Trellis

Now that's pretty! I can just imagine how that would look with squash or melons dangling from it. Do a google image search so you can find a pic to show your wife how amazing it would look, and you can convince her you NEED one!

Robbomb116 wrote:Somewhat off topic, but his is my plan for my next box(es). The trellis would be made of cattle panel and be used for winter squash and possibly melons.  It's just if the wife will let me build more boxes haha

I would LOVE to do that...especially with my grapes, and my cherry toms since they grow to be about 15 ft.  But alas, no cattle panels around here.

And no, I don't want to use those rusty ol'... other things who's name I can't remember.
CC

I use the full 10' and then shove it down into the ground over re-bar mine end up about 8' above my beds  I'm 5' 7" and that's about my max with a stretch.

Nice trellising video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raFtcKNpGYM

The funny thing is that he says the conduit and fittings are expensive ... for example, he says the "brackets" run from $2.50 to $3.50.  I had to laugh because up here in Canada those brackets (90 degree fittings) cost over $6 Cdn ($4.50 USD) and a 10 foot length of conduit is around $6 as well.


Mke your own nylon trellis netting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCCx93hEoa8

Bump...

brianj555 wrote:

CapeCoddess wrote:I just priced it out and it's now $9 per trellis. Dang that inflation!
  but I buy in bulk -
Three 10 ft conduits at 2.81 a piece = two 5s, two 6s, two 4s = 2 trellises = one 5' X 4' & one 6'x 4'
2 pvc elbow connectors, Barbed = 1.21 ea
 netting  15 ft at $7= three 4' & one 3'.

Well I had no idea they could be made that inexpensively.  Are those mentioned above 4' wide or 4' tall. I just don't think that even 5' tall would be tall enough.  I'm figuring needing this height based on the fact that I have a determinate plant right now who's main stem is over 6' tall. ( the others are more like 5')  Maybe because of the climate down here.  I'm just thinking the indeterminates will be even taller.  Although I guess at if it's 7$ for 4' x 15' I could have two at 7.5' tall.  That wouldn't be a bad price.  See if I could make 4 of 4' x 7.5' for like $50 , that would be great. I was just figuring $100.  You do need to factor in rebar 4' (x8) and then 16 "u" clips to secure them to the bed as well. At 7.5' tall, I would need ten 10' conduits, which would also increase the cost.  How tall do your indeterminates main stem usually get?

Near the beginning of this thread is the answer to how big my indeterminants can get.

I made a mistake on some of these prices above. The elbow connectors are $0.69 each here. The trellis netting was 30 ft long and $7.77 from Amazon. I did forget to put the price of the rebar in because I got them for free from my boss but they are a dollar fifty for two foot length at Home Depot.

It's still June and most of my indeterminate tomatoes have reached the 6 foot trellises.  They are made from PVC and one of them is leaning with so much weight from the tomato plant.  I have pruned it twice from the top and taken out any extra that I can't attached it to the trellis netting; some tomatoes on this trellis are still green and some are beginning to yellow (they are yellow pear-shaped tomatoes).

Do people's trellises made from electrical conduit also lean with the weight of an indeterminate tomato plant?  I used 4 foot rod irons and I hammered them down at least 1 foot down.  Maybe it's time to rethink my design. 
R

One or 2 winged straps screwed to the side of the boxes?

https://www.homedepot.com/b/Electrical-Electrical-Boxes-Conduit-Fittings-Conduit-Fittings/1-2/EMT/N-5yc1vZbohkZ1z113etZ1z117vg

Yes, I have some that my husband made.
I'm thinking an 8 ft. trellis would be too high for me.  Maybe, I need to think about creating a connector between two trellises, like a bridge, to keep it sturdier. 


Still, the tomatoes get so top heavy.

Now I use 3/4 inch EMT and use those brackets that sanderson pictured.  But, if I were you for right now, I would tie a rope onto the top of the leaning trellis (maybe both sides of the trellis) pull the ropes to the right to stand the trellis up straight and then anchor the rope somehow on or near the ground.  Tent stake.  Maybe tie/nail it to the side of the bed.  Anything to keep the rope pulling on the trellis to keep it upright.

One year I used PVC and ended up having your same problem.  I used this method to keep it up straight.  I used small slats to keep it upright instead of ropes but ropes or wires would work just as good and be a lot easier to install.

The above 4 x 4 beds have a pvc trellis.  I used 1x1 pine boards/braces to keep the trellis from falling over.  I attached the braces to near the top of the trellis and then also attached them to the front of the box.  That kept the trellis upright.

Here is the same trellis I did the year before except it had two vertical supports but the wood bracing is still the same.

I use 3-way PVC fittings to keep the trellises squared.  

For longer beds with middle supports, I also use 4-way fittings.

I also set the 1/2" PVC in 1" PVC "cup holders" that are screwed into the corners inside the boxes.

3 way and 4 way PVC fittings look like an easy fix I can do now.  I like the brace idea, too. 

I'm still wondering how high do SFG'ners build their tomato trellises?  It's crazy going out there every three days to trim off the tops of indeterminate tomatoes.
R

My tomato trellises max at 6 feet 'cuz I'm short.

Roseinarosecity wrote:
I'm still wondering how high do SFG'ners build their tomato trellises?  It's crazy going out there every three days to trim off the tops of indeterminate tomatoes.
R

Minimum of 8 feet usually a tall tomato cage.  Last year I extended one cage to 10 feet and it was still too small.  Already this year the tomato plants are over the top of the 8 foot cage.  We do have a long growing season so if we can keep the plants healthy there is no limit to the height they can grow.  But the ideal height for me is 8 feet.  I have a very sturdy step stool that makes that possible.

A very sturdy step ladder.  Easily allows me to harvest tomatoes and beans on 8 foot tall trellises.

yolos wrote: Last year I extended one cage to 10 feet and it was still too small. 

WOW, 10 feet was still too small!  I can't even remember having ripe tomatoes at 6 ft.  It seems the plant gets sick and I get it out.  I'll have to take notice this year how high do my tomatoes ripen and still have a healthy plant.  I don't have a lot of space between beds, so I'm not sure how I would get those high tomatoes safely if I had an 8 foot trellis.
R

Reviving this very useful thread...

I've been trying to figure out how to make my trellis.  Getting pretty tired of seeing how much more expensive the materials that you folks use are here!  I have a quote of just over $200 for the makings of a steel conduit pipe frame.  About the same for a copy of sanderson's beautiful "4-poster bed" system. 

So I'm wondering about this fence section, set on its edge and clamped to the side of the bed.  Assuming the photo is accurate, counting the bars gives a rough spacing of 4".  I know it's not a mesh design but is that necessary?

Would be grateful for any thoughts

Do you have access to the galvanized wire cattle panels in your area? The ones sold here are 16' long by 50" high, and they sell for around $20. They are very versatile since they are easy to cut to size, or bend to fit the area.

KiwiSFGnewbie wrote:So I'm wondering about this fence section, set on its edge and clamped to the side of the bed.  Assuming the photo is accurate, counting the bars gives a rough spacing of 4".  I know it's not a mesh design but is that necessary?

Would be grateful for any thoughts

Whew, that's a pricey trellis, powder coated aluminum!? Whew.

If you dn't have cattle panels (which we used), or welded wire type fencing is too pricey...

I saw a video on making trellises out of all sorts of found things.  Old ladders. Teepee'd things?   Wire closet shelving.  The sides of wooden baby cribs.  Free items picked up from curbside and sales lists.  Yes, bed posts with wire or string strung between.  Open your mind to totally diy off grid ideas.  Also if you have things you can cut to get walking stick type poles you can build stuff of wood.   Let me see from my history of watching...    it might have been the Rusted Garden guy, Gary Pilcharik or whatever his name is?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOWhD-LjyfE

Wait, I see this one and it might be the one - I searched on free trellis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4QypJ8O3Rk


Here's a diff one I saved, the trellis is made of some narrow thinner gauge wire than cattle panels, forget what they're for.  But she uses them to arch... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEkJSu8KHZ8

I like the TexasPrepper guy and he grows blackberries in tubs. He's worth watching and following, and here is a vid on his trellis of T-posts and wire to contain a long string of black berry bushes in tubs.  (He also burns off the grass under the tubs each season.)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsnce7OiPjM&t=486s
If you need to lash (tie/knot) some pieces of found anything together, here is a great lashing video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ystfcYBmxk

All the time I have at the mo...
Soose (welcome if I didn't say! I'm new at this, too.)

OG, I spent ages yesterday googling "cattle panel" and all I could find were fancy things which cost more than the $200 for the steel frame!!  And the majority weren't a mesh design, either.

BUT Soose, thank you so much for the Rusted Gardener link!!  I've just been watching one of those vids with my mouth hanging open.  I am definitely going to just use teepees and "fences", I had no idea it was so simple.  Why on earth does Mel get us to make fancy trellises?  Is it just needed for really heavy stuff like pumpkins, melons etc?  I'm only doing short tomatoes and bush beans this year so RG's ideas will definitely be enough.  I'm not sure I'm ever going to grow the truly heavy stuff.

Thank goodness, I can stop being anxious about this darn trellising

Soose wrote:. . . I saw a video on making trellises out of all sorts of found things.  Old ladders. Teepee'd things?   Wire closet shelving.  The sides of wooden baby cribs.  Free items picked up from curbside and sales lists.  Yes, bed posts with wire or string strung between.  Open your mind to totally diy off grid ideas.  Also if you have things you can cut to get walking stick type poles you can build stuff of wood.

Repurposing items that others toss away is a cheap way to make trellises.

Let me see from my history of watching...    it might have been the Rusted Garden guy, Gary Pilcharik or whatever his name is?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOWhD-LjyfE

This video has some good DIY ideas.  Kiwi's problem is that everything is oh so expensive in NZ.

KiwiSFGnewbie wrote:OG, I spent ages yesterday googling "cattle panel" and all I could find were fancy things which cost more than the $200 for the steel frame!!  And the majority weren't a mesh design, either.

BUT Soose, thank you so much for the Rusted Gardener link!!  I've just been watching one of those vids with my mouth hanging open.  I am definitely going to just use teepees and "fences", I had no idea it was so simple. 
Thank goodness, I can stop being anxious about this darn trellising

@kiwi  if you don't know exactly what we're talking about, here is the link to the ones like OhioGardener and I buy...  it's a really heavy wire, use bolt cutters to cut it but that's not hard to do.  16ft long and 50" wide. Lends itself to cutting up into modular bits to make various things out of - I think OhioGardener makes his tomato cages of them, too.  Extremely sturdy, but a 16 ft long panel can be arched over easily.   https://www.ruralking.com/catalog/product/view/id/30342

(RuralKing is an old-fashioned store out of the MidWest USA with old-fashioned values and I and others here really like doing biz with them.  Their prices here almost always beat competing Tractor Supply store.  Having said that, these cattle panels used to be under $20 US and I bought them earlier in the Summer for $25.99.  $28.99 now here.  )

But if you can't get them you can't and like you, I was pleased to see Rustic Gardener's ideas for using other materials to form various trellises.  It opened my mind.  I think I sent you a "lashings" video and with those techniques, and just about any found item we should be able to make trellises of all sorts. cool, right? 

Edit... there are also rabbit versions of cattle panels.  With different spacings and diff measurements.

Hey thank you Soose for the info!  Indeed this is rather thick wire.  Actually, wandering my local big box store today I found a couple of items which might do the same job, the wire is much thinner but possibly it doesn't matter.  The prices are about comparable (taking exchange rates into account) so apart from the fact that there's less material involved (thinner wire), it's not outrageously priced.

Yes that Rusted Gardener guy is really creative!

If one has 2 upright supports and a top cross bar, one could make a home made trellis with string.  Camprn, a former Moderator, posted photos of the steps but they disappeared when the free internet photo storage held everyone hostage with a sudden fee. I used to do it when I just needed a short trellis or to extend one that just wasn't long enough. Last year I tried to take photos of the steps but it was really hard to take photos with one hand. Maybe when daughter is here for Christmas.



This is one of my attempts at one handed photos
.

I love seeing the creativity people use to create trellises or supports for their garden. A neighbor made a trellis for his peas and beans from a piece of chain link fence he found at the recycling center - didn't cost him a cent.

Creativity such as this Butterfly Garden (that is an old fence walk-in gate)

And, this Garden Bed...

OhioGardener wrote:And, this Garden Bed...

Garden bed, I love it!

One question though, is the lack of horizontal bars a problem for e.g. tomatoes?  It looks like that is just flowers so much less weight involved.  I ask because the cattle panel products I was looking at last week only had horizontal bars, so when put on one end (to get the height) they would have looked like these bed ends.  I wondered if that would be adequate for my uses.

KiwiSFGnewbie wrote:
One question though, is the lack of horizontal bars a problem for e.g. tomatoes?  It looks like that is just flowers so much less weight involved.  I ask because the cattle panel products I was looking at last week only had horizontal bars, so when put on one end (to get the height) they would have looked like these bed ends.  I wondered if that would be adequate for my uses.

Yes, horizontal bars are very important, if not essential, for supporting tomatoes.  My tomato cages are made out of cattle panels with 6" square openings, and the horizontal bars hold branches of the tomatoes as they expand upwards and outwards.  If it were not for the horizontal bars the tomato plants would "fall" out of the cages through the vertical bars.