Trellis Ideas

Hi All:

I am on a mission to make my gardening spaces more efficient this year. And one of the things I'm going to explore is an increased use of trellises for some of my vegetables.

I have always used them for plants such as peas and beans. But I have seen some comments here about also using them for larger plants such as squash and melons. I would like some info and suggestions about vertical planting for these larger fruits and veggies. I would really appreciate seeing some pics of any solutions that have wroked well for you.

Thanks
Brennan

I trellised three varieties of cukes with no problems. Much easier to pick. I would have done my smaller melons (Golden Midget) but I had them in the front section of the garden and didn't want to create shade there. My trellis is like the one in "Vegetable Gardener's Bible:" six foot high, 16 feet long, w/ 6 inch netting.

Unfortunately I don't have any pics, but when I first moved to VA, the previous owners of our first home had left behind a couple of 4'-high sections of that inexpensive thin wood-strip lattice stuff.

Using a couple of metal posts for support, I made a sort of teepee out of those 2 sections & grew Cornichon cucumbers on it. Not only did they grow terrifically on it, but the bonus was that I was able to grow lettuce inside the "teepee" & the shade kept it from bolting in our hot humid summer weather.

I have a bunch of lattice sections lying around.

Do you just leave it up and re-use each year?

Is the Vegetable Gardeners Bible a book?

Yup - I just left it up & re-used it every year. It sort of provided winter interest in the garden area, & the birds used it for shelter during bad weather.

Sorry, yes, it's a book. If I find a pic of my trellis I'll post it. There was a thread back there somewhere about this...

I use all kinds of trellises. One type is just posts in the ground with a wire along the top and one at the bottom, then run strings the length of it.

If there are downed cedar trees, or the like, I'll throw a teepee together. (Really fun place to sit in when it is covered with plants!)

As for growing squash and melons vertically...vining squashes can be trained onto a trellis fairly easily. I've grown watermelon on metal fencing (similar to chain link fence) and they did okay with the help of a "sling" for supporting the heavier types. (You can make a sling out of pantyhose or nylon mesh.)

Trombocino grows like crazy on a trellis and needs very little training; it's loves to climb!

That trellis system looks great horseshoe, and not very expensive either which is what I like.

Thanks Horseshoe:

Very nice gardens!

What type of wire do you use? String?

What is Trombocino? Is it a squash?

I am not sure if this really applies here but I have some sugar snaps growing on an EB and I just placed some sort of a trellis system on it.

Carminator:

I'm interested in the box that your peas are growing out of. What is that? Is that some type of vent in the lower right hand corner?

found it... if you can see my trellis; it's covered w/ beans, cukes, and a sunflower...

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/527326/

Bronx, I use electric fencing wire (mainly cus I have a large roll of it) but you can use any kind of galvanized wire that is of decent diameter. (Tomorrow I'll check the size of the fence wire and post, if you like).

The string I use is baling string, used for baling hay/straw, etc. I but it by the roll and there is about a mile and a quarter per roll (cost about 6 bucks) and last quite a while. It takes a while to break down though so if you want something that can be taken down at end of season and composted you might want to try hemp string.

Trombocino is often listed as "rapicante". It's very easy to grow, very delish and also "low maintenance". (I luv low maintenance!) There are several threads on DG with some of my pics. Here is the PF entry:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/56773/index.html

It can be eaten either raw (when about ten inches long) or you can let it get bigger and cook it many ways...grill it, fry it, saute' it, bake it! One of my favorite pics is this one, my end of year harvest for seed saving!

I saw an interesting way to trellis cucumbers in a book once. They made the trellis at a 30 degree angle, planted the cucumbers at one end and planted lettuce underneath. Kept the lettuce cool in the summer since they positioned it so the lettuce only got morning sun. If you used chicken wire I would think you could plant watermelons instead of cucumbers.

I thought it would be nice if you built it fairly sturdy because then you could cover it in plastic and use it as a coldframe until after the frosts were over.

This year, I made a bunch of 8' high A-Frame supports with the top ends crosses, forming a small notch where a cross piece could lay securely and support some wleded wire fencing. hanging down. I nailed a few diagonals for bracing and the the thing was solid as a rock.

Unfortunately, it also acted as a large sail and the first strong winds blew down the first 12' section. It was good it happened before the peas started climbing so I was able to get it set up again, this time laying some concrete blocks on the raised beds to act as a tie-down. We had some ferocious winds later in the season that did some more damage to some trellises with late cucumbers, but it was strong enough that it also took down some huge poplar trees. Next year, I'm going to bury the blocks in the soil for more stability and use a heavy wire to anchor it. I also had problems with teepees, even with the ends buried until I did the same thing, tied them to concrete block anchors.

Wayne

Hiya BronxBoy! Howdja get way out there?

I'm going to try some of these; I've been collecting parts for them since the end of this past summer:

Woody’s Folding Tomato Cages: These sturdy wooden tomato stands are simple to build and easy to store. http://www.motherearthnews.com/do_it_yourself/2005_February_March/Woody_s_Folding_Tomato_Ca%20ges

Edited to say if the direct link doesn't work anymore. Scroll down to 'Mother's Library'; and click on link that says: Do-It-Yourself - and find the topic there.

~* Robin, the native New Yorker.... just the way Barbara "S" says it.