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[Bill Jones <billj AT harborside.com>]

The cages are made from concrete reinforcement wire.  It comes in 7' 6" 
wide rolls, with 15 six-inch squares across, so I cut it lengthwise.   
The middle squares leave a pair of prongs when you cut, and once it's 
rolled up, these prongs are pushed into a 2" cement round which gives 
the bed stability (although the cement isn't strictly necessary, we have 
digging voles).  These beds use 59 squares (plus a few extra for 
overlap), since I match up wire #1 with #60, but as you can see they're 
double wrapped.  So that's what makes for 3" wide holes, the fact that 
an odd number of squares is split between two wrappings.  Anyway, if you 
do the math, they're about 4' 8" (59/4/Pi) wide.  Then they're lined 
with clear, followed by black, plastic film layers, and wrapped in a 
collar of 20" aluminum flashing at the base to discourage climbing and 
gnawing.

Would that be Chinese artichoke?  Little mint-like plants?  Wait until 
the first frost kills the tops before harvesting their ivory 
scorpion-tail delights (or any tuber, for that matter).  There's no 
peeling required, but it takes a little practice to stir-fry these just 
right so that they're lightly brown but still firm.

Bill
S. Oregon coast

djwarren AT aeneas.net wrote:

> Quoting Bill Jones <billj AT harborside.com>:
>
>  
>
> > Just one, and it doesn't even get a full day of sun.  I'm getting about 
> > a gallon a week from it, and now they're all going into the freezer.  
> > Hopefully it's just a glimpse of future greatness...
> >
> >    
>
> The strawberry picture is enticing but it is hard to tell the dimensions from 
> the picture.  Can you supply directions on the construction?
>
> Second question - I planted a bed of (name forgotten but the roots are used in 
> stir fry) and I don't know when to harvest them.  The tops are falling over 
> now in zone 7.  Help?  I bought 3 plants after reading your notes about 
> vegetables which come back.
>
> Donna, Tennessee
>
>
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