What's At Stake?

This time of year, the garden gets overgrown in a hurry.  Even gardeners who like a free-flowing, natural look should consider the benefits of staking those tall perennials that start to flop over.

• Keeping plants off the ground helps prevent the spread of soil-borne disease.
• Well-staked, upright plants make it easier to water at ground level without getting the plants wet.  This means that more water gets down to the roots, and you avoid the risk of powdery mildew or sun scorch on leaves, both of which can be caused by getting the plants too wet.
• It makes it easier to mulch, which helps hold water in and protect root systems (naturally, we like Happy Frog Soil Conditioner, with its beneficial microbes, earthworm castings, and bat guano, for a mid-summer mulch)
• It can make an untidy, seedy garden look fabulous in a hurry.

Don't feel the need to go out and buy fancy stakes, however.  Here are a few ideas for easy, affordable garden stakes:

• Take a ball of twine and a pair of scissors into the garden.  Ornamental grasses and floppy perennials like yarrow or catmint can easily be redirected into an upright shape by just  gathering the stems together and tying a piece of twine around them.  While you're at it, cut out any dried or tired stems--this will reinvigorate the plant.
• Use branches that were too big to go in your compost pile.  Strip off the leaves, trim to the right size, and place two or three around a drooping or overgrown shrub.  Most people will hardly notice the branches, and it will keep the plant upright but still natural.
• Recycle old, broken tomato cages to stake annuals like cosmos, delphinium, zinnia, or sunflower.  Alternatively, wrap a little chicken wire or metal fencing around the plant, forming a loose cage.  These kinds of materials can be used over and over in the garden.