cap sticks
Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter
I heard Bob Flowerdew give advice on sticks on Gardeners' Question time last Sunday.He reminded us to cap sticks and them suggested gluing little caps from jars like tomato ketchup etc onto the tops of bamboo canes - lengthen life of cane and protect eyes. I'm passing the tip on because I thought what a useful, cheap tip it was. I always put one of those plastic caps on anyway, because I'd rather be careful than with a damaged eye - or someone else's eye.
A friend of mine says she puts empty drink cans over the top of canes. Incidentally, when she was in a hurry once, she DID get a cane in her eye. Her eye swelled right up, and she said it was practically coming out of the socket (yuck). She is a practising homoeopath and sells Aloe Vera, and while she was waiting for the ambulance to come she kept her eye sopping wet with constant applications of Aloe Vera. It did sting, but clearly the pain from the injury was worse than the sting of the Aloe. By the time the ambulance came, her eye had subsided right down.
I'm absolutely paranoid about the danger from canes. I put empty water bottles over the top of them. Sometimes I cut the large squash bottles in half, put the top bit (keeping top on!) over canes and use the bottom bit as a mini plant protector-cum-cloche.
Alison.
I'm absolutely paranoid about the danger from canes. I put empty water bottles over the top of them. Sometimes I cut the large squash bottles in half, put the top bit (keeping top on!) over canes and use the bottom bit as a mini plant protector-cum-cloche.
Alison.
There is a commercial component and not just in green, another sort is in yellow but better still even in assorted bright colours with pictures of flowers moulded on and flexible so they can be a tight fit on some sizes of canes. I stocked up at Malvern Show. The irony is that all of my tomatoes are trained up strings in the polytunnel so no caps necessary and the bean sticks are too tall to need them. It is far easier to twist the tomatoes and cucumbers up strings than tie to canes, making sure you always go the same way round.
I do wish garden wire came in bright colours, a real pain getting dark green out of netting.
Allan
I do wish garden wire came in bright colours, a real pain getting dark green out of netting.
Allan
Allan,
I was telling Alison about what people use as cane tops on Piglet & Piglette's allotments, which I thought was really inventive....
Superstores like B&Q sell these hollow multi-coloured 'play-balls' for childrens play areas.
You can buy a bag of loads for next to nothing, and just skewer them and sit them on top ofyour cane.
Brightly coloured, fun, and stop you poking your eye out. OR anyone else's, more to the point...
I LOVE them !
I was telling Alison about what people use as cane tops on Piglet & Piglette's allotments, which I thought was really inventive....
Superstores like B&Q sell these hollow multi-coloured 'play-balls' for childrens play areas.
You can buy a bag of loads for next to nothing, and just skewer them and sit them on top ofyour cane.
Brightly coloured, fun, and stop you poking your eye out. OR anyone else's, more to the point...
I LOVE them !
What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. The good they do is inconceivable....
We have used empty plastic drinks bottles (small still and sparkling water) on top of the canes for many years. In summer they support the nets which have to cover everything on our allotment (against jackdaw, partridge and pigeon damage) and in winter, when the nets are not out, the bottles rattle and howl beautifully in the wind to keep away any other livestock! Works really well and makes use of what would otherwise be rubbish.
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Trevor Holloway
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- Joined: Fri Apr 07, 2006 2:04 pm
- Location: Surrey
I've used those play balls £4 per hundred !
They are also good for keeping the netting off the plants.
They are also good for keeping the netting off the plants.
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Jenny Green
- KG Regular
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- Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2005 4:47 pm
- Location: East Midlands
What a good idea!
Only I think the 3 year old will be wanting to play with them all the time.
I use jam jars to keep the netting from snagging. They're heavy so hard to pull off and nice and smooth too.
Only I think the 3 year old will be wanting to play with them all the time.
I use jam jars to keep the netting from snagging. They're heavy so hard to pull off and nice and smooth too.
(Formerly known as 'Organic Freak')
Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed.
Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed.
I put 'fun' tops on my canes and use small plastic toy animals as protectors - an example is the '101 Dalmations' flexible plastic ones given away with 'Happy meals' at McDonalds. I get them at charity shops or car boot sales for a few pence each. One area of my plot I have the dogs, another there's zoo animals and on another owls. Grandson and visiting children love to look for them and to see how many they can find!
Asda sell them too but I think they reduced them and sold them off at the end of summer not sure what the price was might be worth a look on the reduced shelf I have just bought 3 large kites for half price for Christmas presents