Tuesday 15 June 2010

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.


13 comments:

  1. I find that watering the ground before I start helps to get the poles in far enough on my dry ground. I put five or six poles in a circle vertically, and then pull them together at the top with twine. I think everyone has their own way though!

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  2. Oh that sounds so much easier than my way! But I still think that I will make holes in the ground first, so that the bamboo poles don't suffer damage as I push them in. Nice to know someone else builds wigwams as well!

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  3. I never knew how interesting the subject could be. It makes me want to build one even though I have no need:)

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  4. Aw Ken! Have a try! Once made, you might feel inspired as to what you could do with such an edifice in your garden!

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  5. If nothing else you always give me a laugh. Hope the beans grow well. Diane

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  6. Just realised that this was 2010, so how did the beans grow?

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  7. Hey dear blogsister, I've MIA all summer but I sure hope your wig~wam was covered with beans!!!


    God bless and have a most wonderful day sweetie!!!

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  8. Diane, they didn't! Will try again next year! (2012)

    Nezzy, Hi there. The wigwam did do some beans but forgot to pick them because otherwise occupied! As I say, will try again next year!

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  9. Didn't look like there was much of anything planted when you put up the poles. You should have loosened the soil first then put the poles in. Another way is to put the poles in straight, into the loose soil, then bend them to meet in the middle, but I see that the poles were quite thick. You may also try to sharpen the poles on one end then push them into the loose ground.

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  10. Thanks for the post mate you have written it very well.

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  11. Thank you Garden Seeds, glad you enjoyed the read, and thanks for stopping by.

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  12. I had to smile here. At a garage sale some months back I came across some really lovely bamboo poles. Since I wanted to plant beans in a pot this year..as an after thought I had my husband stop the car, jumped out and both all those gorgeous poles. NO chance of finding ones that had falled neatly under a bridge just waiting to be found! I haven't planted my beans yet..but I will now! I am really inspired now to try to get my poles up. I'll let you know how I do! Wish me luck! :)

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  13. Horst, sorry for my late response! Thanks for your help, will try it for my 2012 efforts.

    Wsprsweetly, indeed I do wish you luck! Am off to do a raid under the bridge again to see if I can 'find' a few more of those bamboo poles as soon it stops raining. Lets hope we get lots of beans this year!

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