The motto of the Dukes is “Res Firma Nitescere Descit” which means “Once You’ve Got It Up, Keep It Up”. This motto can be applied broadly across one’s life, and gardening is no exception. The Shambaugh Victory Garden is starting to take off after prodigious rain and sunlight. This past weekend, the Brothers Shambaugh built a few structures to keep the plants off the ground, and improve air circulation and pollination.

The first is an ingenious system for the crop of heirloom tomatoes. They built two towers on either side of the raised bed. Placed a few wood screws into the top of each and strung a few strands of decent gauge wire across the bed. Once those were in place, the plants can be connected to the wire by means of string. The overall effect is that of a marionette.

The second was a simple trellis for a crop of snow peas. They took some old wire fencing and strung it across the back of the plants, up against the paddock. The vines can be easily trained to grow up the trellis, making harvest a snap.

If you have any ingenious garden structures of your own, please send us pics to dofb@dofb.com.