NEWS
TECHNIQUE
Recycle Your Bicycle
DON’T THROW THOSE OLD BIKE WHEELS AWAY! Use them to make this handy,
space-saving support for your climbing beans.
WHAT YOU NEED
●
2 old bicycle wheel rims
●
Twine
●
1 wooden or metal pole,
slightly higher than
height of bean plants; e.g.,
if beans grow 6 feet tall,
use an 8-foot pole
●
2 wooden planks
●
Tent pegs or ground staples
●
Nails
●
Hammer
'
Adapted
from
1,001
Ingenious
Gardening Ideas
(Rodale Books,
1999)
8. Plant beans around the bottom rim and
watch them climb!
WHAT YOU DO
1. Remove all spokes from both rims.
2. Fasten the planks together at the
center to make a cross.
3. Nail the cross into a rim through the
spoke holes.
4. Nail the pole to the center of the cross
so that it’s perpendicular to the plane of
the rim.
5. Place one rim on the ground and push
about
1⁄
3 of the pole with the rim on top
into the ground.
6. Connect the top and bottom rims by
stringing twine through the spoke holes.
7. Secure the bottom rim to the ground
with tent pegs or staples.
BEAN SUPPORT: PETER HOEY; LANDSCAPE FABRIC: SAXON HOLT
RESEARCH REPORT.03
Barrier to Soil Health
Landscape fabrics control weeds short-term,
but prevent nutrients from penetrating soil.
Findings: Texas A&M scientists analyzed soil samples taken
from under landscape fabric to determine if soil fertility is compromised by using the weed barrier. Prior to planting assorted
common shrubs in November, the researchers covered one-half of a bed in fabric and left the other half bare. The entire
area was mulched with a 3-inch layer of shredded red cedar,
with additional 1-inch applications the following two springs.
After 21⁄
2 years, potassium levels were five times higher in the
mulch-only beds, and nitrogen levels were three times higher.
The scientists attributed the lower soil fertility under the landscape cloth to the fact that only the smallest particles of organic
matter were able to penetrate the fabric and migrate into the
soil below.
Our advice: Instead of fabric, cover the soil with three layers of
newspaper and top with 2 inches of organic mulch for an entire
season of weed control, without compromising plant heath.
