TRELLISES!

[Sheri]

No matter what type of gardening you do, trellises are in demand! I had a strong wind hit and it just about took all my hollyhocks down right at the time of their prime bloom. I wound up having to cut them down except for one beautiful pink one. 

Here's some ideas I should have thought about before I put those hollyhocks in.

Got some old beat up Tiki Torches? Paint them up and use them as a trellis!

[Sheri]

Trying to figure out what to do with that old swing-set? Make it into a garden trellis! 

[Sheri]

Old screen doors sure have a great use as a trellis in the garden. If the screen is to fine for climbing plants you might want to use chicken wire as a replacement.

Here's a great idea using the head and foot of an old iron bed.

[Sheri]

How To Build A Garden Trellis

This design represents one of the many different ways you can employ what Square Foot Gardening's Mel Bartholomew calls "Vertical Trellis growing".
If you use raw plywood as in the photos, it will take at least 3-4 years for the wood to weather to the point of needing replacement. If you use higher quality wood or weather stain it, it will go even more.
This design has a unique feature. If your gardening in a termite damage area, suffer excess rotting or have high winds, it builds in replaceable "feet". This way you're not having to replace the main lengths of wood. This design will produce one trellis approximately 6 feet tall by 3 feet wide.

The list of things you'll need:
• 7 Pieces of 1" x 4" x 6' plywood, treated or untreated (you only really need 6 - one's for backup)
• Box of wood screws (#8 - 1 1/2" will do nicely)
• 36" x 25' roll of Hardware cloth
• Saw - manual or power electric
• Screwdriver - manual or electric
• Staple gun - manual or electric
• Wire cutters
• Pencil and tape measure
Optional:
• Square edge
• Wood sealer or varnish
Construction
1. Cut 2 of the 6-foot pieces in half to get 4 3-foot pieces.

2. Put two of these 3-foot pieces, along with two of the 6-foot pieces together at the edges, forming a "picture frame" shape.

3. Connect these four pieces with wood screws. Then repeat with the other 3-foot and 6-foot pieces. So now you have the two "sides" of the trellis.

4. Roll out enough hardware/fencing material to cover one side. Using your staple gun, staple it to the frame. Tip: Pull the hardware cloth tight as you are stapling it to the frame, otherwise it will sag in the middle.

5. Repeat for the other side/frame.

6. Screw in the two hinges at the top of the frame to connect the two frames.Tip: Do this while the two frames are laying open on the ground.

7. Make the "feet" pieces by first cutting another 6-foot piece into two 3-foot pieces.

8. Then, cut diagonally across the 3-foot piece to create two "feet" pieces. The pointed side will point downward and stick into the ground. For high wind areas you might want to hammer them down into the soil.

9. Repeat for the other two feet pieces

10. Screw the four feet pieces to the frames

Here's another site you can visit.

http://images.taunton.com/enewsletters/vg/DIY-Garden-Trellis.pdf

[Margaret Beers Oliver]

It took me a moment to find the supports in the picture. My first thought was that they wouldn't hold up to our winds.
I love that it seems to be a container garden also. I wonder if you were to plant a square of salad greens under one in the shade if it would allow more to be grown during the heat of summer. Much of our lettuce bolted this year. Oh well... seeds!

[Sheri]

As you can see in the upper picture, the metal fence post were set in to secure the hog fencing. I have real bad winds here too, sometimes up to 96 mph so it's important to make sure everything is secure. We even have to bungee cord our lawn chairs to the deck post. I love these ideas and want to try it out in my garden. I also love to walk under growing plants and feel cocooned by them. It's like the Earth Mother putting her arms around me. Sounds like you could use the shade and lettuce does need it.

[Margaret Beers Oliver]

I am thinking that if you intersected two trellis (think figure X) you would have a great hidden area to really be wrapped in the freshness of living plants. Or if you really wanted to have some deep shade you could place it so there is a south side to hang juice bottles full of plants on it and still get some good shade... double duty!

[Sheri]

Good thinking! If deer are a problem in your area, you can make hog wire gates to keep them out.

[Sheri]

Hog Wire has many uses in the garden and being a trellis is one of them.