On Fri, 27 Apr 2012 07:53:25 +0000, Brian Sims
wrote:

I everyone.

I to you too.

For the DIY or budget minded, you can get "mild steel' in the form of
"rebar" (concrete reinforcement). Here in the US, you can purchase a
20' length of 3/8" rebar for about US$3.00. You can cut it with a
hacksaw, or as I prefer to do, a large pair of bolt cutters (which
makes for easy cut-to-length while in the homecentre parking lot
before loading it into your auto or trailer, er, caravan).

I insert 5' lengths into holes in the corners of my raised beds to
allow me to wrap 4' aviary netting around some raised beds.

You can cut three or four pieces about equal length, set up a
"tee-pee" and wrap cord around the top, and you're good to go. At the
end of the season, you can collapse the rebar into a neat bundle and
put it away - it won't take much space at all.

An added benefit is that rebar has a "knurled" surface - it has ridges
intended to allow it to grip concrete securely (a smooth rod could
eventually slip), and this textured surface is beneficial to climbing
plants.

Anyone with a welder could of course make a more permanent teepee with
just a few quick welds.

BTW, this is an INTERNATIONAL newsgroup for discussing gardening - not
an avertising venue.

They make a great present for the gardener who has everything.

Excepting perhaps the gardener who has a DIY perspective and some
inexpensive welding equipment.


One can forego metal and use wood instead. I have several "ladder
trellis" which I fabbed by ripping cedar fence planks into roughly
3/4" cross sections (here in the US, a 1" stock is really about 3/4"
thick), cut some of those into shorter pieces for "rungs", and make
say 5' tall ladders (which you'd NEVER try to climb of course), tack
and glue the rungs to the longer pieces, then connect a pair of the
completed ladders together at the top (I drill a pair of undersize
holes and press a roofing nail into them, but a piece of cord or wire
would work too). They work great situated above things such as peas,
and fold nearly flat for storage in the off-season.

Makes a great homemade gift for the gardener who has everything,
except as noted above.