The Garden Trellis.

     This blog offers information taken from my book. Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming.
 Summer gardens involve plants that need to be trellised. French intensive methods use deep cultivation This means deeper roots. With deep roots below the ground, you will have taller plants above the ground that need staking. There are many ways to stake or trellis your plants. Different varieties of vegetables do well with different  trellis ideas. Consider what is easy, what helps the plants grow, what discourages insects and diseases and what makes easy access for picking. That means there may be compromises in order to take all those things into consideration. I like to recycle or utilize available resources that are readily available. Bamboo is an excellent material. People with bamboo on their land often welcome someone who wants to harvest it. It takes a few weeks or months for it to dry out if harvesting green bamboo. So harvest a combination of dry and green to work with. I have been able to score wire of different sizes. Branches sometimes work as well. Another idea is to use existing plants as a trellis. Examples: Sunflowers can be inter planted with cucumbers. The cucumbers climb onto the sunflower stalks. The sunflowers provide shade and attract lady bugs that gleam the cukes of small insects. Okra or corn can be used for pole beans. If the okra does very well it may create too much shade for beans. These are examples of poly culture. Poly culture involves planting under or around plants to both utilize space and as useful companions. Example: herbs such as parsley or chives will do well under tomatoes,.peppers and eggplant. Trellises can be creative as well as practical. Consider using the shade they create for plants that want afternoon shade.


Pole beans before and after. This method allows sun down in the middle and easier access to picking.

Cucumbers are grown under a horizontal wire of 5" squares.It is staked about 2 ft. off the ground. As they grow they are pulled through the wire and grow across the top. I crawl down the path and pick cucumbers as they hang down. I can get 4 to 5 bushels from a 25 ft. bed. With this kind of cover there is no room for weeds. I do put a few dill along the edge to attract beneficial insects.

Large tomatoes get their own box. As they grow up though it another tier is added. Once they grow over 51/2 feet they topple over. Since I do not want to climb on a ladder to pick them. Small tomato varieties are grown in a hoop that is 5 feet tall. With many types of tomatoes there are many types of staking methods. One of the keys to growing tomatoes is to let air to circulate in and around the plant to avoid an environment conducive to disease.

Snow peas and sugar snaps are grown in hoops. The entire inside and around the perimeter are planted. the plants support each other. The hoops are 5 ft. tall. They grow to 7 ft. The hoops are placed down the middle of the bed. Around the edge is planted with carrots, parsley, arugula, cilantro or other herbs.

When peas are burned up from the summer sun. Late tomatoes can be planted in their place. This makes for a good rotation.










Peppers and eggplant are planted in a 2- 1 formation. So the trellis is created into diamonds. Each plant grows through the triangle or diamond and lays over the horizontal bamboo pieces.