There are some unique problems in my gardening area (and some not so unique). The worst are the ferocious winds regularly blowing at sustained 40mph with gusts to 60 mph on virtually my entire land. Most plants can't tolerate that and require staking to survive at all. Compounding the environmental problem for me are problems with criminal trespassers trashing thousands of square feet in my open front yard along with my driveway. As if those weren't bad enough, there are also rabbits in the area who [facetious mode on] really enjoyed eating my entire crop of Cucumis melo seedlings just when they were starting to get going well [end facetious mode].
Ordinary staking won't hold up against the sustained 40mph and higher wind problem. Nor will it even approach solving the problems created by criminally trespassing motor bikers and ORVers. Unwilling to give up thousands of square feet of my land to criminal thugs and Mama Nature's less attractive side, I have been hunting for solutions. My preliminary thought (along with the obvious No Tresspassing sign) is to use two foot lengths of half inch steel rebar (reinforcing bar) hammered into the generally concrete like ground to provide some more serious stopping power against the criminal trespassers and to provide support staking for eventual floral decoration for my open front yard.
One concern is how metal rebar is going to hold up under regular watering when I do get some plants growing in the open front yard. Others may have other ideas on the general subject of staking that I would like to hear. Please contribute what you know about staking for the benefit of plants and the protection of planting areas.
Staking Discussion
Forty mph wind is tropical storm strength, and not much will grow in that. Your local nursery would probably be the best source of advice. Maybe you should try planting some small trees as a wind break. Or build a wind break around a your garden area. Then regular staking should do. Rebar will rust when it gets wet, but it will take a while to rust through.
As for the tresspassers, how about digging a steep, deep canal around the boundaries of your property? Or plant some thorny shrubs. Alternatively, a metal post-type fence set in concrete should work. And I would set up some video cameras, and work with your local police to nab the culprits as well.
The wabbits can be trapped and released if desired (or cooked in stew if not, hehe).
And if the wind blows that well, heck get a windmill generator, and start generating your own electricity.
One aspect of LouisianaMark's reply was downright funny when I read it. The word "canal", as if there were such a thing as *water* out here in the High Desert. Even the "Mojave River" is an entirely under ground dry riverbed except in unusual years when the late summer monsoons get especially voluminous and there can be flooding from the runoff. It is only the intentional watering of plants that presents any risk of rust for the rebar. Some plastic sheeting installed around the base of the rebar might solve that aspect of the problem.
But that represents the same kind of misreading that I did when I chose this forum. I saw only the word "Gardening" and missed the line above it "Hummingbird and Butterfly" as being part of the forum designation. Perhaps I should talk to Admin about moving this discussion over to a more appropriate forum such as "Garden Talk"?
I think you're okay with this bunch. Most of them have tall plants that need staking sometimes. They'll offer suggestions you can try.
My suggestion would be going with the rebar. I live on the eastern edge of the prairie; 15-20 mph winds are considered a gentle breeze. Gusts of 60-70 mph are common. If you use #4-#6 rebar (half to three quarter inch) it should do all right if you can get 2-3' into the ground. I'm thinking it would support the plants without being obvious to passersby a short distance away. I'm also thinking it would take years of "intentional" watering before rusting off becomes a problem. Replacing it wouldn't be too expensive if necessary every ten years or so.
There is a trick I learned from electricians installing grounding rods for new homes being constructed. Take a gallon jug of water and after "spudding in" the rebar/rod pull it out and pour the short hole full of water. You should notice the rod going in deeper while working it up and down by hand after each round of filling the hole with water. In the good black soil we have here I've seen them sink an 8' shaft in 5 minutes. Clay takes a little longer. I'm not going to guarantee it will work in the High Desert but it's worth a try.
As far as the trespass/trash problem goes I'm thinking you'll need an actual fence. Stakes in the ground may be deemd a safety hazard by your insurance company. It will open the door to being sued by a trepasser getting hurt by running into it/them. The type of fence you put up depends on your wallet.
Gary
In re gk1153's remarks, there is some probability of rabbit wire being installed along at least some portion of the staked barriers. Half inch rebar is what I've started installing. Recall that rabbits have also been a problem here, consuming my entire this year crop of Cucumis melo seedlings in a carefully prepared intended cantaloupe patch. Such an arrangement winds up looking a lot like a fence to most critters, human and otherwise.
One restraint is that nothing in that open front yard is permissible above four feet tall. It is part of the customary setback regulations, that most places have some version of, and my place isn't grandfathered into allowing narrower setbacks. Hence what you would normally consider "a fence" couldn't be built there. I have some doubt whether taller shrubs, bushes, or trees would be allowable either since they too would be taller than the permissible limit.
As for the ground (not soil), what we have here is nothing at all like your "good black soil". It is a concrete like mixture of sand, gravel, rock, clay, and some caliche. Very good stuff for holding rebar in place, without anywhere near the depths you were talking about. Impossible without serious amendment and enrichment to grow anything in. So the rebar, possibly with a low level rabbit wire fence around it, is intended to serve as some protection for the growing areas which have to be aggressively amended/enriched before they can function as such.