They are all filled with dirt, and after having a big mildew problem on my zucchini and squash last year, I decided I would splurge for soaker/sprinkler hoses, and that it would be easier to lay them out while the beds were empty. Now I can just plant in the spaces between the loops. The only real problem with that idea so far is that the dirt is still too loose to allow me to stake the loops into place.
The only real decision left is if I'm going to buy tomato cages or try to jimmy up some kind of tomato cage. Kind of looking for something I can do cheaper...so far these raised beds have not been cheap. Between my garden and the wife's chickens, we could have eaten a lot of prime rib in pursuit of freshness and self-reliance.
There's actually a company that makes tomato cages, the coated kind, in the USA. Local feed and seed had them. Fit and finish was much better than Chicom stuff at big box store and they last for a couple years. Using stakes and ties has never really worked out for me.
ReplyDeletei'll have to look. Last year, I did bamboo stakes and twist ties, and it was a total disaster. This year, it will be something more...just trying to decide if I want to try making something, or paying for something. A lot of the time, it comes down to 'how much is my time worth'. Spending money for cages kind of sucks, but it will save my time, and it's more likely to really work.
ReplyDeleteWe're still having hard frost at night. sigh. Enjoy!
ReplyDelete