Tomato Stakes

Other things that involve bamboo

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rfgpitt
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Tomato Stakes

Post by rfgpitt »

? for you....

Now that I have a bit of bamboo that's a nice size for garden stakes, I want to see if anyone has input on treating them. I've used a few and without treating they normally don't last long (< 1 season) in the ground. I also don't want my veggies absorbing nasty stuff so that's why I'm asking if there is anything you can treat them with that's pretty safe. What are the green ones you find at any garden center treated with?

Thanks,
Rick
Mike McG
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Bamboo Preservative.

Post by Mike McG »

Rick,

I am not sure what preservative is used for those stakes in the garden store but there is a treatment manual at http://bamboocentral.org/index1.htm based on using borax. I also recall Carol Meckes talking about standing a bamboo pole up right in a can of fluid and allowing the fluid to be drawn up slowly in to it, but she may have been talking about a stain or oil preservative. I would be tempted to use old motor oil but that is probably not enviromentally correct these days.

Mike near Brenham TX
boonatick
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Post by boonatick »

I think Carol was useing vegi oil for added streangth and beauty ,not sure if it preseves too ,but I supose it would,sounded like a slow prossess ,I'd just use new stakes if they got old and burn the old,,
Kaylen. zone 8 borderline b.near Boerne Texas
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Iowaboo
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Post by Iowaboo »

and burn the old
Or mulch the old canes. Burning them sounds too old texas style.

Remember yellowgroove is one of the junkier canes. Things like rubro and angusta would last longer in the ground without treatment.




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rfgpitt
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Post by rfgpitt »

nice try Mr. Period....

The shoots you are getting are already the size of my YG or bigger. It's vivax which is probably worse than YG. Because my plant pretty much topkilled the past 2 springs, I've clipped all the culms. This year I actually have leaves so I'm gonna wait to see what new growth comes up before I make more stakes. I did trim some of the top portions of culms and cut some of the smaller culms around the perimeter already.

I'm butchering the YG pretty hard, so I don't know what I'll get, but should have some culms tomato stake size this year.
Rick
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Iowaboo
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Post by Iowaboo »

Rick, how tall was the tallest yellowgroove culms in your minigrove?
:?:



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rfgpitt
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Post by rfgpitt »

The biggest one last year was about 4' tall.
Rick
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Post by Iowaboo »

Sounds like some of mine should get that tall or possibly taller :?: . Currently, two of the pots each have a shoot 40 ''+ .
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