How to Make a Bamboo Teepee Trellis

Bamboo is a great material for making garden trellises because it is lightweight, flexible, resilient, and a fast growing, renewable resource. This teepee trellis is a classic garden structure and supports peas, pole beans, sweet peas, and morning glories with ease. Use it in your kitchen garden to create a focal point, add height, and save space or in an ornamental border to grow annual vines.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• 8 10-foot bamboo poles
• 14-inch plastic zip tie
• trowel

1. Using a trowel, delineate the base of your trellis by drawing a circle that is four feet in diameter.
2. Visualize the final spacing of the poles by laying them out in even increments around the circle (it should look like a sun when you’re finished). Then pick up each pole and drive it 18 to 24 inches into the ground.
3. Create the teepee by gathering the poles together at the top. Secure the poles by placing a 14-inch plastic zip tie around them. Place the zip tie about six inches below the top of the poles, then cinch it tight. Clip off the tail of the zip tie. If you’re short you may need to enlist a tall person, or a step stool, to help with this step.
4. Make a small mound of soil at the base of each pole and plant five seeds (such as peas or pole beans) in each mound. After the seeds germinate, thin out the two weakest seedlings and then train the vines up the poles. Make the most of your garden space by planting salad greens like lettuce, arugula, or spinach in the center of the teepee. The growing vines will shade the salad greens and extend their harvest period.

Tips & Warnings

• If you plan on building more than one teepee, space them in a row eight feet apart and then place a horizontal bamboo pole between them to add extra support.
• If your soil is dry and hard, water deeply the day before you plan to build the trellis to make it easier to drive the poles into the ground.
• Wrap sisal twine around the zip tie for a more natural look.