Jute Netting
A couple of questions were in my DMs this morning so I thought I'd drop them here and get the ball rolling . The first question I got was about the jute netting that I use on the farm. Did I like it and how was it working for me? Let me back up a bit first. The first sweet pea plants I grew were in my backyard in Portland, Maine and I had maybe 20 feet total. I used standard hortnova netting and didn't think about it at all. Worked great, held up, and when I took it down at the end of the season, I binned it and moved on.
Then we moved to 10 acres outside of town, and while I didn't grow all 10 acres, what I did grow was significantly larger than the 20 foot row in the back yard. I carried on as usual and at the end of the season I had this big pile of plastic waste that didn't feel great.
So I started researching. I couldn't find anything natural yet, but that property was on a gentle slope so I didn't have to worry about drainage and was farming completely no-till as a result. Which meant... I could go permanent. I made the switch to (expensive, but incredibly solid) welded wire fencing in permanent rows. At the time I think I had probably 200-300 row feet of sweet peas and was primarily growing for CSA and wedding work. I did have to move the rows once when there was a fungal issue, but it wasn't as cumbersome as it might be, and there was no trellis waste at the end of the season.
Then we moved home.
The soil in the Skagit Valley is something else. It grows everything. But it also catches and holds a * lot * of water over the winter. Even with the drainage ditch we put in the first winter we were on this farm, most of the winter sees 6 inches or more of standing water over half of the growing rows. And when it all drains into the Skagit River as the water table drops in the spring, the soil compaction is impossible. I still try to till as little as possible, but sweet pea roots don't really want to have to fight anything so they need a little bit softer soil. So I usually have to ditch and then back fill. Which means until someone designs me exactly the right implement, I can't put up permanent wire trellis again. Every single row would have to come off and be dealt with and then put back on.
So now I have a problem to solve. 70 rows (150 next year), one human female, age 49, a strong commitment to eliminating single use plastics, and a plant that needs something to climb.
I couldn't find much the first year and admittedly the majority of my focus was on getting the house from "disaster" to "won't kill us to live in it while we finish the work." I found some nylon trellis and while nylon is still a plastic polymer, it was moderately better, environmentally. So I threw that on the two rows of wedding whites I was growing for my own work and put a pin in it.
A friend of mine has manufacturing contacts so as I was researching if there was a way to have it made for me, I found that a company in California called Conscious Gardeners was making jute trellis for the cannabis industry! I contacted them and asked if they were able to supply the amount I needed and they were thrilled to help.
So now for my opinions:
PROS
• Easy to install. I use a heavy duty stapler on wood posts and saved twist ties from wholesale flowers I get from the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market for my wedding work on the metal t-posts.
• Fully biodegradable, they can become pathway mulch or go right in to your compost to break down over the next few years
• The aesthetics are better, let's be honest. Nothing says abundant English Country Garden less than plastic netting.
CONS (although none large enough to deter me from using it going forward)
• Natural fibers stretch and relax. A few times over the season, I go through and tighten the trellis so it doesn't sag so heavily under the weight of the vines.
• Single season use. I'd love to find something that can be reused, but again natural fibers will break down in rain and wind and UV exposure.
• Cost. Jute netting costs about 3x what plastic netting or nylon netting will cost. Paying this cost feels better than knowing that I'm contributing tons of microplastics to the ecosystem. It's a commitment I've made and I account for that in my cost-to-grow.
• The trellis is inconsistent. This isn't a dealbreaker for me, but did cause a bit of frustration as my lower edge didn't always remain consistent. It's a natural product, and I'm okay that it gets a bit wonky here and there. I do too.
So that's where I am on it right now. I'll keep using it until I can find a way of creating a permanent structure that can also be moved out of the way to do the initial dig and plant in this mucky spring bog soil. You know what I will be doing this coming year though? Top rails. I devised a system in Maine that helped keep the trellis up no matter how heavy the vine got. I took photos and will share that with you all soon!
There is an ongoing conversation happening over on a free community site I established on Patreon. Over time, there will be loads of resources, videos, and always an open ended thread for your questions about growing sweet peas. No question is too small, too big, or to new. You are very welcome to join us!
