Bought an older house. The previous owner (who I never met/talked to)
stuck one-foot sections of rebar (like they use to reinforce concrete)
into the soil around the garden. The rebar is "planted" vertically
(with about six inches protruding from the soil) and is spaced about
six feet apart and is connected together with thin , bare wire.

Brian

I have rebar going all along my fenceline... I have it spaced every 4"
and I think they go about 18" deep. This was a desperate attempt to
keep my dog in my yard. By burying the rebar, I made sury my dogs
would have to dig in excess of 18" to be able to get under the
fence... more than a day's work. I check the fenceline everyday and
refill holes.

Fortunately, my dog has learned to stop digging under the fence.
Unfortunately, she learned to climb 7' fences.

I'm not sure if your revious owner used them for the same purpose...
maybe he/she had vines?

as an odd little note, the dogs don't potty near the rebar... and the
grass is growing VERY nicely

On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 20:10:52 -0500, brian
wrote:

For the sake of potentially sounding crazy.........

Bought an older house. The previous owner (who I never met/talked to)
stuck one-foot sections of rebar (like they use to reinforce concrete)
into the soil around the garden. The rebar is "planted" vertically
(with about six inches protruding from the soil) and is spaced about
six feet apart and is connected together with thin , bare wire.

Anyone have a clue as to what the purpose of this is??????

My uneducated guesses are.....

- adds iron to the soil? (does not explain why connected with thin
wire)
- keeps varmints away? (how?)
- some kind of electrolysis action going on?

Any wacky replies are welcome.

Brian

I've read all the other replies, and a few of them seem plausible,
except the wire between the rebar. I have seen the same uses .. rebar
being a means of hooking pvc pipe up to form an arched support for
plastic over the garden. Could be that with the rebar 6 feet apart,
that wire could be a way for plastic to be secured.

If you could see pvc pipe slipped over the rebar and arched in such a
fashion to cross in the middle to form an X where it could be lashed
at the intersecting spots, or where there would be arches across the
garden where plastic then arranged over the pvc pipe would drape down
in such a fashion where it could be then slipped under the wire and
then anchored with rocks .. in one of two ways, either folding the
plastic back over the wire.. if the wire is very close to the ground..
or just by laying rocks or boards on the edge of the plastic where it
passes under the wire.

That's the only reason I could figure for the wire to be there...
other than it just being used as a trip wire.. something to discourage
critters who nudge up against it.

I was thinking electric fence, but it'd ground out without insulators.
My dad put a short wire around the garden to keep the chickens out of
the garden. I walked into it myself and I was lookin' around for
whoever hit me in the back of the knees because when I walked into the
fence, it made the muscles in my legs contract and my knees bent like
someone had hit me in the back of the knees. My parents were
saying.. watch out for... but they were too slow ;-) I ducked under
electric fences before too and raised up a tad too soon and caught the
wire on the back of my neck too.. felt like I'd been hit in the back
of the head!

So, trip wire, or perhaps as part of a season extending system would
be my guess. But I'd call the previous owner if he/she is still
around and check if it were me because I'd just have to know! I'm
just kinda like that! ;-)

Janice

CALL THE PREVIOUS OWNER AND ASK HIM/HER!!!!

On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 21:00:18 -0500, brian
wrote:

"gregpresley" wrote:

How he marked the bodies he buried there?

Possible. That _would_ be considered organic gardening, no?
depends on what substances they ingested before passing.



For more info about the International Society of Arboriculture, please visit http://www.isa-arbor.com/home.asp.
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"brian" wrote in message
...
For the sake of potentially sounding crazy.........

Bought an older house. The previous owner (who I never met/talked to)
stuck one-foot sections of rebar (like they use to reinforce concrete)
into the soil around the garden. The rebar is "planted" vertically
(with about six inches protruding from the soil) and is spaced about
six feet apart and is connected together with thin , bare wire.

Anyone have a clue as to what the purpose of this is??????

My uneducated guesses are.....

- adds iron to the soil? (does not explain why connected with thin
wire)
- keeps varmints away? (how?)
- some kind of electrolysis action going on?

Any wacky replies are welcome.

Brian


Some structure was on top that he took with him?

An unfinished project that was supposed to have something on top but that
never happened?

A boundary marker made from whatever was lying around?

David

"Hound Dog" wrote:
No. They are "in" the garden amoungst the shrubs / plants.


To mark the garden's boundaries?

Hound Dog

wrote:

Bought an older house. The previous owner (who I never met/talked to)
stuck one-foot sections of rebar (like they use to reinforce concrete)
into the soil around the garden. The rebar is "planted" vertically
(with about six inches protruding from the soil) and is spaced about
six feet apart and is connected together with thin , bare wire.
Anyone have a clue as to what the purpose of this is??????

I would bet it was to train a crop, to keep the top from tipping over.
Another possibilty is to mark a crop such as asparagus so that he didn't
dig into the roots during the off season.

--
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Visit my Rhododendron and Azalea web pages at:
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Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

wrote:

Bought an older house. The previous owner (who I never met/talked to)
stuck one-foot sections of rebar (like they use to reinforce concrete)
into the soil around the garden. The rebar is "planted" vertically
(with about six inches protruding from the soil) and is spaced about
six feet apart and is connected together with thin , bare wire.
Anyone have a clue as to what the purpose of this is??????

I would bet it was to train a crop, to keep the top from tipping over.
Another possibilty is to mark a crop such as asparagus so that he didn't
dig into the roots during the off season.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Visit my Rhododendron and Azalea web pages at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman/rhody.html
Also visit the Rhododendron and Azalea Bookstore at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman/rhodybooks.html
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

Brian,

Have you ask your neighbours? The previous owner could have talk to them.=


Fran=E7oise.

brian wrote:

For the sake of potentially sounding crazy.........

Bought an older house. The previous owner (who I never met/talked to)
stuck one-foot sections of rebar (like they use to reinforce concrete)
into the soil around the garden. The rebar is "planted" vertically
(with about six inches protruding from the soil) and is spaced about
six feet apart and is connected together with thin , bare wire.

Anyone have a clue as to what the purpose of this is??????

My uneducated guesses are.....

- adds iron to the soil? (does not explain why connected with thin
wire)
- keeps varmints away? (how?)
- some kind of electrolysis action going on?

Any wacky replies are welcome.

Brian

Well the answer is quite obvious...

He did it to freak the new owners out!

Well the answer is quite obvious...

He did it to freak the new owners out!

- some kind of electrolysis action going on?

I would think this is why. During stormy weather the rebar will attract
electricity. Plants love it. I use lots of metal around my garden and it is
amazing how much the plants perk up in a storm.

- some kind of electrolysis action going on?

I would think this is why. During stormy weather the rebar will attract
electricity. Plants love it. I use lots of metal around my garden and it is
amazing how much the plants perk up in a storm.

I have heard of this as well. In fact, when I first spotted this article, I
thought of lightning. My uncle uses metal garden stakes and other metallic
decorations in his garden. The theory is that the static in the air during
lightning storms "fixes" nitrogen in the soil. Adding metal in the garden
helps this.
Dave

"CrabLuv" drunknsoberAThotmail.com wrote in message
...

- some kind of electrolysis action going on?

I would think this is why. During stormy weather the rebar will attract
electricity. Plants love it. I use lots of metal around my garden and it
is
amazing how much the plants perk up in a storm.