The Art of Handcrafted Trellis Architecture

Art? Handcrafted yes, artful, not so much. Simple? Yes! Effective? Yes! Architecturally precise? To be determined.

Materials: 1/4' and 1/2' bamboo cane and twine (jute, sisal, and an unknown kitchen twine (likely cotton)).
Purpose (Arbor): 4' x 4' (3x4 once set in soil) The arbor is specifically to hold up a Luffa gourd vine and the (hopefully) abundant produce.
Purpose (Trellis): For Sugar Daddy snap peas.
Purpose (TeePees aka little oil derricks): Beans, beans, and more beans!  While these are only 4', I am going to have to wrap the 6' over the 4' this weekend to provide enough climb space.  Already the vines are scrambling for more.

Lashing bamboo is simple and so simply complicated. . .

I lashed that bamboo as close to authentic as possible.  The joints were remarkably stable.  I used a (too) long doubled up twine and ended up with the pretty solid and thick joints, but better that it holds up together rather than with so much less, right?

My fingers at the end of building these were simple and complicated, too. . . Oops, I meant, the faintest of blisters from winding so much of the prickly twine had all but failed to prudce the grandest of blisters.  Had I any smarts, I would have purchased simple arbors, trellises.  nah, this was much more fun and my family will not know what to do once I remove that little arbor from the kitchen and set it to action!

The Arbor: Seedling is not yet tall enough to utilize, but looking forward to the transition! It is sized to fit particular pots and tied at a slight angle which straighten with the soil pressure. Works beautiful!

The Trellis styles: The snap peas are loving it so far.

The Plain ol' sticks: Place in dirt, guide vine.  Not very effective on the pole runners.

My Asparagus Corral

Variety: Mary Washington Heirloom Asparagus
Sown: 8 APR 2013
Germinated 23 APR 2013

I thought these heirloom Mary Washington asparagus seeds would never give up the ghost! Really! I've never really known what asparagus looked like in the seedling stage, so it was definitely an interesting wait!  While I've had gardens since my early 20s, apparently asparagus was not on the radar--perhaps it was the 3 year wait, perhaps I didn't care for it back then.  At 40 something, I definitely have more patience and better taste. 

I researched asparagus seedling photographs and care, as well as the growth phases.  I truly thought these seeds would never give in!  I've noticed I have a bad habit of stirring around the seeds in the starter soil, but whether coincidence or not, tiny asparagus popped up soon after. After all, how would I know if they just simply rotted--that's a great justification.  I'm sure I will continue that bad practice until I potentially harm something...

When they reached about six inches, they were drawn to the heat of my hand and fell over.  I will not have perfectly pretty, little and ferny trees growing, but a tangled mass of tiny, green and ferny stalks. It was like a rodeo roundup of  their little stalks for transplant and during transplanting.

I had to manufacture, shall we call it, a corral.  An Asparagus Corral to be exact. While it likely isn't ideal, the seedlings are happy and are standing a bit more upright now.  They definitely have some curl from leaning on each other and the label stick.

As I try to harden them off, I notice a few brown ends, broken (wind blown) tips, so I'm keeping them inside for a bit longer until they can survive without my constant hand outdoors. 

Growing asparagus in a pot is a little out there, but I figure if I'm just going to be looking at it for the next three years, I may as well try.  I will try to document the growth pattern in said pots along the way.  There is definitely next to zero information out there on this particular method for asparagus.

I germinated these seeds successfully in both rich soil and some in coconut coir.  There was a notable difference in the growth in each, with the soil producing faster and heartier seedlings.  The seedlings in the coir needed to come out quickly, while the seedlings in the soil were still thriving wholly in the soil.

The Asparagus Corral is comprised of cotton kitchen twine and shishkabob skewers.  Speaking of skewers, I've discovered that they make a great gardening tool; the skewers hold up label stakes (address label wrapped around), rick out young seedlings for transplant with ease, stir soil when impatience reigns over intelligence (lol), and are great for digging earth out from under fingernails.