Diane I am almost speechless. That is an AMAZING feat of engineering, and my mind is fully blown. It looks like you'll be able to grow hundreds and hundreds of plants on those. Wow, wow, wow. GREAT job.

Jo

Diane,

You and Steve have done it again! It is just awesome!

Just wait until your plants are loaded with ripening fruit in August and September---your neighbors might look at your wall of tomatoes and get the impression you are tomato-obsessed.

So, now enquiring minds want to know...what is next on the "to do" list?

Dawn

Thanks, we're pretty proud of it. :-)

Next on the to-do list?

1. Finish the meat bird pen partition.

2. Rework the plumbing so the %#@& water pressure raises enough to work a dishwasher.

3. Build raised permanent beds in the herb garden area for rhubarb, strawberries, garlic, onions, etc.

4. Do more sides for raised beds in the main garden, priority given to the tomato areas.

5. Build an addition over the basement stairs which are now external only.

6. Finish the basement to include a safe room, bathroom, kitchenette, living room, and few bedrooms.

7. Add a covered area on the driveway side of the house for storing bikes, mowers, etc out of the weather.

8. Add a spiral staircase inside the house for quick access to the basement.

9. Make raised, permanent beds along the front walk for the mints and sunchokes (to shade the heat-sucking windows from the sun in summer).

10. Make a back patio for all-weather grilling and enjoyment while viewing the main garden.

11. Enclose the front porch to make a makeshift greenhouse for growing winter greens and raise spring seedlings.

12. Build a real greenhouse in the back yard.

Is a dozen to-dos enough for now? LOL

Diane

Those are the coolest garden things I have ever seen.

Diane, I like your system. I have been trying something like that, but not near as fancy. I just use T-post and re-bar. One of my downfalls is not keeping the plants tied. The strings keep them out of the row centers, but not being diligent about tying them they fell over on the neighboring plant. I have tried tying across from string to string but that pulls the limbs together and reduces air flow. Tying the limbs with old t-shirt strips works great but if I let the limbs get tangled they are the Pitts to straighten out. I want to build another area so I can have three tomato areas for rotating purposes.

I bought 4 cattle panels yeaterday to experment with. My next area may be made of cattle panels.

I like your system, but your to-do list makes my back hurt.

Larry

Betty, thanks. :-)

Larry, I'm with you on getting those tangled branches straightened out. I broke a few off as I was tying up over the past few days. Those tomatoes had sprawled for too long and were all gnarly & twisted like a wicked old witch.

Are the cattle panels for a tomato trellis or something different? A friend of mine grows her up cattle panels and just ties them as they grow. Now that I think about it, I'm doing 27 of them that way this year, too. I planted leftover seedlings around the dog pen in the front yard. It's made of cattle panels and I just got done tying them up.

Diane

Diane, I hate tying up vines. I either have to have scissors with me or pre-cut the lengths ahead of time, then when I pull one out of my pocket, they all fall and I probably don't have the size I need. LOL This year I bought these little clips and I like them. They are very simple but allow you to go around the vine then just slide the clip over the wire or string.

In the Spring when I had peas growing on cattle panels, I always had to tie them to the panel or they would all topple over together in the wind. This year, I just clipped the vines to the panel as they grew and it held them close to the panel, then it's neighbor would cling to that plant so I didn't have to clip everyone. After they grew another foot, I would clip again, but choose the neighbor vine the next time. I didn't have one blow over.

I can carry dozens of these in my pocket so I have them when I need to tie something up without carrying all that stuff around. Even if I don't try to save the ones from the garden, they are cheap to replace.

If you would like to try them, I can send you a dozen or so in the mail. They just fit loosely around the plant stem and around the string or wire. There is no spring, and the shape of the clip is what holds things on the wire or cord in your case so there would probably be slight plant movement.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vine Clips EA198

Diane, I have two areas with t-post and re-bar and plan on making one with t-post, re-bar and cattle panel.

My goal is to go to a no-till garden. I will plant tomatoes in one area one year and then plant another climber in that area the next year. I have everything set up for a 22'row ( because 22' is the longest irrigation tube I can store in side). If every thing works as I plan I will no longer tear the trellis system down each year nor remove my irrigation tubes. I have underground water lines run to each garden. I hope to be able to just rake back the mulch and plant.

To be able to grow a cover/green manure crop I may try to rake the mulch in wind rows and plant in the bare strip in between the mulch strips. A Lot of this is going to be trial and error.

Another thing I want to try is bending CRW into an "L", bend one or two wires into a hook at the end of the "L" and hang it onto the re-bar attached to the t-post ( this will be for tomatoes only).

None of this may work but I have fun experimenting.

Again, I really like your system, having the heavy end post gives you a lot of options.

Larry

Wow, wow, wow, Larry, I love your ideas! I do hope you keep us updated on them as you work through whatever issues pop up. I, too, want to keep a "permanent" mulch cover but still be able to grow cover crops. And I'm trying to go as no-till as possible. I don't want to have extra equipment to keep up and, eventually, I'll get older and not want to manhandle a tiller. We're only in our 40s but time sure flies so we're trying to look far, far down the road. Do the work now, enjoy the ease later on.

Carol, those are cool! I'd not seen those before. This year, we're on a shoestring budget (like most of our lives LOL) so I didn't want to add anything to the purchase list that we didn't absolutely need. (We only had to buy Quikrete and the nylon cord. Everything else, we had on hand.) I was going to spend this winter clip shopping and seeing what was out there. In the back of my mind, I was debating between those little velcro ties and a different type I had seen -- both of which are more expensive, at least where I've seen them. But those clips you linked? Cheap! And, if you say they work good, I'm pretty sold.

Diane

Diane, That is awesome. It's a whole new take on the Flordia weave. I've used the Florida weave successfully, and the key is to have strong support posts. Looks like you've got that covered. Awesome. Kudos to you and your engineering. Wow!

Seedmama

Diane, that's just incredible. Like some of the other members, I'm speechless. It just shows what can be done with some thought and planning and a whole lot of hard work. Gorgeous.

At my age I'd never be able to tackle a project of that size, but it has certainly given me some ideas for what to do with my tomatoes next year.

Pat

Giving credit where credit is due: This is all based on dcarch's system as posted... elsewhere. cough*tville*cough*idig*cough. 'Scuse me, I'm coming down with something. ;-) It's actually works differently than the Florida weave. It's more of a suspension system. We just adapted the idea to what we had on hand.

Diane

Diane, dcarch does some fantastic things and I have seen pictures of his tomato vines, but I couldn't see the support system. I guess that was the point. I think he lives in NYC in a neighborhood that doesn't allow the freedom of "redneck" engineering that I use. He said he had to get creative so it didn't look bad.

Even if you used someone elses idea, the workmanship on yours is fantastic. It's a winner.

Diane,

Has Steve ever viewed the whole "to do" list at one time as shown here, or do you just spring one project on him at a time? lol I'm thinking that if he ever sees the whole list in writing, he'll start volunteering to work a lot more overtime and every weekend too. Surely they do not work him as hard at work as y'all work him at home?

I'm just teasing you. I've always been in awe of all the wonderful things y'all built at the other place and look forward to seeing your projects at the new place too.

I think #12 should be #1 on the list cause you need 'Mom's Happy Place'. (Who doesn't?)

Dawn

Diane,
That is very cool but life time support system for both tomatoes and you both. and your to do list is impressive too. Good luck to you both. -Chandra

Dawn, I have to keep the full list from Steve. He occasionally asks to see "what all is on the to-do list" but I tell him no and that it's for his own good. LOL And, yes, he does go to work just to get a break. ;-) He works 80-ish hours a week at the "real" job plus 14 hours commuting per week so he has to work in hyper-mode the few minutes he has to spare us here at home. It's no wonder the man can (and does) fall asleep anywhere, anytime. LOL

Diane

Diane,

How odd that you mention Steve falls asleep anywhere, anytime. So does Tim. I blame it on his commute too. Three hours a day in the car would turn me into a babbling lunatic. Or, maybe just a sleepy one.

Dawn

Unfortunately, Steve falls asleep while driving, too. He's wrecked several vehicles through his lifetime because of it and is lucky to be alive. (That sounds familiar, doesn't it? LOL) In recent years (and maybe due to a wee bit of wifely nagging), he's done better. He talks on his cell phone when he drives -- that helps a lot. I know that some say talking on phones while driving makes people drive worse but, for him, cell phones have been a lifesaver. LOL He also munches on sunflower seeds and raw carrots to stay awake.

But he still can't stay awake as a passenger. Ever. He's the most boring person to take a trip with. LOL

Diane