Mindy, here's another thought....I thought clips DH thought hose clamps. Slip these on and tighten on the rebar, make the loop in the wire a little looser so these can also be slipped on, being a little looser the whole arm is moveable but won't drop below the clamp. Put two or more arms on and they can be moved in different directions. More clamps and more arms added as needed. Ohhhh, the possibilities. How about you sending the tip in to FG do it with my blessing, it's just not my thing :o). I come up with crazy ideas at times like how to make a temporary support to train my golden hops up a cherry tree, crazy glue and twine LOL. Now back out to my weed patch, Annette

Hi Karen, We've been doing pretty good over here. The home remodel will hopefully be done in the next couple of weeks. A lot has changed since you came over last summer! My Plumies survived the winter, with no damage, but only because I over-wintered them in my garage and storage bin. My hubby wasn't too thrilled to have all 28 plumerias stacked all over his garage and bin, but at least they survived our horrible winter freeze. I just finished a couple days ago transplanting all of them into bigger pots, so I have no idea how I'm going to find room for them next winter. (Half of them are now in 15 gallon pots, the other ones are in pots over 5 gallons) Because of the remodel I wasn't able to get the yard prepped for putting some of them in the ground this year. I'm hoping to put at least 6-7 in the ground by next year. As it is I'm looking to buy an Aztec Gold (or other strong yellow) and a Penang Peach. I'd love to get a ACW as well, but we'll see... I understand what Bill is saying about the wood rotting..Would hate for that to happen and cause damage to my plant. I guess I was just hoping that since it was only going to be for this growing season that I could get away with it. But it's not worth the risk of losing a plumie...So I guess I have more work to do! :) Good luck jroot, you've come to a great place for help with your "new addiction"... :)

I read all the posts about trying to SPEND LESS MONEY on building tomato cages..even the one that wanted to built them for less than $3.00 each. There are a lot of suggestions...like buying fencing on a roll as a ONE time investment that LAST a life time. Well...to buy tomato cages or even to construct TOMATO cages for LESS than $3.00..........TRY FREE! CONSTRUCTION companies tear down a lot of old buildings, gates, fences. THEY HAVE TO PAY SOME DEBRI COMPANY TO DUMP THEM...so if you approach them for FREE MATERIAL..THEY ARE SO HAPPY to GIVE YOU ANYTHING you want that you can haul away yourself!. I built or use fulton bed Frames or mattress metal frames for trellis for cucumbers and string beans so they can climb up. IT'S FREE! For tomatoes, I found BIG HEAVY DUTY TALL tomato cages that I found in GROCERY OUTLET for $2.99 EACH that would have gone for $10.99 - $15.99 at HOME DEPOT. EVERY CITY HAS A "DUMP" day where tenants and homeowners leave out items on the sideways for pick up. YOU CAN FIND SOME REALLY NICE STUFF in them piles. One homeowner landscaped their house and left out a lot of big black empty planters holders (3 gallon - 5 gallon) which would have costs me $3.00 - $5.00 EACH if I have to buy them ..(FREE, FREE, FREE!!!) so I used them to plant all my herbs. I got fennel, dill, cilentro, parsley, oregano, basil going. AND do I HAVE TO PAY FOR THE HERBS or my VEGGIES? Heck no!. I use ROOT ALL or a ROOT HORMONE powder ($4.00 at WalMart) and CLONE all my veggies off from my friends or neighbor's garden. (Other than the $4 bucks that I have to spend for the rooting hormone).....otherwise it's FREE, FREE, FREE. What? "Buying" STRING to string up trellis? STRING is so FLIMSY!! If you go to HOME DEPOT or OSH...there are those LONG plastic "fastener"s that is WRAPPED around wooden boards. Those are cut and thrown to the ground as the boards are lifted up on to the display area. I picked them off shipping area grounds and use those PLASTIC string and string them across to the stakes for support for the tomato. They are STURDY and they are NOT FLIMSKY. (FREE, FREE, FREE). Got to go.... HOPE THIS ALL HELPS. FROM "FREE IS ME!!!"

I use black plastic as a weed barrier (and mulch) with good success. Of course, I don't live in NC and things there could have different results from the same thing in another climate. Still, it can get pretty warm and humid here during the summer, and the plants are in the strong, full sun. I just make sure to cut a good-sized hole and make sure the plants aren't touching the plastic when they are first put in the ground. Once the plants grow and get more leaves, they shade the ground around them, thus preventing the plastic from getting too hot. I've never had any plants wilt and die from the plastic. It doesn't seem that the plastic could raise soil temps that much (and that far down) to impact the plants, but that's just a guess. There are certainly a number of diseases that can cause wilting, and those are often more prevalent in the South (or at least it seems that way). But lacking any disease that would cause wilt, you have to wonder about too much or too little water, or perhaps herbicide damage. How did the roots look on the plants that you pulled? Did the roots look long and healthy? Did the soil seem to be waterlogged, as in standing water or even just wet muck? If plants are wilting and turning yellow, you could consider either fusarium or verticillium, especially if they don't perk up and rebound from possible environmental stresses. There is a virus or two that could do that too, but it's impossible to tell based on a description. A few pictures could help if you have some. One close up, one "full body" shot would help. More if you have them. :-) Probably someone else from your neck of the woods might have more to offer, as they would be more in tune with your local growing conditions and any diseases that are common. Just trying to bounce some ideas around for now and get things started. Anyhow, I'm sorry that you are having these issues. We put so much time and effort and planning into gardening that it's disheartening when something happens to the plants.