Utilizing vertical space increases the productivity of a garden bed. Mel Bartholomew’s All New Square Foot Gardening book has instructions for building a functional trellis like the one pictured here.
Materials
The materials are half inch electrical conduit and nylon trellis netting. I’ve taken to buying conduit ten sticks at a time because it has plenty of uses (such as building a chicken tractor.) The trellis netting is tied to the frame of the trellis. Two foot sections of rebar are pounded into the ground at the corners of a garden bed to support the conduit.
A Trellis Is Great For Cucumber Vines
Although I have had problems growing too many indeterminate tomatoes on this type of trellis, I have had great success growing cucumbers, snap peas and even watermelons on it.
After growing perfect cucumbers on a trellis, you’ll never want to go back to growing them on the ground again. When grown on a trellis, the cucumbers do not turn yellow on one side.
Related Pages
- Five lessons learned gardening
- How many bush beans per square foot?
- Why mulch paths between garden beds?
- Watermelon grown in a square foot garden
- Square Foot Garden Photo Essay
What do you like to grow on a trellis? I’d like to hear about it in the comments below.
