An alternative use for a sponge and a bit of woodwork

It is almost a year now since I planted a grapevine in the polytunnel. The plant has grown well, but I've never got round to sorting out the framework for it to be trained along. This is mainly due to me ordering 4 x 4 wood for the job in the first place. This quickly proved to be much too chunky to work with for this task, and very heavy to handle too.

Finally last week I decided to bite the bullet and order fresh wood, 2 x 2 this time (!), and getting down to work. The lighter, slimmer pieces of wood made all the difference. They were a pleasure to work with. Having put off for so long I resolved to do the job properly this time....and paint the wood with the wood preservative/stain I had left over from work on the polytunnel. Only then I realised that I didn't have a paint brush on site. Determined to make some progress, I spotted one of those small oblong kitchen sink sponges. Dipping one side in the "paint", this proved to be the perfect tool. Did the job much more quickly than a brush, and with less stress on my wrist. I couldn't believe how quickly I was able to treat 5 posts in this way.

Over the next couple of evenings I nailed the posts into place, digging them in at the base too. Last night was the big moment when I was able to screw in the vine eyes and attach the wires.....AND tie in the shoots.


Finished at last!

Once I found the right tools for the job I really enjoyed the work....and I feel very proud of what I've learnt. The initial 4 x 4 posts won't be wasted either....I plan to use them on the allotment to create a structure for the Raspberries when I move them to the back of the plot.