Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Who are these millionaires who can afford trellises? They are SO EXPENSIVE! I guess I have to make my own. It's for delicata squash. I have like 5 plants coming up.

I did google and found a few possibilities but they are so diverse! Some are wire hangers and some are house-like structures. So I ask you, have you built a trellis for squash? Or have any advice?

I used a discarded chain link gate for my cucumbers, I just buried it a little bit and then put a plant stake through the place where the hinge went. The vines can weave through the holes and the chain link isn't too thin so it doesn't like, cut into them or anything. Do you guys have chain link anywhere around your yard?

I'm wondering if I could somehow repurpose a pallet for this. I might have to play with that and see if I could make it work.

We should just start a trellis company and make millions.

The guy with the garden plot next to mine has some sort of chain-link fence set up. He said that when his cucumbers and melons start to come in, he fashions little hammocks out of lady's pantyhose to keep them supported. I'm sure he gets some good looks buying a boatload of pantyhose ever summer. If I see anything interesting going on in his plot, I'll get a photo of it.

I use bamboo for everything. I keep an eye out and then when I need some just harvest it from the dog park or parking lots or whatever. If bamboo doesn't grow by you I'm sure you could use other tough sticks. Or old boards and wire.

we made some trellis for roses and blackberries at our old house using 4x4 posts and some welded wire fencing, worked pretty well, wasn't garish (fence pretty much blended into the background) and wasn't too expensive.

Fabric trellises are a pain but work fine and are cheap.

I had a friend make an arch thingy out of large square hardware clothy stuff.

we're using old fencing and random metal things we found around the yard. i think i'm going to have to go buy something at some point, though. apparently everything i planted this year is a vine.

Let me know what you decide to use! I have grape and kiwi vines that need something to climb on a week ago, and my cukes, squash and melons will need something shortly.

Kiwis grow on vines?????!?!!?

I still haven't decided what to do. I'm about ready to say fork it and let them grow into the grass.

Since its squash it just needs to sprawl on something that will hold it up? What about nylon chicken wire mesh? And just put some posts to hold up the top part? Its not the most supportive but really, the important part is to keep the squashes off the ground, and a hammocky nylon mesh will do that.

Freecycle! Post that you want a trellis. I found one that way in Cambridge, easy peasy.

Oh gawd yes, and they're all curly and twisty and sexy and new growth is all fuzzy and red! Oh and also grows beautifully in most climates! (Okay, that's a bit of a psych, it doesn't really fruit much in the mild and cold climates)

I made this last year:


The wood was maybe two bucks each, and the wire i found in the yard, but you could buy some for not too much.

THAT IS SO EXCITING.

That looks great! It wouldn't work for my plants because they're kind of against a fence, so I need something that is kind of archlike. Boo. But I love how cute it is!

Can you nail into the fence? What if you just used some sisal twine, nails, and then those metal lawn fabric hooks to sink the sisal into the ground? I can draw a picture if you want.

xo
kittee

My first cucumber trellis was some bamboo plant stakes made into a teepee, tied together at the top, and then I wrapped it with twine so things could climb. Cheap and easy.

And then birds ate all of my cucumbers.

i grow my grapes against my house, and we built a trellis from plastic anchors placed into holes in the mortar, and then eye hooks (which had been spray painted with anti-rust paint) were screwed into the anchors (we also spray painted the anchors cause they were bright yellow. we opted for silver)

we then ran wire through the hooks horizontally to be hidden along the mortar, and they work swimmingly. one of them did snap though, so when this year's harvest is over, we're going to replace the aluminum (i think) wire with possibly picture hanging wire. we'll see what happens. maybe i'll invest in some kevlar or something.
(as a bonus, growing the grapes against the wall seems to be keeping the house slightly cooler, which is a win-win! we'll see how it is later in the summer, of course.)

also, when we first got the house, we installed that shiitake-y plastic trellising against the garage, and within the first year, it snapped. so frustrating. so wasteful. we're going to install a wire trellis over there as well.

I shop at Bulky Pickup!

I've put discarded cot and bed frames (the springy metal part), wire shelving units, and anything else similar. Yes, it does rust after several years, and you need to replace it, but it's free, and you are reducing what is going into the landfill.

We pound old pieces of pipe or aluminum screen door frame pieces (whatever) into the ground, then wire the trellis material to them, for stability. They work great.