Salty Thumb wrote in
:

Bill R wrote in news:3F0D75F0.2090508
@iglou.com:

Ann wrote:
Bill R expounded:


DO NOT use "rebar" for plant supports. The rust from them
can kill your plants and they look like crap after just a few
weeks.
There are MUCH better items to use for plant support.


No, rust won't kill your plants, and your tomatoes should be big
enough in a few weeks that you won't even see the rust! Many people
use rebar, I prefer the plastic coated metal rods (I pay for
pretty).


I never mentioned tomato plants but I do know several people
that have lost many Hollyhocks and other tall plants after
using "rebar" to support them. It could be that they were coated
with some other chemical that harmed the plants.

I think someone posted a link earlier to a site that explained the
history of rebar.

If I recall correctly, even today it is made to match a performance
spec without regard to the source materials. Formerly it was made
from such materials as scrap railroad tracks which might have exposed
it to arsenic at the least. These days it's made with more mundane
materials and is probably safer.

Sorry, I can't find the link.

-- Salty

Here it is, no mention of railroad tracks, that was just my interpretion:

http://www.anvilfire.com/FAQs/reb_faq_index.htm