Trellis on more than one side

I currently have 3 2X6 beds. Can I only put a trellis on one side? In the FAQs it says you should put the trellis on the north side which I get, but that would mean in my case I could only grow 3 tall things? Any ideas? Can you put a trellis towards the middle of the SFG?

Thanks in advanced.

jpalazzi wrote:I currently have 3 2X6 beds. Can I only put a trellis on one side? In the FAQs it says you should put the trellis on the north side which I get, but that would mean in my case I could only grow 3 tall things? Any ideas? Can you put a trellis towards the middle of the SFG?

Thanks in advanced.

You CAN do whatever you want. What you should do... I'm not so sure about, but you can always experiment!

My three trellises all run north-south and are in the middle of east-west long beds (one is 3x8 and the other is 4x9.) Then again, I am doing EVERYTHING backwards as my beds are also on the north side of the house and in my front yard.

One thing I can tell you from my first year of SFG'ing is: Don't expect to double your harvest by trying to use both sides of the trellis in all squares. I have achieved some "sharing" from both sides, but more of the "Beans using this 2 feet of trellis on the east side, watermelons (and cukes ) using 2 feet of the trellis on the west side." Until, that is, the beans and cucumbers decided that sharing was for the birds and grew all over everything, lol!! My front trellises are a huge jungle, though a little less now that the cucumbers are dying from wilt.

My back trellis has my tomatoes, and I'm glad I didn't try to grow anything up the other side as there would have been zero room for it. As it is, I am regretting planting my peppers against the trellis on the other side. (I was hoping to get a little support in for them.) The tomatoes are through the netting of course, and it, too, is all growing together and the peppers are shaded a little but seem to have forgiven me.

You might be able to have peas or something share both sides of a trellis, but I have a huge tangle of beans that is just going everywhere, and that was just from three plants. I shudder to think what it would look like if I'd planted 9 to the square.

One of my trellises is on the East side of the bed and everything is doing well. By mid-day the sun is shining on them all anyway. One of my 3.5x3.5' beds is at an angle and has a trellis on two sides (forming an "L") and that is working fine. I planted 21 peas on one side and beans on the other with a vining squash in the opposite corner to grow out the box -- I gently move the vines to circle the bed. Next year I'll probably plant a bush squash in that corner. What I personally wouldn't do is put the trellis down the middle of a 2' wide bed as you'd use more space. By putting it down the long side, you then have a foot for the vining plants and a foot for other shorter plants. But that is just my opinion.

Thanks for the info all. Do you mind sharing photos?

I took some pictures when I came home from work, will try to get them up tonight or tomorrow. Just had to tear out my crookneck squash, ARGH!

Here are some pictures. That humongous squash is my rampicante... it is just one plant, and much of it is hidden.


Pole limas and rampicante, grudgingly sharing.


Pole beans, dying cukes, (there IS a small watermelon in there somewhere), baby Cinderella pumpkins down in front, and that great tall thing is Amaranth.


Back view of the front SFG. You are seeing tomatoes in the foreground/right, the tall amaranth on the left, pole beans on the left tellis, limas and rampicante on the right one, and believe it or not there is corn in the middle there! There is also a small yellow crookneck squash with a lot of mildew there towards the bottom, I ripped it out yesterday (more on that later.)


This is the "back" side of the tomato trellis, where the tomatoes are coming through the netting and overshadowing the peppers. There is some chard in there too, the more crinkly leaves towards the bottom front of the photo.


Another view of the back side of the tomato trellis.


Front side of the tomato trellis. That is two tomato plants, with a nasturtium in the middle (probably invisible) and basil and onions in the foreground.


Straight-on front view of my front trellis. That is the rampicante on the left and sprawling all over. On the right are my Cherokee Trail of Tears pole beans, and that is only 3 plants if you can believe it!! Corn in the middle somewhere.


The back '40. The rampicante has come through my empty squares where I used to have radishes, pak choi and rapini. In the background are my tomatillos, a cherry tomato plant, and carrots, rosemary and sage in the landscaping, and my mess of chives in the foreground.


My hope for the fall... two pumpkin plants!

I have three beds with multiple trelli.

One is a 4x4 with a trellis on the north and east side, another is a 5x6 with a trellis on the north and west, another is a 2x6 with a trellis on the north and west.

Last year I only had a double trellis on one 4x4 and it was on the east,north, and west.

I put my trellis straight down the middle of my large bed - you can see photos here:
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/showcase-of-gardens-f6/sfg-in-zone-6a-2nd-year-t3159.htm

The pros: It was easy to reach across 2 feet instead of 4 since it was 10 ft long bed, and it created some shade for shade-loving plants

The cons: You don't really gain space for more plants on the trellis because they just overgrow each other, and it is harder to create the hoops for shade cover or insulation.

Next year I'm reconfiguring my garden so that most beds are only 2 feet deep, and the trellises will be on the outside edge, so I'm combining the best of both. You can see my new design for next year here:https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/showcase-of-gardens-f6/my-beautiful-potager-next-year-t3475.htm