jennybenny's Profile

The gardeners in my family used do this all the time with the various asian vegetables they grow because you couldn't find them in markets. (Now with farmers markets everywhere, they don't grow as many veggies as they used to.) The support trellises they made were made from all sorts of found wood and metal, covered in chicken wire or the like. I think for a while my dad had one made from our old backyard monkey bar set.

I think this works best if the variety of squash doesn't get too heavy. I can't imagine pumpkins would do well, for example.

My granduncle would harvest most of his squash, but leave a few on the vine to dry for seed.

One of my favorite childhood memories is carefully creeping through the tunnel, avoiding the bittermelon and long squash (some 24-36 inches long!), inhaling the smell of dirt, and relishing the shade and privacy. That's instantly what I thought of when I saw that picture. Thanks!

We have a sleeper sofa, the "Puzzle" model by Innovation-USA. I believe it's available at apt-ny.com, but I'm not sure since it was a gift from my parents. We have it in red and like it a lot. It converts from flat (bed mode) to loungy (the back at about 45 degrees) to super-sofa (back at about 90 degrees).

Our daughter slept on it for 2 years and now it's in our living room (she decided she wanted a loft bed). When we first got it, it was so firm that she needed a pad to make it squishy enough for her. (I was a little jealous because our mattress sucked.)

Even after 2 years of being strictly a bed, it's still firm and comfy. It now sits in our living room and gets compliments from guests. My husband and I like lie it flat and nap on it. Since it's become our sofa, we've had a few guests sleep on it, and they all like it (or are at least polite enough to not mention how poorly they slept and what horrible hosts we are). We may replace it eventually, but not any time soon.

My only issue with it is the size. When it folds out into a bed, it's bigger than a twin, but now quite a full. So twin fitted sheets don't quite fit, but full fitted sheets are a little too big. Also it's heavy, so moving it is no fun.

All in all, a decent cheap sleeper sofa that looks clean and modern.