Thank goodness spring is finally here! The trees are re-leaved.
Today we are doing trellises so we can have peas, beans, squash, and other veggies grow vertically; we need the space. We had an idea about how to do it, but we decided to watch YouTube videos, and the lady from Arkansas filled in all of our blanks!
After an excellent breakfast, we got into our grubbies and headed to Home Depot in The Grey Ghost. The wire panels were 48″ by 96″ or 4′ by 8′ and barely fit into the van; we started with six. We also got twelve steel t-gar fence posts; they are heavy suckers.
Arriving home, I moved the mesh two at a time to the backyard, and Mary loaded up her wheelbarrow with the fence posts. We were ready to go. We make a good team!
We had to butt two panels together so they would form a tall arch over the entrance to the garden. We used rebar wire, and I tied off 16 joints (on each trellis) where the narrow side of the panels overlapped.
Number one seemed to work OK!
The panel bulged out at the bottom, so we installed steel fence posts to straighten the panels vertically and tie the panels down in case of strong winds. We used our new tool from Amason; it is much better than a sledgehammer.
Post Drivers are used to drive T-shaped columns and smaller metal columns into the ground. The two-sided handles of t post driver can comfortably place your hands and use the fence post driver with the handle in the most comfortable way.
It worked like a charm; I should have had one years ago!!
As I pounded in the vertical supports, I saw some worms. The worms have taken over – it’s a global worming!
The 6″ by 6″ mesh looks bare right now, but the peas and beans will grow like topsy since the heat of Spring starts to arrive. These panels are removable, and we can store them behind the trees in the back of the property if need be. They are ten gauge steel, and a little rust will not hurt them!
Gardening requires lots of water – most of it in the form of perspiration.
The vertical posts went in quickly now that I have a post-hammer.
How tall should they be? I suggest one “stretched Mary” in height; sure enough, that’s what they turned out to be! Perfect for picking the beans/peas/cucumbers/spaghetti squash which will be hanging down!
The height is just right.
While I was putting together the mesh panels, Mary cleared out the area just beneath the panels and moved the existing plant’s other locations in the garden. Mary is a wonderful partner to have when we work in the garden; she thinks ahead and makes my job easier.
Amen!!
Done! We have three of the four trellises completed; another trip to Home Depot is needed to finish off number four! We may even put a trellis between two of our roll-around pots if we can cut the mesh easily to be 2′ by 8′!
It was almost 5:00 pm when we were finished!
Time for the hot tub; we were both aching after almost six hours in the garden. The trellises look great, and we can hardly wait until summer arrives and they are full!!
It takes about 45 days, and these will be full of veggies.
They will now be easy to pick!
Close-up of green cucumbers in the greenhouse.
Mary planted Scarlet Runner Beans at the bottom of one of the panels. The scarlet runner bean is a climbing (vining), tuberous perennial, or a bushy, annual herb that grows up to 3 m (9 ft.) or more in length.
Scarlet runner beans on one side, pole beans on the other!
We discussed planting last night with Donna and Bob, and I asked if Donna was using the auger. Donna said, “What Auger?” I answered, “The one we sent last year!” Bob got the evil eye. Today, we got a picture of the auger in action; it makes planting so much easier!
They are drilling away in the garden!
We were so tired; we made a beeline for the swim spa. You can do anything you want in international waters. That’s why I filled my hot tub with international waters.
We soaked for three fifteen-minute cycles before we clothespinned ourselves to the clothesline and hung around to dry! We didn’t stay too long as the weather was getting cool. I resembled an icicle as I darted in the door to face the fireplace. Scout was giggling the entire time; the hairy beast!
We had pizza for dinner and watched a movie.
I told Mary I ordered her a vertical garden and found a YouTube video about it. This will be her project when in arrives in about two weeks!
We crashed at 9:00 pm; we did \ a lot of work today!
