Best materials for grid - a surprise

Hello, all! I'm fairly new at SFGing, but when I heard about it and had a lax summer, I thought, why not? When I started I didn't really have anything prepared. So when I went to put the grid on, I was stumped. I didn't have much laying around, a few stakes and some twine and garden tape. Suprisingly, nailing the gardening tape on either side of the box after sectioning it off is perfect! Because it's garden-intended, it's waterproof and won't rot. Because it's tape, you can twist the plants around/off them without it breaking. And because it's green, it blends in and looks nice! Ta-da! Tell me if anyone's tried this and what results you may have had. Thanks! I hope it works out if you try it!

Thanks for sharing I will pass that info along.....and will use it on my next boxes....Ruth

I used weed eater string. Here's a picture from May, you can see it better than now. Now, the plants are a lot bigger.

I liked it because, it didn't take up as much room, was flexible and was already in the garage. Oh and it's blue, my favorite color. It gets a little wavy in the morning if there's a temperature change, but in an hour or so, it's tight again. It's nice to be able to use things you already have and not have spend more money.

Welcome to the forum, everythingscominguproses. There are a nice bunch of helpful people on this board.

Thanks! I love your support for your plants. Is it just the photo or are your squares smaller than usual? If not, my eyesight's going at an early age! If so, how's it working?

I like your idea! I will likely use it when my string falls off, like it has in one square already.

I'm sorry, I didn't get a message that there was a reply, everythingscominguproses. I think, it's the angle of the camera and maybe the hoop over the 4x4. My squares are 1 ft. give or take 1/2 inch here or there. Maybe your eye sight is that good, lol.
Here's what the sfg looks like this morning. It's really doing well.

It's beautiful, stripesmom! What a joy it must be to walk outside to that in the morning to check on your garden! I'd take my first cup of coffee with me when I had time and sit there just enjoying it.

Thank you Sherry. I don't drink coffee anymore, but I do like to just set there and look at it. It's a peaceful and wonderful place to start and end the day.

It's hard to believe how much is packed into that area. There's 11 tomato plants, 5 cucumbers, 6 peppers, uncounted green beans, lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, garlic, onions, a variety of herbs, beets and flowers.

Wow! That's crazy! It's really abundant! Now, I have a question about bush beans. Should I post it here or start a new thing? Well, because I have you, I'll ask the question. Plus, you seem like you know what you're talking about! My bush beans are planted four to a square, as recommended in the SFG Book, but they are flopping all over the place because they're overcrowded. I put a trellis behind my tomatoes, which are next to the beans. Should I try to train the closest ones to the trellis and let the rest go or cram what I can into a cage? I'm having a bit of difficulty because each one of the plants I planted ended up having two stems a piece. Here's an earlier photo of them that may help...

As an alternative to my last question: My mom says perhaps we could transplant two of the bush beans to another garden and put a cage on them elsewhere and put a cage on the ones left in my SFG. Is it a good idea to transplant them this late in their life? Thanks again!

I love the look of your garden!! Do you use the hoops for laying bird netting, or what is their purpose? And what are the approximate dimensions of the pvc?

Your garden tape looks very nice. I am not familiar with garden tape - what is it's intended use? I used regular string my first couple of years with a box, and of course it rotted/weathered rather quickly with our harsh sunlight here. Then a few of years ago I remembered a vinyl miniblind that had broken and was stashed in the garage. I cut it to fit, and used the trimmed pieces to write plant identification. These work really well for a year or two, then they also will break, but easy to replace and one miniblind will do several squares, or one square for several years. I love repurposing/recycling!

I'm gonna have to try it. I've had a couple of my Boxes that the grids haven't been put on yet. Thanks

Everythings coming up roses-I don't really know what to tell you about your beans. I planted mine 5 to a square (I don't have my book right here, but I thought Mel said to plant them 9 to a square?). The stems are delicate and easily damaged, as are the leaves. I've found that even pouring water on top of them can cause the stem to break. I think you could use a cage with better success than trying to trellis them. Here's a close up of a corner of my beans.

I've never transplanted beans. I would try posting a new thread about this and see what others think. I appreciate your compliment, but this is my first year with a sfg. I have had a regular garden for the last 40 years though. This has been a delightful way to garden.

Garden girl-I use the hoops for so many things. In the spring it's great to put plastic over to retain heat (will be in the fall too to extend the season). They are wonderful for shade cloth- I used old sheets. It really helps when it's too hot too soon with little plants. Even with big plants if they start to get limp. You can use the hoops for bird netting. I have saved some old screen tent material that I've used when there was a hail storm coming to protect my plants (I think this worked, because the hail was small). The pvc over the 4x4 was originally 10 ft. long, but I cut a foot off each one to make it fit my screened tent material better. The small hoops over the 2x8 are 5 ft. long. The taller ones are 7 ft. long. I am not sure, but I think I like the smaller ones better. To make them more stable, I used an 8 ft. long piece of pvc along the top of the hoops. I then took plastic zip ties and attached that to the hoops, in a criss cross style. At the end of each box, I used a piece of pvc pipe attached to the top hoop and then I put a zip tie at the bottom of the straight pvc and nailed that to the side of the box. Each hoop is anchored inside of the box at the bottom with a 1/2 inch metal conduit strap. I've seen other people put the straps on the outside of their boxes. I like mine inside as they are more stable and neater. That isn't garden tape, it's weed eater string. You can use that, but like I said, some times it will go limp. Usually over night and then get tight again in the morning. I suppose the temperature change maybe? I attached it to the sides with u shaped fasteners that you have to hammer in. I hammered them in a little bit, tied the string to the fastener, then hammered it the rest of the way in. I hope I answered your questions. If you have any more, let me know.