Make-do Gardening

April 20, 2009 > No Comments

We planted about ½ our garden yesterday before the rain came last night. We planted 3 rows of potatoes, one row of onions, as well as lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, squash and peas.

We love peas, but quite honestly I hate to figure out a way to support our peas. The first year I had imagined a beautiful trellis made of twine, wire and stakes. When I finished the project it was obvious I had no clue what I was doing. It did the job, but it was nothing to be proud of.

Then the next year I thought I’d try what I had seen in a frugal gardening book. We gathered twigs from our woods and stuck them in the ground for the peas to climb. It would have been a pretty good idea had I not handed over the job to the children. They tried their hardest but came a little too close to a few too many plant roots and the peas just didn’t make it. It looked like we had a garden of sticks with a few pea plants. J

So this year the wheels of my mind started turning…first I thought we wouldn’t plant peas. Ssshhhh…if I don’t say anything perhaps hubby won’t remember that he likes peas. That failed…he remembered.

Then I remembered that I saw somewhere to plant peas along a fence. Well, I don’t have a fence, but I do have all these tomato cages. There is a tie between the two, I know there is!? Fences, tomato cages…6 in one, ½ dozen the other.

Anyway, I have all these tomato cages that our tomato plants always outgrow. We’re talking monster tomato plants! We don’t use fertilizers but our tomato cages are no match for the tomato plants we grow! So I decided to use the tomato cages as our trellis for our peas. Brilliant I know. Please, no autographs.

We spent no money, wasted no time getting tangled in miles of twine, and no pea plants will be mercilessly slaughtered by eager children with sticks!

I planted one pea every metal “stake.” So for a round tomato cage with 4 metal feet, spikes or whatever you call them you’d have 4 pea plants growing.

Because our monster tomato plants I mentioned above out grew your standard tomato cages, we had constructed tomato cages using large wire mesh. For our peas I used this wire mesh and I made an A frame, staked it at each corner and planted peas along each side. I included a picture below, but as things start to grow I’ll post more pictures so you can get an idea of my invention. (O.K. I’ve since seen wire mesh and tomato cages being used to support peas online, but honestly I am just sure I thought it up.)

the dirt looks real clumpy in the pictures...while it could have been finer in this corner of the garden it's not as bad as it looks

This post linked to:

Make-Do Mondays with Ann Kroeker
Talk about it Tuesday’s @ The Lazy Organizer
Frugal Friday @ Life as Mom

Category: Up in the Air

Comments

No Responses to “Make-do Gardening”

Sharinskishe
April 20th, 2009 @ 5:22 pm

This is great! I am sure that you came up with the idea, right after I did!!! Just kidding, I haven’t thought about using wire cages. Good Idea!

Even though I haven’t really done peas yet, I do put a fence up along the back of my Gardening boxes to tie my tomatoes and vining plants to. Like cantelope, pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, etc.

When I say ‘peas yet’, I did them 2 years ago in my kids Easter baskets that my Hubby wanted to toss. So I put dirt and seeds in them. We got several plants and ate 4 pea pods. But I wasn’t great at watering them. It was fun and with a little more work on water retention, that would look good too.

Thanks for your idea. I love Make-Do’s!

Sharinskishe
Better Is Little
April 21st, 2009 @ 2:53 am

Thanks! You do have to plant an awful amount of plants to get many peas, but gives the children something to do, shelling peas LoL!
Kristin
April 21st, 2009 @ 4:10 am

I’ve never grown peas, but I sure love eating them! I think you did a great job making do with what you had. I’d like to see those tomato plants, too, when everything starts growing. You’ve got me interested!
Kristy
April 21st, 2009 @ 4:12 pm

I am growing a garden for the first time this year. I am growing snap peas. Wow…I guess I will plant them on the fence side. I didn’t know that they needed to climb. I’ve got a lot to learn.
trishsouthard
April 22nd, 2009 @ 2:50 pm

We also let go of the TV in January. We are so much closer to the Lord and each other. My family recently planted a garden for my 45th birthday. I will be adding peas now thanks to your instruction. I’m almost embarressed to ask, but do you buy seeds or a plant when planting peas? We live in Texas. Thanks from the newbee gardener!
Abi
April 28th, 2009 @ 7:33 pm

Thanks for your submission to the homesteader’s carnival. It is ready to be read.

http://homesteadcarnival.blogspot.com/2009/04/carnival-93-thumbnail-edition.html