Here ya go Rouge, not the best picture but I really like them as bean poles, will be buying more for next year. Growing mostly heirloom pole beans is another one of my addictions :). I have over 2 dozen different varieties in this year and over 200 different varieties stashed away. There's 4 or 5 beans planted around each of these poles. I bag a few flowers on all the poles, these beans are kept for seed, common beans don't as a rule cross but there's alway s a chance if some promiscuous bee has it's way with them. Annette

Use the older culms and you shouldn't have a problem. Young yearling culms will rot immediately, and older culms probably won't last as long as cured culms, but I've used them without a problem here. Different types of bamboo will rot at different rates also. Kt

we have them growing wild along some of the creeks. I see some up to 12', or use to when I fished. When I go visit my brother and sister in DeQueen, Ar. I see really big ones in low areas, maybe 20' or more high. If they grow in southern Arkansas I sure they can be found in southern Oklahoma. It you would be happy with the 10' to 12' range poles, just ask some of your fishing friends. Larry P.S. I had planned to plant some, but was told they will take your garden over. I dont know that to be true because I never planted any. My uncle has a grove he has had for many years and just mows around them to keep the sprouts cut back. His only grow to 10 or 12 feet, but they are in poor soil on a hillside. ( he lives just west of the Ok., Ar, line south of Ft. Smith.

Thanks for all the input. I've done a search here for Florida Weave, but all the threads seem to be missing. I'll try again in a couple of days. Time seems to fix that sometimes. The canes range from 1 1/2 inches to 4 inches in diameter, with most of them being about 2 inches. They are sturdy and have little flex. "If seedmama wants to bury her stakes 3' deep then I wish her luck - it would be totally impossible here. But no one uses or wants to have to use a ladder to pick their tomatoes. ;) LOL. This gave me a chuckle. Here's how the 12' length came to be. I had cut and stripped a number of canes and had them lying the back of the pickup, extending well beyond the bed extender. The canes averaged 30 feet, with the last 6 feet having noticeably more flex. I could safely and legally haul 16 foot lengths, but I just couldn't imagine needing 16 foot canes. On the other hand, I have some 10' canes that are too short for green bean teepees. Needing to make a decision in the field I concluded that cutting 6 feet off the tip, then cutting the remaining 24 feet in half would give me plenty of length to work with. I could always trim them shorter, but couldn't make them longer. Furthermore, I reasoned if I got some rotting on the end I could trim it off and still use the canes again in the future. I'm not married to 12 feet, and it really didn't seem that long lying in the back of the pickup. Tripods do seem to make more sense than singles. I'll have to see how much more time I can find to harvest bamboo. Additionally, I'll check further into the Florida weave. Assuming I go with tripods, does anyone have a favorite knot they use to secure the top? Thanks for responding to my questions, Seedmama