I sure do like the ideas already. Do a search on the first forum page for mgs by "Kirkus" as he has made some fantastic trellis out of tree branches, etc. The idea for using them for Christmas and holding decorations is great also. Either paint them or wrap red fabric strips around them to look like candycanes and then top with the star, gift boxes or snowflakes. I think those would look really cute. Or use them to hold faux pumpkins. I've been saving this pic for an idea. The pole in the pic is a porch or stair spindle. You could paint your poles orange and black and other bright halloween colors, nail on a wood top base to glue the pumpkin to and then stream down some colorful raffia with stars or moons attached to the bottom of the raffia or even hang down some fall leaf garland . These would swing in the wind and I think look really cute for the holidays.

This is my first attempt at corn. My stalks on average are about 6 feet with the diameter of the stalks only about around as a quarter. Every stalk has an ear of corn, but when feeling them they are not fully formed. I pulled one yesterday and it was sweet, yet not fully formed and of course small. About 3 weeks ago I searched the internet to find out when corn is ready to harvest. One site said when the silk turns brown and the corn starts pulling or angling away from the stalk. Mine are doing that and some of the husks are now browning. They get plenty of water and sun so based on what I've read here, it was my error not to fertilize more. I'm thinking I should go ahead and harvest what I have. I don't think I'm going to get anymore and I don't want what I have to rot. What say you folks?

Krycek1984, I want to address a few points brought up in your post. First, there's really need for more personal attacks. There were enough of those already in this thread. While I sometimes disagree with iforgotitsonevermind, she certainly isn't generally ignorant, and even when she and I see things in almost totally opposite ways, I don't think she tries to be arrogant. Maybe she gets a little over excited, but don't well all. Iforgotitsonevermind's concern was not whether mimosa is currently considered an invasive pest in the area, but whether it had the potential to be in the near future. Your assurance that it "will not become an invasive species unless global warming goes crazy", falls short of convincing me. As I said above, I'm not convinced that it will ever become a problem, but your assertion, that it's not even close, doesn't convince me the other way, either, and seems to be based more on feeling than proof. Your question about who cares if you plant Bradford pears can have many answers including a number of invasive plant groups (which are concerned about their damage to the environment in many areas), neighbors (who worry about the trees falling over the property line onto their car, producing a foul smell, or making the neighborhood ugly when they fall apart at an early age), and those that want to share information they've learned from their mistakes or observations.

The worry over burlap and wire cage is needless. The burlap itself poses no threat to root growth. The villain is usually compacted soil. The wire cage initially serves as a stabilizer for the roots and gradually leaks iron into the soil, a good thing since maples sometimes suffer from a lack of accessible iron. I'm not sure "needless" is exactly the term I'd use :-) There have been numerous studies that show how NOT removing rootball wrappings before planting can inhibit the establishment of trees and how many trees planted with wrappings remaining intact fail within the first few years in the ground. Considering the investment with many larger trees, those that are often sold B&B and with wire cages, it is a risk many choose to not to take. In fact, most extension services, the USDA, the Forest Service and the ISA all recommend removing ALL wrappings from at least the the top half of the root ball after placement in the planting hole. Some even go so far as to recommend washing the roots or removing the heavy clay soil most B&B stock are grown in. It is there only as a convenience to the growers, not because it has any magical properties for protecting roots or enhancing root development. And FWIW, there's a lot of burlap-looking products on the market that are not natural, untreated burlap and they are frequently used simply because they do NOT degrade rapidly once in the soil. Some are even plastic products that are visually identical in appearance to untreated burlap and not removing this product when planting will virtually assure tree failure. And it's pretty darn hard to remove burlap within a wire cage without removing the cage or at least a portion of the cage as well.