SOPHIE: Plant ties can be really useful in the garden.
When combined with the right support structure,
such as stakes, trellis or an archway,
they can help your plants grow upright
or in the right direction.
But not all plant ties are created equal.
Instead of inspiring your plants to new heights,
some can actually be harmful to your plants,
so I'm gonna show you the difference between good ties and bad ties
and how to use them correctly in the garden.
First up, good ties.
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I use two types of ties in my garden.
For my vegetables,
I like to use this stretchy woven cotton fabric.
It's soft and pliable,
which is perfect for the tender stems of my vegetables,
and it can actually expand as their stems grow.
I'm gonna use it to secure the New Guinea bean to the archway.
You can also use old, worn-out T-shirts
cut or ripped into strips,
and used just the same way.
Now, for special plants,
I like to secure them with a figure-eight tie.
What this does is it gives them extra support from the wind
while keeping them nice and secure.
When you've finished with the ties,
or the plant's outgrown the need for them,
take them off.
I recycle them again next season.
But because they're biodegradable,
leaving them outside will mean they start to disintegrate
under the UV and the rain.
The other good tie I use is this hessian strapping.
It's perfect for plants that are gonna need longer-term support
and are slower-growing.
I use it here in my orchard
to stake trees that are a bit crooked
or trees that are gonna need protection from the wind
when they're young.
I simply cut lengths of it
and stitch it in place with wire to secure it.
The broader width of the hessian is ideal to support the trunk,
far better than the narrow, stretchy T-shirt tie would.
Next, bad ties.
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Using the wrong plant tie can have a long-term impact on your plants.
I put this almond tree in a couple of years ago
and I left the plant label on it
because I wanted to know what variety it was
till I got a chance to write it down.
Now, the label was secured with this green plastic tie
which has a metal wire in the middle,
like you often see on nursery plants.
Thought I'd remembered to take the label off,
but the tree grew so quickly
that within six months
the bark of the tree had actually engulfed the plant label
and I was unable to get the tie out.
I tried, but some of the metal remains in the trunk of the tree,
and you can actually see a bit of a scar from it,
but, more importantly, it's created a weakness in this tree
which is not ideal.
So it's really important
that you remember to remove these plant labels.
String is a popular choice too,
and that's fine if it's made from natural materials,
such as jute, cotton or even sisal.
However, if it's made from resin, polyester or nylon,
it's not so good.
The reason why is often these products aren't UV-stable
and they're not biodegradable,
which means time out in the sun will see the fibres disintegrate
and eventually blow around your garden
and end up in the soil, where they're never gonna break down.
The worst of all is baling twine.
This is what's wrapped around hay bales.
The problem with this is it's also quite abrasive,
so if you've got it tight around the trunk of a tree,
it'll actually shear off some of the bark
and it may even result in your tree being ringbarked.
So avoid these synthetic materials at all costs.
Plant ties are great for giving your plants support when they need it.
And when you choose the right ones,
you can be sure that your plants will grow strong and healthy.