Grow Your Own Magazine

We recently "trimmed" our leylandis, we took about 11' off the top. A lot of the branches we took off were quite long and straight, some even 11' long. We trimmed off all the little branches and leaves and have been using these as canes throughout the garden. They work really well for or peas as they ahve lots of knobly bits for the peas to grab onto. They have a nice rustic look too.

I've used the old fruit wood from last years raspberries as pea sticks and also have " knobbly bits",recycling,us gardeners have been doing it for years................or are we just a bit mean.

LOL Environmentally and economically friendly

Using the apple tree prunings fromn winter as pea sticks, cut bits of hazel too. After one season it has all got too brittle to use, then it can be shredded or burned and reused like that.

The council landscaping around here uses a lot of coppiced willows, which every two years they come round and cut it all back to the base.

I remember a few years ago coming back from somewhere early Sunday morning and there were loads of people cutting these and loading up their cars. I assume they were basket weavers or something.

I contacted the local town council last year to see if they were being cut back that year as I wanted to plant them as a screen around my plots but they were not due to be done that year.

I consequentially went and bought windbreak netting for my job and was gutted when a few weeks later I came home to find all of the (about 100 of them) willows had been cut back.

I should have done as the "basket weavers" had done and just slid up there and cut away.

Got some Jerusalam Artichokes (Spelling?) they are massive.
Do they make good canes ?