has worked out well in my case. 
> Just something to get you "thinking outside the box".

> Then I noticed something...In my backyard, I have a
> 3-line clothesline with metal T's at each end to hold
> up the lines.  With a little extra clothline and some
> stakes, I could make a rope trellis for the tomatoes!
> 
> I drove in a stake below either end of the Tand placed
> rope horizontally between them.  Then, I placed 3
> vertical ropes at each site where I was planning on
> planting the tomato plants, tying them to the bottom
> horizontal rope and the top vertical bar of the T.  I
> plan on placing horizontal ropes between these
> vertical ropes if the plants need more support as they
> grow.

Just a follow on comment to Anita post.  I do something
quite similar.  I to had some old metal Ts, (30 feet apart)
at the edge of my property.  I centered my garden under
these old clothes lines posts and added some new 
(strong) metal cable clothes line.  

However I wanted to trellis peas, beans, full size
tomatoes.  With 30 feet of line to pull on no matter
how tight I made it it was sure to be dragged down
with all the veggies (if I was lucky).  So in the
middle of each of my 8 long raised beds I sunk
into the ground a cheap piece of thinwalled electrical
conduit about 10 feet long.  I was able to go down
the first 2 feet I double dug quite easily, but could
only push about 6 inches to a foot into the hard clay
below.  I then lashed the clothesline to this pole.

This thin pole is too slender to give any reinforcement
from side to side, but the heavy Steel T poles stuck
in concrete holding the clothes line give me the side to
side support I need.  The thinwall conduit gives be
plenty of vertical support to the line.

I have only had one of these thin poles bend on me
or have a clothes line break once.  But then a 
tree fell on them and it was probably too much
to expect them to hold up.

I personally have not bothered to date with a bottom
line to attach the vertical lines to.  I just tie knots in
my verticals so that plant tendrils have something to
grab onto.  My verticals are cheap (very slick) plastic
twine, with out the knots one year I came home on
a windy day to find that some of my vines had slid
to the ground.  Since knotting the line I have had 
no similar problems.

My circumstances that led me to do this.
1) Poles were allready there hence free
2) Replacement clothesline was cheap
3) ThinWall conduit is cheap and light and works
     when used in this fashion
4) Those little cages don't well for vining plants
5) My garden gets pelted with occassional 
    strong winds  the large Steel T's support
    ensures nothing blows over (except the
    occassional tree)
6) I like "recycling" these old clothes line
    supports, it beats having to cut them down.

Ron Souliere (lincoln nebraska) the onions I missed last
year are a few inches tall.  5 weeks to last frost.


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