I went to our local lumber yard to buy tomato stakes. They sell 6' stakes
pointed on one end for fifty cents each. The clerk asked, "Is treated wood
o.k.?". Thought we had a dealbreaker right there but they did have untreated
wood. I wonder if they sell many of the treated? Who buys them? What effect
do they have on the tomatoes?

Marilyn in Ohio

(Allview) expounded:

I went to our local lumber yard to buy tomato stakes. They sell 6' stakes
pointed on one end for fifty cents each. The clerk asked, "Is treated wood
o.k.?". Thought we had a dealbreaker right there but they did have untreated
wood. I wonder if they sell many of the treated? Who buys them? What effect
do they have on the tomatoes?

I wouldn't buy them. Then again, I spent about $1.29 each to buy the
green coated metal stakes, that never have to be replaced.....you can
usually find them at any garden center, Walmart, KMart, etc. Well
worth the investment!

--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************

I would not buy them for any food crop, but for a flowering plant,
maybe.

--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math


"Allview" wrote in message
...
I went to our local lumber yard to buy tomato stakes. They sell 6' stakes
pointed on one end for fifty cents each. The clerk asked, "Is treated
wood
o.k.?". Thought we had a dealbreaker right there but they did have
untreated
wood. I wonder if they sell many of the treated? Who buys them? What
effect
do they have on the tomatoes?

Marilyn in Ohio

Allview wrote:
I went to our local lumber yard to buy tomato stakes. They sell 6'
stakes
pointed on one end for fifty cents each. The clerk asked, "Is treated
wood
o.k.?". Thought we had a dealbreaker right there but they did have
untreated
wood. I wonder if they sell many of the treated? Who buys them?
What effect
do they have on the tomatoes?

The chance of getting good gardening advice at a lumber yard is similar
to the chance of getting good cooking advice at a foundry, or good
advice on fixing your car from road builders.

Most people don't have any idea about problems with using treated wood.
Using logic based on incomplete knowledge, a treated stake will last
longer than an untreated stake, thus it's a better value. And they're
not even thinking about whether the treated wood has arsenic or not when
they come to that conclusion.

For that matter, many people will go for the more convenient cage,
buying it either at the same time and place as they buy their tomato
starts, or later on during a routine trip to K-Mart or some other
one-stop store that has a garden center. In that case, they don't even
need to consider the effects of treated wood on food crops.

--
Warren H.

==========
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Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.

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On 06 Jul 2003 12:01:19 GMT, (Allview) wrote:

I went to our local lumber yard to buy tomato stakes. They sell 6' stakes
pointed on one end for fifty cents each. The clerk asked, "Is treated wood
o.k.?". Thought we had a dealbreaker right there but they did have untreated
wood. I wonder if they sell many of the treated? Who buys them? What effect
do they have on the tomatoes?

Marilyn in Ohio


The treated ones will last a lot longer. The untreated will last 2,
maybe three years. I think someone who grows 100 plants or so will
buy te treated ones to save for furture years. They won't have any
effect on the tomatoes.

Phisherman expounded:

The treated ones will last a lot longer. The untreated will last 2,
maybe three years. I think someone who grows 100 plants or so will
buy te treated ones to save for furture years. They won't have any
effect on the tomatoes.

No, but they might have an effect on the people who eat the tomatoes.
Why take the chance? The money you save won't do you any good if
you're sick from the pressure treated wood. Buy the untreated and
replace them when needed or buy the coated steel ones for good.

--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************

"Allview" wrote in message
...
I went to our local lumber yard to buy tomato stakes. They sell 6' stakes
pointed on one end for fifty cents each. The clerk asked, "Is treated
wood
o.k.?". Thought we had a dealbreaker right there but they did have
untreated
wood. I wonder if they sell many of the treated? Who buys them? What
effect
do they have on the tomatoes?

Marilyn in Ohio

Plain old concrete rebar is available at hardware stores everywhere in 10'
lengths for about $3. It last years and years and years. Or, if you want
something that lasts even longer, galvanized electrical conduit is about the
same $. If 10' is too tall for your tomatoes, (it's a little tall for mine)
then you can cut it in half with a hacksaw. I actually bought the 20'
lengths direct from a concrete supply house and cut them into thirds, as the
5' was too short.

Sunflower
MS 7b

Plain old concrete rebar is available at hardware stores everywhere in 10'
lengths for about $3. It last years and years and years.

I would say it will last for your lifetime, and your kid's, and their
kids'.

It is rough, so that whatever you use to tie the tomoatoes (I
recommend pantyhose strips) wil not slip down.

I actually bought the 20' lengths direct from a concrete supply house and cut them into thirds, as the
5' was too short.

Yes. My tomatoes grow to six feet, so even a third of a 20' piece is
barely long enough, once you stick a foot of it into the ground.

vince norris

Allview wrote:
I went to our local lumber yard to buy tomato stakes. They sell 6' stakes
pointed on one end for fifty cents each. The clerk asked, "Is treated wood
o.k.?". Thought we had a dealbreaker right there but they did have untreated
wood. I wonder if they sell many of the treated? Who buys them? What effect
do they have on the tomatoes?

Marilyn in Ohio

As an alternative, one can buy a 5' or 6' piece of cedar fencing 6"
wide for around $1 and split it into 3 or 4 nice long stakes.
Whenever the bottoms rot off, cut a new point and reuse.

For that matter, many people will go for the more convenient cage,
buying it either at the same time and place as they buy their tomato
starts, or later on during a routine trip to K-Mart or some other
one-stop store that has a garden center

I bought stakes because the plants were coming over the top of the cages. I
like wood because the ties don't slip. I don't mind throwing away the stakes
at the end of the season. Of course, I don't have hundreds of tomato plants.
Question: If you buy stakes taller than 6', who pounds them into the ground?
I'm 5'3" and shrinking.

Marilyn

Allview wrote:

...I bought stakes because the plants were coming over the top of the cages. I
like wood because the ties don't slip. I don't mind throwing away the stakes
at the end of the season. Of course, I don't have hundreds of tomato plants.
Question: If you buy stakes taller than 6', who pounds them into the ground?
I'm 5'3" and shrinking...




The only thing I can suggest for the height issue is a post pounder.
It's a pipe with a cap and some weight to it. You slip it over the post
at the top, position the post then lift the pipe and push it down onto
the post like a pile driver until the post is in deep enough. The only
problems are that it may break wood stakes if you are too rough on them,
and once the stakes are in, getting the pipe off, but if you pound the
post in a foot, it's then 5' high and you should be able to manage it.
You can build the thing yourself. Use the largest pipe you can manage.

The part of the wood stakes that goes in the ground is usually somewhat
punky at the end of the season, so it's not good for another year, but
you could take your 6' stakes and make them 5' stakes for next year
(then 4' stakes etc.)

(Allview) expounded:

I bought stakes because the plants were coming over the top of the cages. I
like wood because the ties don't slip. I don't mind throwing away the stakes
at the end of the season. Of course, I don't have hundreds of tomato plants.
Question: If you buy stakes taller than 6', who pounds them into the ground?
I'm 5'3" and shrinking.

I just grab hold of them and hang/push them in. But my soil is
basically sandy loam/gravel base, I don't think you could do that with
clay.

--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************

On 07 Jul 2003 11:43:26 GMT, (Allview) wrote:

I bought stakes because the plants were coming over the top of the cages. I
like wood because the ties don't slip. I don't mind throwing away the stakes
at the end of the season. Of course, I don't have hundreds of tomato plants.
Question: If you buy stakes taller than 6', who pounds them into the ground?
I'm 5'3" and shrinking.

I did, indeed, laugh out loud. :-) Seriously, depending on soil, you
can generally push or sort of screw them in part way. Then stand on
something to pound them in. A kitchen step-stool will put you up about
a foot. OTOH, you could offer to trade tomatoes to a tall, sturdy
friend in exchange for the effort.

(Allview) wrote in
:

have hundreds of tomato plants. Question: If you buy stakes taller
than 6', who pounds them into the ground? I'm 5'3" and shrinking.

Marilyn


If you have access to a standard drill, you might be able to buy an auger
bit that will dig a neat little (but deep) hole for you, no pounding
required. I say *might* because I found mine in a pile with a price tag
that indicated it was well over 10 years old. I've seen huge ones for
bulbs recently, though.

Disclaimer: Be sure to check with Miss Utility etc for the locations of
buried cables.

- Salty

If you buy stakes taller than 6', who pounds them into the ground?
I'm 5'3" and shrinking.

If you buy "rebar," metal rods about 3/8" in diameter made to
reinforce concrete, you can push them into the earth very easily.

And they will last almost forever.

You can get them at building supply centers. Get 20 foot pieces and
cut them (or have tghem cut) into thirds, or buy pieces about seven
feet long.

vince norris