can anyone advise me on the best way to secure fleece and netting that is covering my raised beds. i don't want to use anything to either weigh it down such as bricks, and i don't want to use anything that pierces the fabric such as your standard pegs. what do other people use?
I have to say that apart from bricks and the usual pegs which I use at the edges (have to put up with a little hole), there is nothing else I can suggest. That is unless you want to go to the trouble of sewing a little tape loop at the edge of the fleec which you can then hook onto a peg. busy_lizzie
altho sewing on loops is a really good idea i have about 80 metres of fleece to secure...want to avoid sewing thanks
Sorry, I thought it wasn't very practical. Hope someone else can come up with something better. I will be interested myself. :) busy_lizzie
How about cutting and bending into a peg shape those annoying metal hangers, the type you get from the dry cleaners. I tried something similar with metal garden wire, it worked aswell apart form the odd bit of rust! ;D
Sounds good Dan :)
don't you have to pierce the fleece tho?
From years of experience, these are the best. At a cost.
Do NOT go for the black things like a barbed arrow - you can't get them out of the fleece. You can see the fleece still sticking?
Yes - you have to pierce, but only one of the side points needs to go in.
Quote from: Dan 2 on March 28, 2006, 18:33:52
How about cutting and bending into a peg shape those annoying metal hangers, the type you get from the dry cleaners.
I use a very similar thing for Enviromesh; squared-off, u-shape, long legged stiff wire metal pegs from a country gardening shop. The hole is small, and it 'heals' itself when the mesh is washed. I'm not strong enough to cut coathanger wire :-[ or I'd use Dan's version!
When using fleece for the first time this year, will lay a 2.5cm-ish batten the length of each side of the bed on top of the edge of the fleece, and roll up the spare fleece around it to give the desired tension (like making a strudel). As the crop grows, I will unroll it gradually to give plants more growing space. Still at the theory stage, but recommended in a book I trust. NO HOLES so should make the fleece last longer. This method should work with cloche hoops too - will Wait and See!
Quote from: tim on March 28, 2006, 19:02:55
Do NOT go for the black things like a barbed arrow - you can't get them out of the fleece. You can see the fleece still sticking?
Wish I'd known how useless these things are before I bought 100 tim, ended up using them to nail down woven black plastic on my permanent paths >:(
Coat hangers worked well for me, cheap too. ;D
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/smf/index.php/topic,10279.0.html
Re fleece pegs. The way that I fix fleece is to staple channels every 5-6feet then thread flexible cane or plastic tubing to make a tunnel, then I gather up each end.
To be honest I then still build up the sides with soil to keep it secure, it would be O.K in the summer but with this wind I would not trust it.
Same thing as coat hangers but using bits of household mains wire. Doesn't need to pierce the fleece if you put that other bend in, just presses it into the soil. Being copper, it's easy to bend and doesn't corrode, but not as physically strong as good old coat hangers. I've used them to anchor bell cloches too.
Geoff.
(http://static.flickr.com/45/119480373_7ff8eabde7_o.jpg)
Darn it, what's up with the pics site tonight? Here's the link then:
http://static.flickr.com/45/119480373_7ff8eabde7_o.jpg (http://static.flickr.com/45/119480373_7ff8eabde7_o.jpg)
Coat hangers all the way for me. I have used them for years and there's a never ending supply of the things.
Stork
Quote from: euronerd on March 28, 2006, 22:16:51
Darn it, what's up with the pics site tonight? Here's the link then:
http://static.flickr.com/45/119480373_7ff8eabde7_o.jpg (http://static.flickr.com/45/119480373_7ff8eabde7_o.jpg)
:o I saw it the first time ;D
That's you Roy! Quick to perceive!!! ;) ;D ;D
thanks for all your replies. i think i see a gap in the market here.
tim>> i'd seen the tri-pegs at the org cat. but your right in pointing out that they are quite pricey, and considering i'd need enough to hold down 80 metres...
i think i'll fashion something along the lines of euro's gizmo, tho again how many would i need for 80 m?
my plot neighbour stiches bamboo canes into a 'hem' along the fleece and then pegs that. i guess i'm just plain lazy and wanted something off the shelf.
Ive just been to look at my sister good gourds fleece and I must say in this wind its doing a good job of keeping the pigeons of her purple sprouters on the other side of the plot!! ;D ;D ;D
Good gourd and ugly gourd, wonderful! ;D ;D ;D
The thing is were both telling fibs she not good and I'm not ugly!!! ;)
fbg - re the sewing of loops - what about iron-on tape?
hmmm...still put off by doing 80m of it!
I would be too. But don't know what alternative to suggest. :(
fbg - yes, but who says it has to be done by YOU?! ;)
;D
of course i shall get my very own personal slave to do it....now where is he? slave...put down that laundry..you've got some loops to make!! ;D
I've used the black pegs on black weed fabric and they are a bit hard to remove!
Re fleece - what does eveyone use to clip it around canes? I thought I would build a cane frame to go around my carrot bed and run fleece around to hopefully stop the carrot fly. I don't think I need to put a roof on do I if it is a good 2-3ft high? But how to I secure the fleece to the canes to stop it just slipping down?
Amanda, I've used wooden spring-clip clothes pegs before now - they won't go completely round the cane, but enough to hold :)
AM - I did wonder about normal pegs and if they would be big enough or if they would just ping off - I am sure in one of the DIY stores I once saw "larger" pegs but that was a while ago!
the plastic ones tend to snap, so the wooden ones are better and, cos of the strain on the spring, the bigger the better.
there was a thread about clothes peg type clamps started by tim which resulted in a Best Buy: http://www.toolshopdirect.co.uk/handtool/product/WFC3420
My local pound shop sells 'storm pegs' in bags, which I'd be tempted to try!
ordinary pegs work just fine with me