Use whatever you have on hand or locally. I've used all kinds of contraptions, but the best one was also the cheapest - cane poles and cotton string. I have found a stand of canes growing near a chipped wood dump site where I went to get free truck loads of that wonderful stuff. I cut a bunch of poles to use in my garden. When I went back to get another pickup load of chipped wood, I took a shovel with me and dug up a clump of cane, so now I grow my own 'poles'. Cane grows in many areas here in Oklahoma. I regrows itself every year, too. Makes a great accent plant in the corner of your yard and makes a good quick shade or screen. It even comes in a variegated form, which I am going to get a start of this summer. I like cane poles because they are lightweight, durable and will hold a lot of weight. They are easy to make into teepees, rectangular supports for tomatoes or trellises or whatever you like. I've used canes, saplings or branches (from pruning or fallen wood only), metal t-posts, and recycled wooden posts. I like natural materials best because they are lightweight and I can easily move them around where I want them. At summer's end, I simply collapse them and store them in the shed and they last me for years. When they deteriorate I can either chop them up and compost them or burn them and use the ashes in my gardens. I buy rolls of cotton twine (cheap & strong) for tying and sometimes use willow or some other limber plant material to add strength and beauty to my supports. and also save the strings off dog food bags. Sometimes I find gobs of baling twine laying in the road that fell off of a farm truck and I usually stop and get it. It comes in very handy for all kinds of jobs. I don't care that it only comes in baby blue or grape purple. The snow peas and green beans don't seem to care one way or another. (hehehe). Canes poles are especially great if you plan to dry your beans or peas on the vine. At summer's end, just pull the whole thing lightweight thing up out of the ground and shell the beans or peas right off the vines, as was mentioned by someone in a previous post. I would use 6-10 ft. poles. Beans are vigorous growers. ~ sweetannie4u

I got mine today too, and just in time! I'm leaving at some strange hour of morning on tuesday, and this is the last day they could have arrived that I would've had a chance to do something with them :) I wasn't expecting them, I was so surprised! in a looong stretch of inconvenient days, they arrived on the ONE convenient day possible. I love it when that happens, it's usually the opposite. lol. they're extremely wilted and I don't blame them, LOL. the more hardwood part seems pretty firm but the thick green stems are a little rubbery. the growing tip on the coral pink appears to have just given up, but the ecuador has some decent sized leaves and they seem to be perking back up again :) so, someone needs to tell me when I get back who to send the moneys to! :) omg, and I think I still owe theresa money for the lotus tubers! if I owe anyone money please let me know. lol. things have been so crazy lately! thanks again, lindas and gloria and everyone on here that made this possible. you guys are absolute dolls. Ria

No leaves = no water. Leaves need some water since they are working factories that use water but in cooler weather and less sunlight they do not use much. So light watering until the leaves fall. Or you can clip off the leaves about a quarter inch from the branch and pop off the stems after a few days which speeds up the dormant period. Many people do this in areas with strong winds to prevent branch breaking and harden up branches for winter. I would also recommend that before removing leaves, give a dose of sulfate of potash or Protec to get potassium into the plant which protects against cold. Bill

What's the state of your heating plant these days? I remember your posts from last fall about wanting to have some kind of temporary and intermittent heating for when you were visting over the winter. I ask because if you have damp moldiness, I doubt if you can deal with it effectively without a healthy dose of well-heated house air. You might find that if you can heat the house to normal temps, even when you're not there, that alone may be sufficiently curative all by itself. Beyond that, the remedy for all sorts of moldiness consists of changing the environment to inhibit the growth of mold. You can remove its surface manifestations but don't imagine you can sterilize away or even sanitize into oblivion. At best you can force it into abeyance.Mold needs moisture laden air (which is where temps come into play, see below); stillness in the air, darkness and food. Food is somewhat specifc to the species of molds, but many have wide palates. Basically food is any organic substance: paper, wood, (both cellulose), dirt, both outright earthy-type soil and the ickier dirt of general grunge, fly specks, greasy-dust, fats from soap and body soil. And they need certain temps to flurish. But they can survive in a resting or dormant form decades outside of these temp parameters, hence you can not really expect them to go away, just to go quiet, awaiting better days. Now about the affect of temps and moisture laden air. For a given amount of available moisture, cooler temps will result in condensation of water droplets on surfaces; warmer air will hold hold more moisture in the air. In general heated houses are also dryer because of the ensuing exchanges of warm air out into the atmosphere through leaks and door openings and closings. Plus heaters which burn air also move it through and out. Your first task is to get the house heated and dried out. If you aren't heating with a heating plant, then you must wait for nature to provide this after Spring has arrived (probably in mid to late May in western PA.) When that happens get the whole house opened during all warm days, but closed again at night. Remove the lino and use paper towels to mop up the visible manifestations of mold. You can treat the area with bleach if you want. But simple hot water washing, and ordinary clean-up will also be fine. Then get the air in the house heated with both interior and basement areas dried out. This will remove molds' essential conditions of life and suppress them - for now, at least. If you have breathing or health issues, you might wear a respirator and a discardable Tyvek suit when tackling the first rounds of clean up. Continued, heated occupation of the structure and fairly intensive standards of household cleaning over a period of years will be effective in winning the mold-wars. Give some early thought to makking sure your basement is as dry as it can be. Also don't panic, almost all old houses have some mold issues - and most old house owners co-exist with them without excessive problems. L.