Woody, your trellis is beautiful--a real piece of Yankee ingenuity. But it is made of rigid materials, and I am absolutely sure that the mgt. would equally ban one like yours. I got 300 feet of 37" long pieces of UV resistant foam tubes meant to protect various bars on trampolines for $17.55 (eBay). I then got 2 plasticized bamboo stakes at HD ($1.25 each). Finally, I ordered some green (near invisible) trellis netting from Amazon. My dastardly plan to thwart the attempts of the mgt. to make me get rid of my clematis--which I've been cultivating for 5 years waiting for it to bust loose like it is this year--is to create a trellis fit for their Theatre of the Absurd. I will bend a piece of the foam tubing into an arch, and lengthen each side with one or more pieces of foam tube, via matching duct tape. I will place this new arch over the bamboo stakes sunk into the ground at each open end. Then I will string the trellis netting tautly between the forks of the arch and tie the clematis to it with vinyl plant tie tape. If the mgt. opens their stoopid mouths, I will invite them to feel it. It's FOAM, morons, even if it blows into the building, it can't hurt anything.

I also enjoy the reactions from many cashiers and about my bags. Often it's genuine admiration (they're pretty and roll up nicely - the only drawback is that they don't stand up, so they're inconvenient for the baggers). Other times it's cluelessness. 1) At stores where they empty your cart, I typically cover the food at the near-to-them end of the cart with my bags. I had a cashier pick up the bags and toss them back to the cart, by the child seat. "Um, those are my grocery bags. Could you please use those?" 2) Many cashiers try to find the price, of course. 3) Wal-mart clerks (yeah, I know, evil Wallyworld - I'm working on it) are most often very perplexed when I wanted them to use my bags. Often the only way they understand the concept is if I just have them pile up the groceries and I bag them. I had another Wallyworld clerk reluctantly use the bags, but then place the big duffelbag I was purchasing in a plastic bag. Um, no. That's not quite what I'm trying to accomplish. 4) Eggs do not need to be placed in their own special plastic bag while I have half-empty cloth bags. Really. Thanks. I once had a bagger who was clearly very distressed at my request that the eggs just go on top of my nearly full bag. He was visibly reassured and relaxed when I said, "I promise I won't be mad if they break." You could actually see his whole posture change and hear his blood pressure go down. Poor kid. I understand that it's frequently simply course of habit that they use plastic right after I hand them the bags, but other times it's definitely people who are unclear on the concept. Oh, on a related note: 5) Can we please have a button added to self-checkouts so that I don't have to pile up all my groceries like an idiot on the scales, then finally bag them after paying?!? I have yet to find a system that doesn't complain when it feels my (rather light) bags on the scale. Man, I hate looking like that much of a freak because of their moronic system, and I feel awful that it makes people behind me wait longer.

I grew Super Sugar Snap last year and spaced them about 4 inches apart. I'm not quite picturing your pyramid trellis... My trellis was a series of 5 foot wooden stakes with nails in it, and I tied a grid of jute twine to the nails. Whatever kind of trellis you use, put it in the ground first and then plant your peas, so that you don't disturb the plants or their roots after they start growing.

Image by: Mel Bartholemew Sample plot with trellis Ever tried to support a tomato with just a cage? You know what happens. Halfway through the season, the tomato (or cucumber or other vining veggie) overgrows its bounds, growls in angry victory, and bends, uproots or topples its support, creating a mass of vines to hide the precious produce and encourage mildew, nasty bugs and other unmentionables. Ever tried to grow a cantaloupe or vining squash on the ground without any support? You know what happens there too. The plant takes over at least 100 square feet of space, sprawling all over your garden area just to produce a few veggies or fruits for you. It's a waste of precious garden real estate. Intensive gardeners like to grow their larger, vining crops vertically. All but the big watermelons and pumpkins can be trained up a support, and some judicious pruning of side shoots keeps them within their bounds and producing abundantly. Crops are easy to pick, mildew is discouraged, and bugs are easier to spot and eliminate. The classic Square Foot method from Mel Bartholemew involves using a sturdy vertical frame (as high as you can reach), anchored well into the ground. An upside-down U made from electrical conduit or other pipe works well and doesn't break the bank (3/4" copper plumbing pipe used for this purpose is a little more expensive but very nice-looking). To support the individual plants, string is tied horizontally just above ground level and then vertically between the top bar and bottom string. Nylon is recommended to prevent rotting. The picture can give you an idea of how this works. As the vining crops grow, the new growth is wrapped around the string, and offshoot branches are pruned to keep the plant focused on growing and producing fruit along its main vertical stem. Mel includes extensive info on this method in his book and website. Other intensive-method gardeners have used other methods as well: T-posts or fence posts secured in the ground with welded wire or cattle panels attached as a super-sturdy open lattice that requires no top support. Landscape timbers outside of the bed with wooden lattice nailed on and a top-beam with a narrow piece of lattice nailed flat across the top. Nylon Trellis Netting - is soft like yarn, not hard like plastic or fishing line. It is made of high-quality nylon and will maintain 60% of its original strength after 20 years in the sun. This heavy-duty nylon netting has a 60 lb. breaking strength that will support extremely heavy crop loads. As your happy, healthy fruits and veggies get larger on their vertical vines, the bigger ones (like cantaloupe and icebox melons) will need to be supported with slings made of panty hose or something similar that allows the produce to breathe while still being supported.