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Rebar use in garden
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Posted by naturegirl_2007 5b SW Michigan (My Page) on Wed, Mar 12, 08 at 23:02
| Today I got a free assortment of rebar (metal pieces used to strengthen concrete) I know I can use them for garden stakes. What other cool uses are there? Mine are assorted lengths....4, 6, and 8 foot lengths. The shorter ones are thicker in diameter than the 8 foot ones. I'm not sure any of them could be bent.
The place also promised me some concrete reinforcing wire I am returning for later. I'll have to add the kayak roof rack to transport that :) Any ideas for pieces approximately 3'x 10'? I'm thinking supports for peas but I bet some of you have better ideas than that! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Rebar use in garden
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| My neighbor has used 3 same size pieces to support her home-made bird baths. They work well and look different to boot. She leaves them as is to weather, but I'm sure you could seal and paint them. |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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| I also Have a supply and I use them for stakes for many different things, I use them to hold the netting for my climbers and to hold tomato cages in the ground... How lucky you are...stash them...you will find lots of uses. |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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- Posted by bcskye 5 Brn.Co., IN (My Page) on
Sun, Mar 16, 08 at 23:54
| New to this forum. You are really lucky to get all that rebar. I just read something yesterday about using rebar when you're making supports for row covers. You pound the rebar into the ground on either side of your row where you will have a pvc pipe arching across the row. I think they suggested 3' lengths driven into the ground, but you could use shorter since you are going to fit the pvc pipe over them. Keeps the pvc curved and immoveable. I'm going to try it. Also, check construction sites after they are pretty well done. A lot of time they will leave pvc pipe in various lengths that they don't use. My neice's husband told me about that. Of course, I would always ask if I could have it if they were still around to ask and only take it if they weren't around anymore if it was obvious they were leaving it as unusable. Also, I have rolls of row cover I bought several years ago, but if I need more I'm going to put feelers out to friends and family for donations of old sheer long curtains to use. If there's none there, there's always the thrift shops. |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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| Thanks for the suggestions. I'm planning to try row covers this year....can't believe I never really paid attention to them before. The rebar/PVC set up sounds like a winner. I'll keep my eyes open for PVC. The sheer curtains are already set to go. I also saw some fancy supports made by welding or soldering together rebar. I may try some of those. Does anyone know if solder will hold stuff like this together or does it require welding. I can't do that....but could probably rig up some wiring method if needed :) If you have more rebar idea, please share. I'm hoping to get another batch soon. |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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| Maybe this is the same thing someone else mentioned, but you can stick them in the ground in a circle, angled so that they meet in the middle, & put chicken wire or some such over them & use them for tepees for peas or roses. & since my dogs are half armadillo (ace diggers of the animal world),I like re-bar for pounding into the ground to secure the bottom of the fence. |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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| Typical solder will not hold. You could braze them together(very similar to solder) But welding would be the preferred method. They could be bent, but would probably need to be heated to do so without them cracking. |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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Hi,
Like someone said above...you can use rebar for row covers and hoop house supports. I drive a 3 foot peice into the ground and then you can slide your pvc pipe right over it and then bend it to the other side of the bed(where you have driven another piece of rebar) It holds the bent pvc perfectly. I put in 4 of these hoops on a 20 foot sized bed. An 8 foot pvc pipe will fit perfectly over a 4 foot wide bed. Then you just need the special clips they sell for cloches/row covers(I got mine with Territorial seed company). It holds the plastic in place and wammo, you have a perfect mini greenhouse, right over your garden bed. I love them. I wish someone would give me a bunch of rebar:)
The same process can be used for a much bigger hoophouse(one that you can walk into) |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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- Posted by zachslc 6 Salt Lake City (My Page) on
Mon, Apr 7, 08 at 20:22
| I use 8-foot lengths as tomato supports. I drive about two feet in the ground and have left them there for a few years now. I don't think I could get them out if I wanted to. I tie the tomato vines to them as they grow. I also have used them as a trellis with lengths of wire mesh strung between them and I have made large compost bins in similar manner. There is a shop by me that has a fence and gate made out of rebar welded together in geometric patterns. |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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| Dont forget about tipsy pots...check the garden junk forum on how to make those. |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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| Wow, I just got back from a trip with no computer access. What alot of good were added here. Looks like I better get to work. Thanks everyone. |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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| Rebar/rerod is a staple here! Don't know what I would do without the stash of 3' and 5' bars. I'll try not to repeat uses already mentioned. I agree with them Here are some others. For garden fencing: We deal with a lot of roots and rocks. Using the standard metal 'fence posts' meant for fastening wire fencing to, with the 'crossbar hold' toward the bottom, we could not get the things buried sufficiently. But they have that nice inside curve... We drove the rebar down three feet, and then fit the 'fence post' curve around the rebar. Drove the post in about a foot, and wired the two to each other. Then hooked the wire mesh to the fence posts. This has lasted for more than 15 yrs, despite critters, and is still stable. But the stability is really from the rerod. Other stabilizing uses also. The thinness and strength makes them easy to drive, and they can be the basic supports for trellises, wood panels, etc. We have a kind of bent 'bandshell', over a sitting bench, of painted pvc pipe, interwoven with branches and overgrown with clematis. It is stabilized with deep-driven rerod. Two feet down, three feet above ground. Slipped the pvc pipes over the rerod, heat-bent the pvc using a heat gun. Voila! This stabilizing mechanism would also work with copper tubing, etc. Let the other stuff be 'pretty', while the rerod holds everything up. When I need to lay out a new garden area, I grab the rebars to mark edges, corners, while planning. When I need to dig out and move a rock much heavier than I can handle, I grab a couple of pieces of rerod as prybars and levers. I've used rerod tripods to air-layer shrubs. They are great things! |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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| If you really want the welding done, check with the local High School shop class. My kids are always looking for projects and if you supply the material, I'm sure you can work something out cheap or maybe even free. Rebar uses - stakes for planning, holding bed sides in place, aerate compost, weigh the bottom of the fence down (tie it on all along the length, keeps dogs from being able to bend the fence up), rollers to move heavy objects and skewers for pesky Guinea hens (that was an oops). Billie |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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| I saw on another board where someone stuffed rebar in the ground and connected the pieces with old couch springs. I'm in the process of making a larger version of this to stretch along the back of our property. I've completed about 10' so far, and I'm about to plant cucumbers, squash and beans to climb up and make my 5' edible wall! |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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| A few days ago we used some old rebar as stakes for my "garden tea-lights". These are clear cups and saucers in which I place a tea light for mood lighting around the patio. Other years I've used copper pipe but I sold them all in my yard sale last year and copper pipe is so expensive now. DH just cut the rebar and painted it black. I'll probably also use rebar for my glass garden totems. |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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| Where are all of you finding the rebar. I would almost kill for some. We have a friend who has lots of it, but I'm a little hesitant to ask him for some, because he uses it for yard art. He bends and welds it together in the form of animals, birds, etc. Has also made a wonderful little garden planter bike for his yard. |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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| You could use some pieces of the 3' x 10' concrete reinforcing wire to make cylindrical cages for holding compostables or even making into a bin if there's at least 1 cubic yard capacity. You can also cut the wire and make "everlasting" tomato cages, held up by two of those rebars! |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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| I've not seen it availbable free generally. What I have came from where my husband works. Another tenant in the building moved out and left alot of stuff behind. After a few months I talked with the building manager and he was glad to have someone clean up the area. |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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I have alot of different size pieces of rebar left over from a concrete pad I had poured for my dogs.
My hose always has a tendency to hit my flower beds when Iam pulling the hose and forget about watching as I pull the hose.
So..... I hammered down a few in the ground around my flower beds and put blue bottles over the rebar!
It does the trick to keep the hose from hurting my plants, covers the rebar and looks pretty too! |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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| You can wire three pieces together in a teepee/tripod and grow climbing roses and clematis up them. There are pics if you search on the rose forum and the clematis forum. |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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- Posted by vgkg 7-Va Tidewater (My Page) on
Wed, Aug 6, 08 at 10:13
| Rebar ain't cheap (anymore) so that was a good find. I bought 30 - 10' lengths many years ago and they last forever. As for uses, the 3/8" thick ones won't support tall tomato plants as they will bend over during late summer storms when tops are heavy, 1/2" thick ones do much better for tall plants. The thin ones are good for anchoring cages, 2 per cage, or pepper, eggplants (shorter plants). To remove from the ground I use a visegrip and hammer upwards with a twist. |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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| I have 2 rebar "legs" for a pink "flamingo" marble covered bowling ball in the yard. I just need to work on some sort of metal to use in the other bowling ball hole to bend up and create a neck/head! |
RE: Rebar use in garden
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| I have 2 rebar "legs" for a pink "flamingo" marble covered bowling ball in the yard. I just need to work on some sort of metal to use in the other bowling ball hole to bend up and create a neck/head! Dare I suggest, Rebar? |
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