Zip(tie) the Light Fantastic
I think perhaps that one of the most underrated tools that the average gardener has access to and need of is the humble cable tie, perhaps more commonly known as a zip tie. Transitioning from a fairly tiny garden to a larger garden (but still not huge by any means) I guess I just didn’t know how many cable ties that I would be going through, and that’s with using them outside for only a small number of projects. The issue here is that cable ties are absolutely fantastic for securing animal netting to poles, which leads me to use them somewhat liberally on the occasions when I do need them. Overall I’ve likely used around one hundred fifty cable ties in the last year, and I’m still working on getting the shed set up for seed starting so it’s not like I’m done yet.
I have the following recommendations when you are going to be working with cable ties:
If you are working with them outside buy the UV resistant kind, otherwise they will get brittle and break quickly during the summer months. Yes they are slightly more expensive, but such is the cost of materials that won’t disintegrate in just a few months
Do not buy cable ties from a dollar store or somewhere else where they are available for a cheaper than average price unless you are willing to accept the structural failure of a few cable ties. I just buy mine from a place like Home Depot or Lowes. I used to buy them from cheaper sources such as Harbor Freight or even Amazon but in my experience the strength just wasn’t there, the ties would always snap either when tightening them or right after I had walked away. It just isn’t worth the hassle in my opinion
Buy a size longer than you expect to need, usually I buy them 8” long or more since they can always be trimmed
Speaking of trimming them, if you need to trim them I recommend grabbing the tail end with a pair of needle-nose pliers right where it connects through the locking cube of plastic and twisting them in one direction (a bit like twirling spaghetti noodles) until the tail separates. This will leave you with a much more skin friendly edge so that when you inevitably absentmindedly slide your arm passed the cable tie you don’t end up in the hospital. It is possible to cut them almost as close with a pair of shears or a really sharp and wide bladed pair of scissors, just be careful with leaving a sharp edge or point because it absolutely will get you eventually
Cable ties are generally considered a bad choice for supporting plants since they are rather unforgiving on opening back up without breaking, should they need to expand with the size of a growing trunk/stem/limb they usually just won’t, ringing the plant (at best) or killing it outright. If they do expand, it’s because they broke and are no longer offering any sort of support anyways. For attaching plants to trellising I just use twine (or nylon string for more long term setups) with tomato clips attached to actually hold the stems. If you are doing something like espalier use vinyl tape instead so that the plant limbs can expand as needed without incurring damage