Posted on 05/07/2022 4:59:11 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
That system looks really smart. Good air circulation for the plants, too!
I have large round cages I made out of wire panels that are used for concrete reinforcement. They are good when the plants are smaller, but when they get large, I don’t like what happens.
First, you have to make sure to pull the branches out of the cage, otherwise they tend to stay growing inside - even pulling branches out, inside the cage tends to get thick with growth which is not good.
Second, as branches growing outside of the cage get heavy with tomatoes, they typically don’t break off, but bend in a sharp crease over the wire.This cuts off nutrients and that branch slowly dies.
The large cages are better than the small cone-shaped commercial ones. I’ve been considering just staking the tomatoes which is what my SIL does. I think the cattle panels would be the best of both methods.
Actually, I am taking apart at least one round cage (zip tied so taking apart is easy) to see if I can straighten the wire enough to use it like the article shows & repurpose the wire. Also, I think I found the lumber to make another trellis & the old wire could be used on a new trellis. I think our local Tractor Supply can order the panels so I may be able to get them in time to use this year.
A question about black walnuts.
I have a bunch and I think I did not let the nuts cure for a few weeks before shelling them. I shelled them right away.
The meats are chewy/rubbery and bitter but they look fine.
I can’t eat them but mr. mm isn’t sure if they are OK, so I was wondering if there was some way of curing them after cracking.
With their bitter taste, how can you tell if they are good or not?
They have a somewhat sweet, apply smell to them at the moment.
.
Starting to put plants in and plant some seeds. Took a section of cattle panel and stood it upright in the back of the garden. Used heavy duty metal fence posts. Trying something new this year, planting tomatoes at the base of the fence and as they grow twist tie to the fence, kind of a tomato wall.
If a nut tastes bitter, that’s never a good sign. I, myself, wouldn’t risk eating them.
I doubt it will kill you, but the side effects probably won’t be ANY fun!
Good info here. Pretty much what I remember my FIL doing in the past. He’s no longer with us, but not due to Black Walnut Poisoning, LOL!
https://foragerchef.com/guide-to-black-walnuts/
“twist tie”
Use something SOFT to tie them to your trellising, like strips from a cut up t-shirt. That’s what I use, as needed, though I prune them, then cage mine in those square cages.
Leave a little slack for when the wind blows. You don’t want the stems getting cut or damaged. Twist ties could be pretty rough on the stems.
I asked Beau for one of his old t-shirts to cut up. OMG! You’d have thought I asked him for a handful of RUBIES or something, LOL! That guy HATES to part with clothing, no matter HOW tattered and torn. This is exactly the SECOND ‘garment’ (read: OLD RAG) he has surrendered to me in the past DECADE!
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