Use a Trellis to Create More Garden Space

Buy two lenghts of 1" pvc pipe ( 6 meters long each ) - bend
them into an arch about 2 feet high and secure in ground with 3
feet pieces of rebare ( 1.5 feet in ground - rest in the PVC pipe.
Anchor them about 2 feet apart and wrap a double layer of chicken
wire around them - making like a "bridge". Plant climbing vines at
each end and under neath more shade loving plants or veggies. Or do
it over a pathway - it looks lovely when it is covered with
cucumbers o tomatoes or chyotes.Sheila in Mexico

I have found that the simplest trellis works as well as any
elaborate one. In my garden, I support my green beans, snow peas
and cucumbers.I take three sumac sapling trunks (I have these in
abundance) which are at least 1" in diameter and cut them to 8'
lengths. I tie three together with 1'4" hemp rope a foot to 18"
from the top. I spread these out creating an equilateral triangle
about 3X3X3'. I tie cotton string to the top and wrap it around
each trunk (1/2 hitch) leaving four inches betweewn strands all the
way to the bottom. I plant the plants around the tripods and plant
companion plants (marigolds, geraniums, pentuias) in the center.The
climbing plants use the string and I have a space-saving tower of
beans, peas and cukes!

Hi, I have worked in various communities on Permaculture
projects and have found apart from saving space and protecting the
plant from garden tools and big feet it also makes it alot easier
to form/plant "a guild" with the trellis system, as you can get to
the plants and group them Kes
Peyperwww.ourwealthtishealth.com

The use of a trellis is now and will always be an exceptionally
good idea! I have always used standard wire fencing to support my
vines. A roll of rectangular pattern fencing is about $35 for a 50
foot roll 5 feet high. Most of my vines or viney plants are
cucumbers (naturally), squashes, peas, and pole/green beans.
Non-vines plants which can get heavy and break are served well with
the wire fence. Tomatoes, bell peppers and most any other heavy
plant can grow in a wire fence. Pumpkins and watermelons are
naturally to dense (heavy). They will tear from their vine sometime
after reaching 5 pounds depending on the thickness of the vine in
question.

hello,I have sufficient space in my garden, so I don't need use
patents now to create more space.Iwrote yiel's name because I used
his visa card.You received the money and my order,so I'm subscribed
to Mother... isn't?Thank youisaac shavit

My easiest trellises have been those made from 5 foot high
concrete reinforcing wire. For tomatoes, pole beans, etc., I simply
make "cages" about 30 inches in diameter. Cut off the bottom
horizontal wire leaving the vertical wires to press into the ground
a few inches deep. These are stable enough to stand without support
in all but very windy areas; if you need additional support, drive
a T-post every 3 or 4 cages along a row and tie together at the
tops with twine or wire. Plant an indeterminate tomato inside, or
plant three or four outside with a pile of compost inside to feed
them. For lower growing plants such as peas, make arches of the
material (it's strong enough to retain its shape), again with wire
ends left sticking out to press into the soil.

great website glad i found it. out here in nigeria, im sure to
get lots of insightful tips to better plan and grow my garden
thanks "mother earth living"

Thanks for the inspiration. I'm on vacation this week, and plan
to be out in the garden as much as the Maine rain and fog
permits

Sir, thanks a lot for giving me a special tip on small space
gardening thru trellishes.Can you elaborate more on the details in
making trellishes?I don't have much space in my urban garden area
but I have a lot of organic materials like used and old vegetables
and fruits .... How can I make other trellishes by recommending
other materials?I get buy a volumes of grass clippings and used
coconut husk and shell form the coco juice. How can I used all
these stuffs by saving my money. Thanks again and I hope i can get
a reply from you regarding the above. More POWER AND INSPIRATIONS
TO YOU AND TO YOUR FAMILY AND STAFF MEMBERSACHI LOLO

I'm actually trellising my spagetti squash which can be quite
heavy. It's just a regular wooden trellis. Anyway, as the vines
grow I weave them through the trellis so they are supported. Then
as the squash start to form just support their weight by making a
small sling out of old socks tied together, old nylons, etc and
attach the sling to the trellis.

I use trellises for my cucumbers and beans, and I actually do
mine in a 4-foot arch. I bought an inexpensive archway that's in
1-foot sections that you assemble, and removed the bottom 2 feet,
and then took some coated fencing my mom had left over, and placed
it over the arch, so that the arch was simply the support for the
fence. I then used zip-ties to attach it. Since my lettuces grow
better in some shade, I've planted them underneath and next to my
"archway of vegetables" to keep them from getting too hot and dried
out. I planted my cucumbers late this year, just a month ago, but
they're already about 3 feet tall on the trellis, and the plants
from opposite sides will soon meet in the middle. I got this idea
when my cucumbers climbed so far up my pine tree last year that we
couldn't reach them, and we ended up with 2-3 foot long yellow
cucumbers rotting in the tree. It's nice to see others put their
cucumbers on trellises too.

The trellis w/the 2 x 6 slats sounds good but I'm have a tough
time picturing it; directions seem confusing. Would love to see the
trellis...:)

I'm in the process of trellising some of my raised bed crops and
here is how I'm doing it. My beds are made of old barn wood and run
from 8-15' long by 40 inches wide. The two beds I'm trellising are
each 8' long and have tomatoes in them.I have made pieces of slats
from 2x6's and screwed them to the sides width wise of the bed and
next to the columns of tomatoe plants. In this case, eight slats
per bed. Next drilled holes in the slats next to the tomatoe
plants, large enough to take baling twine strung through it and
knotted at the bottom.I pounded 4 t-posts in at the corners and
slipped 8' pipe just large enough to fit over the t-posts.Next
attached/bolted 2x4's to near the top of the pipe length wise. Laid
width sized 2x4s flat on the bolted 2x4's and screwd in place. It
does help to drill your holes in these last 2x4's before you put
them up, which is something I had to do again the first time. Start
with your string knotted at the bottom and fed through the bottom
board hole and run it up to the corresponding top board hole and
knot tight. Train tomatoes up and if you want can use clips ot
twist ties to loosely attach tomatoe vines upward. This works for
me in a rather windy location in NM and helps me grow the big
tomatoes my family likes so much without a lot of hassel. Did find
knotting the string every foot helped when tying in the past so
will be doing it again thsi year.

Hi Cindy, I'll post pictures if can find away to do that on
MotherEarth. Will be putting this method to work again this weekend
and will take digital pictures to show step by step what I'm
doing.