Sisal Twine question

Got some 4mm sisal twine from a depot store. They looked natural to the eye but when i opened the packet at home, it came this smell which i best can describe as fuel/oil, similar to what ropes in boats do.

I have read some people describing the same smell, and also read about some twines types being culprits of plant health problems.

Am i being paranoic or is it good reason to try other make?.

Thanks!.

 

Natural fibers like sisal and jute can pick up odors. Maybe the twine you bought was contaminated by being stored near gas or oil or some other chemical. There's a lot of smelly stuff in hardware stores that could make your twine stinky.

This is my first season growing hops and I went with this twine from Home Depot. We've had a very rainy spring, but so far, so good and it definitely does not smell funny. It only lasts one season, but it's cheap enough to be a one-use throw-away item. I based my twine choice on info in a "Chop and Brew" hop-growing video on YouTube.

 

a lot of sisal and other natural fiber twines are treated with something a great deal like kerosene - it keeps the material from breaking down quickly and keeps insects from eating it.

yes it smells, i have used it for hops before and it does fine, although it will break and fall apart after the growing season. you are not being paranoid - if you are that worried use nylon or cable

 

Use Hemp

 

Thank you all for your input. Kerosene best describes the smell indeed. What i've ended doing after reading your replies is to leave them overnight open air on the trellis and the smell has gone away almost completely. So i have now put the bines to climb on them. It's nearly midseason and i hope they just grow healthy root system to survive their first finnish winter. Next year will be growing with hemp. I mean the twines.

 

fwiw, I'm on my third year using the same coir. The stuff is bulletproof and perfect for bines to climb. They work like velcro together...

Cheers!