How to Build a Vegetable Trellis

Peas are ideally suited for growing on a vegetable trellis.

Vegetable trellises provide an attractive way to allow vertical climbing plants to grow. They offer a solid structure for plants to grow on and allow easy access for picking vegetables once they are ripe. Peas and pole beans are appropriate vegetables to grow on a trellis. Make a vegetable trellis out of materials that are readily available. For a rustic look in the garden, build the trellis out of saplings and thin branches.

Things You'll Need

• 24 saplings/branches 96 inches long Tape measure Mallet Garden twine Utility knife

Instructions

1. Select a 96-inch long bed in the garden to place the vegetable trellis. Lay out eight saplings in a straight line along the bed, spaced 12 inches apart.

2. Raise up each sapling one at a time and stick it into the ground on the outside edge of the bed. Push it in as far as you can and drive it in with a mallet so it is approximately 24 inches into the ground. These are the vertical strips for the trellis.

3. Weave a sapling in front of one sapling and behind the next and so on until you have reached the end of the vertical strips. Slide the sapling down to the bottom of the trellis. These will be the horizontal strops for the trellis.

4. Continue weaving saplings between the vertical supports. Space the horizontal supports about six inches apart. Adjust them as necessary so the strips are even.

5. Tie off each joint with garden twine where the saplings intersect. Double-knot the twine and cut it off with a utility knife.

Tips & Warnings

• Plant peas, beans or other vertical-growing vegetables according to the seed instructions approximately two inches from the front side of the trellis. Train the plants to grow up the trellis as they get taller. Tie the plants loosely to the trellis if necessary until the plant has started growing along it on its own. Plant an early crop of peas along the trellis and a later bean crop for succession planting.

• Cut away from yourself when using a utility knife.

References

• Mother Earth News: Make Simple, Beautiful Garden Fences and Trellises
• P. Allen Smith Garden Home: Rustic Rose Trellis

Resources

• Wasatch Gardens: Resource: Trellising