Grow Great Vegetables in Texas by Trisha Shirey

Author:Trisha Shirey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Timber Press
Published: 2020-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

Shade structures can help you protect new fall plantings when summer heat is persistent and can extend harvests of winter crops when spring warms up quickly.

WORKING WITH REBAR

Concrete reinforcing bar or rebar is available at home improvement stores usually in 10- or 20-foot lengths. Choose the smaller 3⁄8-inch rebar as it is easier to bend and lighter than ½-inch steel. Bring gloves with you when you purchase it as it is rusty and will stain your hands.

Put the rebar on the ground and start bending the rebar in a series of small bends. It may be helpful to make marks at each 2-foot section of the rebar. Bend gently at each 2-foot mark, making an arch. For the final shaping, I put the rebar around a tree trunk or post and bend until I have the desired shape (this will mark the tree bark so don’t use that favorite peach tree!).

A 10-foot length of rebar will yield an arch approximately 44–48 inches wide and 45–48 inches high. The rebar ends will be inserted about 8–10 inches into the soil so will be shorter when in use. This makes an ideal hoop size to cover kale and collard greens or young tomatoes and peppers in spring in a 4-foot-wide bed.

If your garden beds are narrower, or you want shorter hoop for covering shorter crops like lettuce, cut 12–15 inches off the rebar with a hacksaw before bending. That will make a 36-inch-wide hoop that is about 30–34 inches tall.

The steel will develop a dark patina after a season in the garden and will no longer stain your hands with handling.

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