How not to build a wigwam

So it came time to build another support for the beans, after inspiration from Sara down the road. Hubs had done the first support, made out of tent poles, but it looked, quite frankly, a miserable piece of garden architecture! But Sara's crew had made a wigman contruction out of bamboo poles, raided from a nearby field. Peyang! An idea zoomed in! Were there not bamboo stems underneath the bridge at the end of the Back Field, all lying down and nicely dried out, put there by nature from the large copse of bamboo in our neighbour's garden? Great idea. Bamboo thereby acquired. Branches lopped off, stems  cut into 2 metre lengths, now off into the front garden to have a go at being a construction engineer.

I had five bamboo poles, and some string. This is what I did:

First Wigwam: Got strongest pole and shoved it into the ground as far as I could go, which was not very far. Holding this pole with one hand, I reached down to pick up another pole. Balancing the first pole on my shoulder, I jammed the other pole into the ground as far as I could, which again was not very far. I wiggled them about until they crossed over towards their tops. Ah but the string was still on the ground and I was upright trying to hold the poles together. Had to let go of them to get it. 


They fell down. 

But not to worry. Started again. One pole up. Two poles up. Wound a bit of string around the two of them, the idea being that this would fix them together. Then another pole. Stringed that to the others. Now had a triangle. 

But a problem: where to put the other two poles. Fiddled about a bit, and here is what I ended up with:

And yes, your eyes to not deceive you: the wigam has a drunken tilt. It was dismantled.


Pow-wow with Hubs determined that one needed to make the basic construction on the ground first. He gave me specific instructions, which enabled me to construct Wigwam Two:

Lay two poles on the ground, crossing over near the top.

Wind string round them, "tight enough to hold them together firmly but not so tight that they are rigid", according to Hubs.

Now lay another pole across these two, and bind that together with the others. 

Holding the construction by the roped part, pick the tripod up to be put into position in the ground. But by now the bottoms of the bamboo poles were showing signs of distress after being forcibly pushed into the soil  during Wigam One's construction, so I took it upon my self to enlarge the instructions from Hubs, by making holes in the ground before inserting the poles to make a triangle:

Into which the poles were pushed:

 Still following instructions, tied the remaining poles to the construction. Et voila:

 

 But no. It was not deemed a fit construction by Hubs, who wiggled it about, said it was going to fall over, so dismantled it before it did.

Time for coffee and a re-think. And it came to me that the problem was not in the air, round the top of the poles, but on the ground. That it was the pattern of the poles at ground level which was causing the problem. Like all things, if the basics aren't right then there is no hope for success no matter what the project is, whether it be life, relationship, or a task.

So onto Wigwam Three: First made five holes in the ground:

Into which I inserted two poles:

....crossing them over at the top, and tying them together:

Putting the third pole to rest against those two, and tying that one in as well:

Then the other two poles, putting them where they best fitted.

Voila: Wigwam Three, plus Bools who is pretending not to be interested:

Now all that remains to be done is for the earth to be firmed around the holes into which the poles are now sitting, wind some string between the poles to make a net effect, and plant the beans. 

Things I have learnt: that keeping on making the effort will eventually bring success. That  taking time to make proper preparations at ground level will ensure that what is built on top will be strong and withstand the winds, whether they be the winds of nature or the winds of life.

Pot Recipe Number One

You will need: 

One carton which has held liquid in its previous life. A milk or juice cartons is best because it will have a lining to stop seepage, which an ordinary cardboard food container doesn't have.

One cutting implement (see below)

I chose a breadknife with a serated edge, because it was the only useful tool to hand. You could use a small saw I suppose but that is a bit over the top, I think. After all, you are only cutting cardboard. But definitely don't use a small knife because your fingers will suffer. Trust me on this. However, a sticking plaster over the wound will stop the bleeding and allow you to carry on with the task in hand. 

Scissors could be used, but would be more fiddley. A straight cutting implement is best.

Method:

1) Remove the plastic stopper at the top end of the carton, and make sure all liquid is removed from it, including the drips. However, some may be reluctant to leave, so work on a surface which is mop-uppable. 
As you can see in the following photos, quite a few drips lingered in this particular carton, which then transferred themselves onto the plastic table cloth covering the table which is at the moment serving as my worktop. Not to worry though, all those escapees were mopped up and sent to join the other water molecules in my washing up water. From thence they went outside to water the veg plot, and so their life goes on, into the natural cycle of the land. 

2) Rub your knife along one corner in the centre of the carton. Be careful of applying pressure, so be gentle with your sawing action. Gently now. Be patient, otherwise this will happen:

 A squashed box! Not to worry, you can always straighten out the carton when the  two halves have become separated, but it is a task you can avoid if you are slow with your sawing action. The trouble is that once squashed the carton will never be quite the same again. A bit like us really, when we have had a major accident to ourselves. Nevertheless, we can recover and keep going, and still serve a useful purpose in life, so your squashed carton can do the same, so don't give up on it.

3) Gently make your way round the box. Now you can see here that I have come to the end of the cut, but that the start and finish points are separated by a bridge of cardboard. Not to worry. Gently tear through this bridge, but not to eagerly otherwise you will rip further into the carton, damaging one of the halves. 

4) Et voila! Two brand new, albeit virginal, plant pots! As you can see, I didn't quite get the same sized pots, but that doesn't matter. At least one is not titchy and the other one huge.

Now all you have to do is pop some soil into your new pots, and you have a nursery environment for two of your baby seedlings.

 And in the centre of the photo below you can see a tray of assorted pots, all made from cartons.

Holes?

Before I go, a mention about making holes in the bottom of your new pots. You don't need to. It will weaken the structure. Anyway, in the bottom of one of the pots is the top of the original box in which was placed the plastic stopper, and this will automatically give drainage. The bottom of the other pot is the bottom of the carton, and that has a folded edge which will allow for seepage of too much moisture. If you make a hole in this area, then the moisture will rot the pot. Better to leave well alone.

And finally:

With care, your pots will last their lifetime. Which isn't going to be that long, but at least you have given a carton which had seen the end of its days and was on its way to the refuse tip, new life, new purpose, and a second phase of life. Well done you.