Jonny's Seed has pictures using the sandbags & they don't rip the material like brick or stones. Bungie might work in place of twine, but what I was saying about the twine & what sfallen helpfully clarified about my unclear comment is twine diagonally is easier & cheaper & reinforces itself, whereas bungie cords don't, unless you can get 6-footers and run diagonally ($$). Eliot Coleman has a couple pictures of twine in one of his winter gardening books. Target dollar bins have rolls of jute twine. Dan

Instead of the FS80, look at the FS90R. Its about the same price and has a solid steel shaft and you can buy different gear box attachments for it. The Stihl 4 mix engines run fine, is not that loud, powerful, and easy to start. Just use the stihl synthetic oil and you'll be fine. I'm going to be upgrading my trimmer in the future, and I've considered echo and husky as well. Echo may build quality stuff, but the lack of published hp numbers leads me to believe their stuff is a little unpowered. I've owned one honda powered piece of equipment and I'll never own another. I have a honda harmony lawnmower, and it is hands down the hardest to start out of any piece of equipment I own. Parts are expensive for the honda's as well. The wheel engagement cable broke and I had to buy the whole assmebly including the lever etc just for the cable. And its the only mower I've ever owned that the deck just about rusted through and the drive wheels are bald. Honda's are not worth the $$$.

The weather might be nice, but the soil temperature is still cool. Both beans & okra need warm soil to germinate... my guess is that it is still too cool for them. Do you know the recommended planting dates for beans & okra, for your area? You might want to contact your state's Master Gardeners for advice, I've attached a link below. You can also locate the Cooperative Extension for your county by clicking on the map here Here is a link that might be useful: Pennsylvania Master Gardeners

I have been using the string method for quite a few yrs now, I wouldn't do it any other way now. I use jute twine - it ALWAYS lasted the entire season and can be composted. I used nylon and other synthetic products the 1st yr. - until I found out how time consuming it was to remove the string or wire twisted around a plant stem to save for next yr. Esp. if you till the garden soil. I can't imagine trying to have the roots grow into the string. What I do is wait until the plant has a couple branches then wrap the jute one complete wrap the main stem under a branch, doesn't matter where the stem/branch is located, really. The higher up the plant the less string you will need. The roots will hold it in the ground. So 1 complete wrap around the main stem then tie a loose knot - I can't esplain how to tie knots so pick whatever YOU know how to tie, it doesn't matter, really. It is the action of twisting the string around the plant as it grows that will hold it. So after you've tied the knot then twisted the string around the plant and between the next branch on the way up. I use a clockwise direction - do what you see fit just keep going in the same direction. So after you've got the knot and a couple twists around the plant - take the jute all the way up to the crossbeam, wrap then tie it with the knot of your choice. There that wasn't hard now was it? I was surprised to find that this string method held the tomato, cukes, watermelon, or whatever plant you want to trellis UP better than the cages and stakes I used esp. and during a hurricane while the plant is loaded with fruit. I was impressed. NOW, when you are out there watering, weeding, or just walking by and see a plant has grown, give it a twist or two around the string and the string will hold it up. Now there might be times esp. w/cukes or if you don't pinch off the suckers, you will need to run another string or two. I just pinch sucker with thumb & forefinger when I am out there. Cukes are esp. nice cuz once they get up off the ground they will grow nice n straight and are much easier to harvest. The hardest ones to find are the ones on the ground before the plant goes UP. IF you used just jute twine and no other plastic pieces or parts - you can just remove the plant and throw the whole thing into the compost or trash, if you want. HTH