*~*~*My Design Tomato Trellis - Tutorial*~*~*

Well, I don't know how right on it I was,

but I did get most of my tomato trellis made.

Being very human,

I mis-calculated and ended up one stick short.

So tomorrow,

I will go get one more 1X2.

Requirements: 8 or 9 1X2s (at least 8:)

and 4-6 hinges
wood screws (about 1 inch)

You will end up with:

8 each = 5ft. 1X2s

4 each = 1ft. 1X2s

4 each = 2ft. 1X2s

4 each = 17inch 1X2 or scrap strip

4 each = 21inch 1X2 or scrap strip

Here's what I did.

I started by getting some boards cut to the right lengths.

This is not all of them,

just a sampling:)

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You could seal your boards

before you assemble the project.

I will wait until

it is all put together,

because, I like to seal up

those screw holes.

After doing this the difficult way,

I drew a line 5 feet long then

on the top and bottom board,

I marked the center and lined the mark up

with the line so that there were no

'weird' angles, and it was square.

Working with finer pieces of wood like this,

it's very important to pre-drill your holes.

At the corners, it is also important to put 2 screws

so that the piece is sturdy and 

does not rock.

I then used some scrap pieces I had

left over from another project to add rungs.

These were only about 1X1s so I only used

one screw on them.

You will need to repeat this 3 more times

so that you have 4 pieces like this. (ladders)

Once you have all of your 'ladder' pieces,

flip them so they are rung side down

and the long 5 ft pieces are on top.

I will be using 3 hinges but only had 2 on hand.

Place hinges appropriately.

(top, middle, and bottom)

Screw them in place making sure

that they fold up as they are laying this way.

-otherwise the rungs will be in the way-

Then you can stand them up.

They should be pretty sturdy.

This is only 2 of the 4 sides.

As I said earlier,

I was 1 board short.

I will just use jute to tie

two of these sections together

in order to use them.

At these deminsions,

5 feet tall

1 foot across at top,

and 2 feet across at bottom,

it is sound

and should not tip over.

If needed, I can use

tent stakes as tie downs

-if the tomatoes get that big.-

I plan on prunning them 

if they get over 5 feet tall

so that their energy

will go into making fruit

rather than leaves.

If the plant needs more support,

I can use jute to string

across from one side to the other.

I didn't want so much wood

that it blocked the light.

The reason I am making them

with only two sections

is that they fold flat

for winter time storage.

Those round metal ones

drive me crazy.  They are never

strong enough, and 

always seem to be in the way.

By using scraps for the 

middle supports,

I ended up with some

3 foot drops.

I am hoping to make

something similar

but 3 feet tall for

my cucumbers.

The other thing I took into

consideration was

access to the tomatoes.

Maybe I'm a little lazy,

but I like to be able to

get to those ripe ones

without having to do too 

much digging.

Our seed order arrived yesterday.

Now we just have to have

patience for a couple more months.

Having a project helps point my

focus somewhere other than

just the growing part of gardening

as it snows outside!

You don't need a lot of room

to grow some of your own food.  

You could even set this over a potted plant.

Keep warm and safe, and I hope this inspires you.  

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

*~*~*January Projects for the Garden*~*~*

1st

If you haven't ordered your seeds,

I would strongly suggest placing your order soon.

One site I really like:

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

I have only had good luck with their seeds,

and I'll just remind you that this is me

the brown thumb talking.

2nd

Go through your seeds and see what you will

want to purchase as plants.

I have horrible luck starting tomatoes from seed

so I just plan on buying them.

If your seeds look like this,

maybe do a little tidying-up;)

Even the sunglasses for weed wacking.

3rd

If you don't already have one,

maybe find a local source of bunny poo.

Yep, you read that correctly.

It's !ultra-fabuloso! for the garden.

I called our extension service and

they hooked me up with a 4-H family

who had a gold mine of doodoo.

They were only too obliged to share.

4th

I don't know what you all do,

but I can't stand the tomato cages

that you buy in the store.

I even bought the larger, sturdier, more expensive ones,

and they were wimpy.

So I've come up with a little plan.
I will have to play with it and get some pictures
before I share:)
The suspense is brutal, I know.

Hopefully I can get on it &
get it done.

I read another blog about things they plant in January.
Our ground hasn't thawed since October.
I just have to wait for my seeds to arrive,
and clean-up my seed box before they show up.

More soon.
Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

Better Than Pizza

I know you won't believe this

so I hope you are sitting down,

buuuut....

I don't like pizza!

You should hear the response from teenagers

when I say that.

After several attempts to try and make

the perfect pizza dough,

I discovered pita pockets.

They are perfect!

The picture above is photographed

using an Italian wrap.

Don't do that - did not work or taste good.

I am usually a white bread sorta gal,

but for the pizza crusts,

the honey wheat pitas are the best.

Then,

instead of pizza sauce,

use tomato pesto.

(It's right next to the pizza sauce on the top shelf)

add toppings of your choice.

The pesto is sooo much better than pizza sauce,

and not nearly as sweet. 

This one looks a little bland as

we were out of a few things.

The best part about this is you can make

just one or a whole bunch.  

Or better yet, do assembly line production

and everybody makes their own

so everybody is happy.

We like our pepperoni on top

so it gets crispy.

Bake in the oven at about 400 degrees

for about 12-15 min.

If you were to make several

and freeze them, oven temp. 

should be 425*.

Then...

Gobble 'em up.

I am recovering from quilt show and will have pictures to share soon.

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches