And I'm not talking about the fella! Is this 6ft. curly-cue thing a tomato stake by chance? Found it at Loews and thought I could use it to plant an annual vine on. I'm still curious though as to it's original intended purpose. Anyone know?
Toni
Start interesting threads on DG?
LOL @ AlohaHoya
Is it rigid enough to stand on its own?
Yes it's made out of metal.
Then on first thought I think it would be great for sweet peas, which have tendrils that like to wrap around things for climbing up. I'm sure there are others. :)
I think it is sold as a tomato stake, but I have grown morning glories on mine and they look great.
I have several. They are good for staking tall dahlias as you can wind the stalk through the curves. I always use one for my mandevilla to climb up. They didn't work for tomatoes for me.
Im interested in how you got the fella to pose for the pic, heehee, mine barley lets me take a pic of him let alone with something Im curious about. LOL
Thanks everyone for the great ideas! I actually bought 3 and was thinking of placing them in the garden in between smaller plants to add some height and interest. Single towering pillars of flowers here and there. The only thing is I need something that won't take over everything because I'm limited on space (city).
What about thunbergia (black-eyed susan vine)? I read on some packet of seeds that it only grows 5ft. Is that possible for a vine?
Dravencat....he's still under my spell (after 14 years). I must be doing something right!
You go girl!
Sounds like one win for the ladies in the battle of the sexes! LOL Dotti
Come on... just say it. We ALWAYS win!!! We just let them THINK they win some of the time!
ROFLMBO! Dotti
I plead the 5th, if my DH knew how wrapped he actualy was Id be in trouble, LOL.
Oh they know. They just don't want us to know how much they LIKE it!
Hey Toni! Nice stake! :)
Hey about Black eyed susan vine - in your zone you may not have a problem but.... Where I am it grows like CRAZY and way beyond 5 feet. It reseeds too. I picked out a zillion seedlings last year and have more this year too. I haven't planted in in 3 years or so. It was just too much work! When it comes time to cut them down after frost they are a bear to get down too.
Just my 'pinion though - a lot of folks love them!
Nicole
ncgardenaddict:
I suspected as so regarding the black eyed susan vine. I know what you're talking about with reseeding too. Boy oh boy did I make a mistake about 3 years ago. I planted 3 different colors of morning glories plus some cardinal climber on an arch right smack in the middle of my annual bed. They completely covered the arch and started to strangle everything around them. They attacked the chainlink fence between me and my new neighbor (who had justed moved to Chicago from NC - small world huh?) and proceeded to invade his lawn! I would sneek over there when he was at work and pull them out in order to keep peace! He moved less than a year later! Wonder if I had anything to do with that? LOL ! Anyway I had a he** of a time trying to remove all the vines in the fall. The weight of the vines actually broke the arch! To this day I'm still picking out the stray morning glories that pop up. Never again!
Any suggestions?
Toni
WOW!!! I fight wild morning glories here - never planted any b/c of that..
Two that I liked are Hyacinth Bean (purple beans and purple flowers) and Scarlet Runner Beans. Hummingbirds love both and I've never had them reseed. The vines don't get so big either. You can eat the Scarlet Runner beans too! They are generally red blooms with some white on them. The hummers go crazy for them!
Good luck!
Nicole
toni5735, in what department at did you find the curly-cue things? I need some for my plants, but I can't find them.
I was going to suggest planting Scarlet Runner Beans, but ncgardenaddict beat me to it.
hee hee hee....
ncgardenaddict, is that an evil laugh or just a beat ya laugh? I haven't replanted Black-eyed Susan Vines in 3 years now because they reseed. I thought it was great the first year. But last year, they were everywhere.
Oh it's just something that came out! ha ha!! Maybe has a tad bit of 'beat ya' in it. HAHAHAHA!!!
I love runner beans but like you learned my lesson on those stinkin' black eyed susan vine! It's trying to compete with wild morning glories in my yard still!! GRRR>>>
Hi htop!
I found the stakes at Lowes in the garden section by all the trellises. We just had a Grand Opening of a new store and I thought I could find a few "super bargains" like you usually do at these events. No such luck. Bunch of cheapskates! Even the plants seemed kind of high. But I had to have SOMETHING so I found the stakes. They were $4.97 ea. Kind of high for a stake but I thought I could use it as a garden decoration in some way.
Hi ncgardenaddict!
I picked up a pack of Scarlet Runner Beans (last pack in the store) and I'm going to use them on the stakes. How many seeds do you recommend per stake? Can you tell me again about what kind of flowers to expect and for how long.
Whats the best way to cook the beans? Sorry so many questions.
Thanks
Toni
This message was edited Apr 20, 2005 11:43 AM
Hmmm... you may want to ask someone else about how many to plant. I would say 3 but wait until you get more feedback. I boiled mine but had to boil them longer than normal beans. I am NO cook so I wouldn't actually take my advice there either! :)
Toni,
Thanks for the information. I'd say 3 seeds per stack if you want it to be really full. They bloom about midsummer until the first frost in your zone I think. They bloom a little earlier here. The scarlet runner bean has a long, green bean-like pod that holds red-streaked beige, medium sized seeds. Young bean pods can be cooked any way that a green bean can. The shelled dried beans can be cooked like pinto beans or pink beans. They are good in soups and stews. Here's a link where they are discussed. (I won't name the site! :o) )
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/edible/msg0411214128749.html
Do a search for scarlet runner bean recipes and there are quite a few.
Here's more information. The blooms are not large, but show up well because they appear in clusters.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/681/index.html
Thanks htop! Beans it is!
T.
HEEEYYYYY, I just learnt somethin'!!! I didn't know you could cook them like green beans!!! That will be neat! Need to get mine planted I guess.
Hey Toni, if the beans aren't too your liking I thought of another use - Roto Rooter! LOL!!!
Nicole
OMG Nicole! I can't believe you mentioned Roto Rooter! Let me tell you a story about when we first bought this house 14 years ago. The sink was really backed up and even my super handy do-it-yourself husband couldn't unclog it. We called Roto Rooter. An hour later a HUGE strapping Russian dude shows up at the door and announces "you have problem...I am answer"! (think thick Russian accent here). Well this guy tried to unscrew the opening to the main sewer pipe but it was on super tight and it would'nt budge. We must have looked worried because he looked at us and said "don't worry I am strong like bull". It took everything in our power not to look at each other and start cracking up!
Well after TWO HOURS of sweating and swearing in Russian this hulk finally opened the pipe and proceeded to roto-root all the gunk out. Picture this: a huge sweaty grime encrusted half naked (took his shirt off) guy sitting on my basement floor with the biggest smile you've ever seen. After he finished and was leaving he said to us "no more wash doggie in sink". We lost it!
He was the hardest working man I've ever seen (next to DH of course)!
How's that for a Roto Rooter story? LOL!!!
Toni
You used that curlie thing as a tomato holder upper. My neighbor has been using them for years- just twine the tomato a it grows. I think cages do just as well, but he swears by them!!
Wow if you could take out the sewage part he sounds PRETTY interesting, if you know what I mean.. Girls love accents! LOL!!! Neat story!! I got a really great picture of it in my head! Although I am sure the image I have of your Russian RR person isn't what he really looked like!
Bad Nicole (slapping hand!)
LOL!!! Actually he wasn't that bad...sewage and all! A real He-Man!
Now whenever something needs fixing in this shack my DH says "you have problem....I am answer"! hee hee!
Toni
Darn it I live so far away from you! ROTFLMAO!!!!
Hee hee - sounds like your husband does a pretty good impression!
Let's just say "he gets the job done". LOL!!!
T.
That's a good thing....
