I love finding new uses for things that would otherwise just take up room in your home (or in this case, your garage). When we moved into our home in July, I noticed that the former owners had left some folding fence pieces in the garage. I didn't think that I would have a use for them in my garden or lawn so they just sat where they were for a couple of months. Then this past weekend, as I was preparing for our frost frost, a light bulb when off. Up until now, I was simply laying my fabric row covers on top of my veggies in the garden. On nights that are particularly frosty, the tops of the plants touching the row cover would become more susceptible to damage. I wanted to buy stakes or PVC conduit (bent into an arch) to keep my row covers floating above my plants. Then I realized that these folding fence pieces could be just what I needed (until it starts to snow of course).
I took a pair of wire cutters and removed the interlocking pieces. What I ended up with was some simple posts and 6 inch stakes.
I laid the row covers over the posts and used clothes pins to secure them in place. They have worked out well, even holding up against this week's rain. The stakes will be useful on windy days to anchor the covers to the ground. And as the weather gets colder, these will come in handy when I add a second layer of protection inside my hoop houses. And best of all, it was free.
