I drove through a small town last week where they had these really cool lamp posts down each side of their main street. They had hanging baskets of flowers on each side. The flowers sort of filled in and looked like a solid band of color around the post. So I want to make something similar. A post, painted, with baskets and maybe a solar light , (those tacky ones you see lining a drive way ). Small and round that would sit right in the top of the pipe. Does this sound do-able? How is the best way to anchor the post ? Concrete ? I ran this by my husband and got those rolling eyeballs we all love to see. But I really think I can do this by myself. Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated.

The EPA has listed PVC as a carcinogen. Burning or heating it is believed to release dioxins. I'm not up to speed on adverse health consequences regarding silicon implants, but many toxins once believed to be safe have proven otherwise. Asbestos and lead are good examples. They are both relatively harmless unless one disturbs them, ie by removing asbestos and thus releasing dust from this material into the air or by sanding lead paint, or unless one has persistent contact with these substances for instance workers in plants where these substances were used. Dangers of contact are heightened for very young children as well as unborn children. Here is a link that might be useful: dangers of polyvinyl chloride

I have several cages made from salvaged concrete reinforcement wire (approx. 5'H) & several made from the rolled fencing wire(approx. 4'H) you can find in most home improvement stores. I use the wire cone tomato cages inside these (i.e. plant, insert small cage, then place cylinder over cage) & tie or clip the tops of the cages to the cylinders. I also tie/wire a few scrap rebar pieces around the outside for extra support as the plants grow, to help keep them from tipping over. This might seem complicated, but once it's done, I do not have to keep tying the plants as they grow, just tuck stray branches inside every so often. My tomatoes are in the ground, BTW. I like the concrete reinforcement cylinders for indeterminates that can quickly overflow the shorter cages. I used bolt cutters to cut the concrete reinforcement wire - & gloves are helpful as well - that stuff is rusty & tough!

I haven't been on the forums for a while so am a bit out of touch. I've been busy in the garden, but it is already 90F at 9am so am taking it in small doses today. I got carried away with purchasing and trading morning glory seeds this past winter and ended up like many of you with not enough fence lines to grow them on. I raise sheep and if they can get to a plant it is history! I made some trellises this year with refrigeration tubing rolled into a shape like a spring (about 6" in diameter) then inserted one end of the spring in the ground or pot and the other end in a section of copper pipe stood on end in the soil with the plants around it. The plants seem happy enough with this arrangement but it is actually a little short for most morning glories and they are overreaching the tops now looking for additional support from neighboring plants. Another idea that I tried this year is actually working better--I had a section of loose chain link fence that I could get anyone to take away for me so I used a bolt cutter to cut off the part where the wires are twisted together at the top and bottom freeing the wire to be twisted out of the fence fabric. They are perhaps 6-7' long. I tried various configurations in pots and ground using 3, 5, or 6 wires. I twisted the wire into the soil and wired the tops together making some teepee type trellises. The plants LOVE this wire and have almost no problem climbing the trellises. In some pots (smaller type vines), I pushed both ends of the wires into the soil and it makes a nice fat balloon shape that are very nice when covered with vines. My visitors have all been very interested and complimentary of these trellises/support systems You just can't get any cheaper than the salvaged fence trellises. I would bet that you could find pieces of this kind of fence at the local landfill or recycling center. Good luck, spiderwoman