After many years of trying different trellising methods for tomatoes, cucumbers, and sweet potatoes, I have found what I think is the most ideal way to trellis vegetables.

I use two 5 or 6 foot T Posts, available at any farm store for about $5-$6.  Setting these posts requires a post pounder.  These are about $20.  Then I get a cattle panel which are between $20-$22.  They are 16 feet long, so I have them cut when I purchase them.  They are always willing to do this.  I love these because they store flat, are so sturdy and will last for years, and the grids are plenty large to get my hand through.  I use them all over my yard.  I have my grapes growing on them, winter squash, and all my climbing vegetables.

These clips can be purchased on amazon or at Johnny's Seeds.  They are reusable, easy to use and gentle on the plants.

The soil in our area is pretty alkaline, meaning it has a high pH.  Most fruit trees and berry bushes don't appreciate this very much.  Although we have high amounts of iron in our soil, it is not available to plants at pH levels at much above a 7.  This make photosynthesis difficult, and plants turn yellow.  A quick, but temporary fix is to add chelated iron, but it is also expensive, especially year after year.  This year I am trying to change the pH of my soil by adding Epsom salts (Magnesium Sulfate) and soil sulfur.  I buy Epsom salts in bulk at Costco, and soil sulfur at IFA.  I have added 10 pounds of soil sulfur and 20 pounds of Epsom salts on dozens of plants in my yard.  This helps to acidify the soil.  It is not as immediate as just adding iron however.  So while I wait for it to take effect, here are some pictures from around my yard of classic iron deficiency.

A peach tree

Another peach tree

 Raspberry bushes

   A blueberry bush

My parents have been doing humanitarian work in the Caribbean and in South America, and one of the things they have done lots of is a food initiative that has included setting people up with chicken pens and chickens for meat.  They get 100 chicks at a time and they are ready to butcher in 6 weeks.   

Well, I wanted to have the experience raising chickens for meat, but our approach was a little more relaxed. We purchased 11 chicks.  I was DONE with having chicks in my house so I put them in the greenhouse with a brooder.  It got a little warm in the day so I put some shade cloth in just in case.  They devastated the lettuce growing there...and they got a few bugs there too.

My girls played with them constantly.  They are such docile birds, nothing like the egg laying variety.

Our chickens didn't grow as fast as they could have as they got lots of exercise running around the yard and lived  largely on sprouted wheat.  I throw in all the garden extras like lettuce gone to seed and they love it.

We started butchering them at about 8 weeks and actually still have four left to go.   We have learned that they cannot be left too long as they are more fragile than other chickens.  When butchered ours have been 6 1/2 pounds.  I was surprised at how humane it felt.  They had a great life, and death didn't seem traumatic.  Plucking was surprisingly easy and quick and while I wouldn't want to do 100 of them in a sitting, a few was no big deal. I would do it again.

We made a "killing cone" out of a 5 gallon bucket.  It worked really well.  Then we boiled water outside, dipped them in for 20 or 30 seconds and the feathers came right out.