Sweet Support

We recently planted white sweet potato slips into one of our raised beds.
This is first-time crop for us,
although we have grown the standard variety in the past.
In a matter of weeks, these slips have grown quite a bit
and I wanted to prepare something for the vines to climb.

We had just what I needed around the homestead.

Some welded wire, wooden stakes, u-staples

and a wire cutter were all that were required.

The project began by using a jigsaw to create a sharp point

on the wooden stakes.

This will make it so much easier to get them into the soil.

These wire cutters do a great job on all kinds of wire.
They've been in Big K's toolbox forever.
I cut two panels of welded wire out,
after measuring the raised bed's sides.

 It turns out, the U-staples were too wide,

so I raided the "junk" drawer in the kitchen.
We had some twist ties from various things,
so I put two of them together,

and placed a couple of twist ties every so often.

If they don't hold up,

tie wraps will be purchased. 
Another option would be to use a staple gun.
Sometimes you just gotta use what ya got.

Ta-da!

Easy, schmeesy.

This little project took very little time,

not much effort and didn't cost a dime.

Sounds like a dynamite combination!

They were pounded into the soil just outside of the box.

Now the vines have somewhere to roam.

If we get the rain we're supposed to,

I expect they'll be covering the panels in no time.

The bed right next to the sweet potatoes houses the butternut squash.
They're not even waiting for the rain,
they are pretty much taking over the cattle panel we placed there on the weekend.
I'm enjoying the vertical elements in the garden.

It's not always necessary to purchase what you need to make things work in the garden.
Sometimes things can be created from what is already there.
It's all about letting your creativity run free.


"A garden is a grand teacher.  It teaches
patience and careful watchfulness;
it teaches industry and thrift;
above all, it teaches entire trust."
~Gertrude Jekyll