We have been putting up trellis for edible pod peas and cucumbers. This year we invested in 4 cattle panels like you get at lumber yards and tractor supplies. They are 16 feet long and will last many, many years. The greatest thing about them is how very sturdy they are with no sagging and how very fast they go up. My edible pod pea row is two of these long and the complete trellising was done in 5-10 minutes, and will come down just as fast to be stored easily away anywhere without getting tangled up, torn or thrown away. It took 5 "t" posts to put 2 panels up. They can quickly come down and be moved to another place for summer or fall crops.

We are doing the same thing with the cucumbers this year. The cucumbers are being readied to be grown in the raised beds where there will be a trellis on each side of the raised bed. The cucumbers stay cleaner and are much easier to pick. Because of the richness of the soil in the raised beds I can grow less cucumber plants on less space for an equal amount of cucumbers that I usually get on 5 big rows in the garden.

There will also be more of the perfect pickling cucumbers for the jam shop, because I can give them a more ample water supply in the raised beds, because the water won't run off and the mulch will keep the soil cooler.

Metal for trellising also makes a greener and better crop. Ever notice how green the grass is where metal things lay around the yard or farm. I'm told it attracts more nitrogen from the air. Whatever it attracts , we have used metal tomato cages and metal rods for staking tomatoes, and we have used wooden tomato stakes. The ones in the metal have grown the best. Besides, for the 17 years we have been here and the 3 times we have purchased wooden tomato stakes, we have none left.

However, of the tomato cages we purchased 17 years ago and have added to almost every year, I still have ¾ in use today.