Want to build a trellis for our vegetable garden that uses recycled wood and twine? I made this video to show you how. We grow peas, beans, & cucumbers on this simple trellis. (Want to learn how to grow peas? It’s easy: Watch how to here.)
Enjoy the video I made for you below, and then read through the steps to build your trellis.
Are you wondering if you can transplant peas? I finally answered this for myself.
And here’s an easy DIY soaker hose system video to water your trellised vegetables.
Build A Trellis, The GardenFork Way:
To build this simple trellis, you will need:
- Jute or twine (avoid synthetic twine)
- 1×2 pine stakes
- Cable Staple Gun
- Cordless drill
- Drywall or wood screws
If you have raised beds, you can build a trellis by attaching the vertical posts to the sides of the bed. I put the posts just inside the bed and drill into them from the outside wall. Two screws in each post will hold it. Make sure the screws do not jut out past the wood, the point could hurt someone digging in the raised bed.
If you are not using raised beds, I’ve found it helpful to cut a point at the bottom of your vertical posts, then hammer them into the ground where you want the trellis.
If you are building a trellis for a in-ground use, attach a cross bar about 18″ above the bottom of the vertical posts and drive the trellis into the ground. You may want to attach some wood triangles where the posts meet the top crossbar to make it sturdier and keep it from swaying side to side.
For a trellis on a raised bed vegetable garden, I don’t use a bottom cross piece. I staple the bottom loops of the twine right to the wooden sides of the bed. I do screw the top cross piece into the two upright supports. I then cable staple the twine up and down. Pretty easy.
If you want, you can just loop the twine across the top cross support. I’m all about making it simple.
I don’t think you need to use pressure treated wood for to build a trellis. I use regular pine or recycled wood from other projects, and they have weathered just fine. If you have some fallen trees nearby, the limbs work great for this, just cut them to size.
I like vertical gardening like this, it saves tons of garden space. I make sure that my trellises do not shade too much of the rest of the vegetable garden, because sun is already limited in my yard.
Why do I use twine for the trellis? In the fall, I can easily cut down the string with the plants, chop it up a bit, and toss it into the compost pile. The string will break down. For peas I run the string up and down, for a cucumber trellis, I will also run the twine across the posts, as they need more support. My favorite tool for attaching the twine to the wood supports is a cable staple gun.
I am all about keeping it simple and use what you got, but if you want to go fancy, see what my friend Erin has done with a super fancy trellis.
This is only the beginning of how you can DIY make a trellis. Let me know how you build a trellis in the comments below. Thx!