Ideas needed for setting 8ft support posts, please.

Mornin', Susie...nice to see you posting your successes!

I'm lucky I don't have the high winds you do...or if I do they tend to run the length of the rows and not broadside. I put a t-post in the center of the cattle panels and wire them together, it takes a lot of play out of the panel wiggle. I'm sure ya'll do that, too, but your winds must really be a pain. Maybe using more center posts would help, eh?

Speaking of posts, winds, etc. I strongly recommend the good solid t-posts for all garden use, NOT some of the other metal posts available at the box stores. I put up a reed fencing for a customer using the "heavy duty steel utility fence posts" from Lowes. They have the curved/bend in them for extra rigidity (supposedly) but the first wind that came along bent these post at ground level, just above the anchor. Having done this twice I ended up pounding sections of rebar into the ground and in the channel of the post for extra support.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_92059-16418-100007_4294817819_4294937087_?productId=3160783&Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1¤tURL=%2Fpl_TPosts%2BUPosts_4294817819_4294937087_%3FNs%3Dp_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr%7C0%7C%7Cp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=

Just a word of wisdom so ya'll don't make the same mistake. Of course a less solid fence will allow the wind to blow through, or a string trellis, but I keep thinking what if my pole beans and tomatoes had been attached to those wimpy posts, what a loss, eh?

Shoe

Here's an idea that might help stop wind pulling roots out of the ground.

In the photo is my old set-up - I'm changing this to metal 8ft t-posts. Along the bottom is bamboo, which is fastened to the uprights with zip ties. Although the wind does whip the vines, the roots stay put - at least that's been my experience.

When I have my new set-up, I'll share photos...

Chuckl, you can usually rent- or ask your feed store for the t post setter, but winds aren't the only reason to set them deeper than a foot- when you water your plants it softens the ground and the t posts can't remain anchored, or even visit tractor supply and see if they loan out the t post pounders...

Shoe, a breezy day here is less than 30 mph winds, they don't even say "windy" unless it's 35mph or more! The other day it was up to 45, hard to pick salad greens on a day like that because they kept blowing out of the basket.
We were using 2 cattle panels and 3 t-posts (the good kind from the farm supply store, not Lowe's) per bed, but have now changed to anywhere from 5 to 7 posts per bed. Much sturdier and less wiggle.

My Italian neighbor came over this morning with a t-post setter (which he borrowed from a friend) and finished one row of five posts. I have GREAT neighbors.

I have five more rows to to go, but he said he could borrow the setter again later.

THATS how its done, chuckle,

Good neighbors make good fences.... (with apologies to Robert Frost)

LOL! Great!

;-D

Greenhouse_gal, I think you get the Joke of the Month Award!

Ok, I scored yesterday -- I think.

My neighbor has some galvanized metal poles that were used for a camper cover. They come with extensions that give me roughly 12' of pole.

I plan on drilling holes through the pipes, pounding them in about 24-36" leaving 9'. I'll run some heavy guage wire through the holes parallel to the ground. Then, I can drop some twine from the top wire down to the beans.

Yes? No? Good plan? Bad plan? Dreaming? LOL?

That sounds like it should work! But we found that it was good to anchor the twine both top AND bottom. Maybe you can drill holes on the lower side, too. We usually put our lower cross-poles about four or five inches from the ground level so the beans have to reach slightly to climb.

Thanks, G_Gal!

I could lash a cross pole to the uprights at the very bottom. Almost let it sit on the soil to weigh and anchor the twine. If it's lashed, it won't roll around.

Doesn't it make you happy to score finds like that!!! This morning I got a BIG bag of black shoestrings-about 15" long- there are thousands, and they will be perfect to tie up tomatoes, cukes, etc- I already had many spools of various macrame twine, etc- I collect everything for my garden. Another thing I use is cheap plastic shower curtain hooks- they clip around a pole very easy to hold a wandering vine!

>> cheap plastic shower curtain hooks- they clip around a pole very easy to hold a wandering vine!

Great tip!

Someone suggested cutting "circles" or strips out of supermarket plastic bags. Wide strips could tie up a vine or cradle a heavy tomatoe or squash, without less pressure than twine might create..

The circles took more art to use, but could support two vines or be pinned in place with a twig instead of a knot.

SCORE for Jo! And, yes, great tip!

I find bags with a dozen shower curtain hooks for just a few cents at thrift shops, along with rolls of macrame yarns- it is better than twine since it is soft and thicker- doesn't bruise the plants.

Love all the suggestions. Imaginations sure do come in handy when you need them don't they? Whatever works. I love the cattle panels both for vines and tying up tomatoes. I had a nasturtium vine that covered one entire end of my hoophouse one year. Thick vines it had. The cattle panels are stationary so I could just pull them out at the end of the summer.

Gymgirl - the problem I see with your plan is lining up the holes. My 8ft posts ended up at different heights - not much of a difference, but if I had to run string horizontally between them the difference in heights would be problematic. I will be draping my posts with trellis netting.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BZ8FXS/ref=oh_o04_s00_i00_details

Bee,
I can use a line level to get the horizontals even.

Gymgirl -

That would take more patience on my part than I could possibly muster! LOL

Once the poles are sunk, just use the level to mark the lines and drill the holes through.

Use the EZ button!

Gymgirl - You are going to drill the holes AFTER you set the poles - that makes a lot more sense. Carry on! (giggle)

Either way. Even if I drill the holes first (measuring them off carefully), I can use the line level to adjust the pole depth so they're even. Just pound a bit here, a bit there until they line up.

Have you access to a laser level? They were introduced to the general market a number of years ago, now available at Lowes, Home Depot, etc. They aren't really that new, but for sure us old-timers didn't learn about them growing up because they didn't exist back then (the smallest lasers were the size of a desk and way too powerful). If you know someone who's into carpentry or home repair, they probably have one you can borrow and would love to demonstrate. They work by using an internal "spirit level" to send a narrow beam of light horizontally or vertically. Nice for everything from hanging shelves to getting the pictures on your walls straight.

It would be a two-person operation. First determine which post sits the lowest. Turn on the laser level, make sure it's on "horizontal" mode, and position it so the light beam just touches the top of the post (I would actually shine it across the horizontal surface to make sure you're not measuring short), and swing it around to hit each other post one at a time and mark where the light hits each of the posts. Next use a saw of your choice to cut the excess off the taller posts.

You can also use the method to determine which is the shortest post - it's the one that isn't hit by the light aimed across the top of any of the other posts. In fact, even if you think you know which post is shortest, I'd test that assumption by performing the procedure of marking all the other posts before making the first cut. That way, if you run into a post that is not hit by the horizontal beam you have found the new shortest post ;o).

-Rich

All of this will work this year, but when she goes to reuse those posts next year and they each don't go in at precisely the same depth as previously she'll be off again...

SO and I use a length of iron pipe and a three pound hammer for rock bustin'. We are on the side of a mountain with a granite substrate. I like to change up the garden plan and am always amazed at the underground heave of new rock in areas that have been previously de-rocked.

To have consistent heights, use the t-post tool and a 1x2 board. Mark the height of the post, then pound all the other posts in to the mark. Cheaper and easier than all those levels.

David

The camera on a smart phone can act as a laser level as well as various downloadable apps. but, at the end of the day, I'm with David when it comes to low tech gardening. The lower the better. lolower

Thank you for the input guys!

My Italian neighbor came by again today to finish setting the t-posts.

I'm going to try growing fall sown peas this year.

My good friend Bubba reminded me that I have 6 ft. galvanized steel fence posts I could use to run the trellis. And, that couplers will extend the height! And, there are already holes in the pipes...

Good friend, Bubba...

Everyone should have a good friend like Bubba.

Yeah, they should!

I'm doubly blessed though. I have a Bubba AND a Bee!

Aw, thanks, Gymgirl (blush)

♥

Bee,
Here's the final product!

One more!

So far, the line's holding and the tomatoes are growing vertically. I'm going to put two more tomatoes on that line. Cricket advised that she plants anywhere from 8-12" apart, since most of her plants are pruned to only one main stem. I have enough space to set two more.

Gymgirl - Your beds look so much neater than mine.

I'll have to dig out my camera this weekend so you can see my (crooked) beds.