Trellis Mania

cleo88 · May 24, 2011

This year, my husband and I designed (and he built) a new trellis system. I plan to stain the wood but other than that, we're done.

As you can somewhat see from the photos, the concept is 3'x6' panels that sit in a foot of PVC pipe embedded in the ground. The piece of wood that goes into the ground is about 8 inches long and does not rest on the dirt - it's suspended a few inches above by the block screwed in at the bottom.

It remains to be seen if a foot of pipe is enough to keep it basically upright. The ground is really soft right now from all the rain we've had here in New England, so I'm not sure if they are going to start leaning. I can't decide if it would be a good idea to gang them together with twine - that would either make them stable or perhaps if one went down it would bring all the others with it!

I will still probably have to do some pruning so that I don't end up with a lot of main stems.

The big advantages of this system is that the PVC stays in the ground year round, so "installing" the trellises is just resting them in the pipes (assuming that frost heaves don't move the pipes too much) and taking them out is just as easy. They are flat so the store easily in shed, and the wood doesn't touch the soil anywhere so I hope it will last a while (assuming I get around to staining it).

ContainerTed · May 24, 2011

If you get a lot of wind, you might use some sticks to tie all the tops together and increase the horizontal and lateral strength. Otherwise, looks like a very thought-provoking approach to the support issue.

I can see some parts of this design that I might adapt to my garden. Last year, I had rows of corn and some toms literally blown to the ground. Some of the toms were in 5 gallon buckets and full of damp mix and they went down. (strong winds around here)

What's your plan on how to keep the PVC "cleaned out"????

Ted

les matzek · May 24, 2011

thats thinking, if you use 2 inch pvc put the 2 inch
pvc into the ground 18 inches and put a coupler on
the top of the pvc glue the coulper to the pvc that is in the ground then you can slip the trelles in and out
of the coulper it should stand to katina winds.
just my thoughts, good luck.

les

waterman1971 · May 24, 2011

Perhaps some triangulation is in order. This addition will add a tremendous amount of strength to your system. Looking good, best of luck with your garden.

cleo88 · May 24, 2011

Interesting idea about the coupler - I'll have to talk to DH about that.

Triangulation: Yes - The original thought was that these panels would have some holes in the top and then there would be cross pieces that we could attach with wing nuts - that would have been very stable - , but the problem is that a garden isn't plumb and level, and the cross pieces would be all different lengths and at funny angles. And then to figure out how to install them all in the right place next year - yikes! Already I had to label the panels "A", "B", "C", etc. and I have to get around to making a map to remind me where they go next year! That is necessary because the blocks that rest on the PVC were installed to make the panels sort of level.

b54red · June 2, 2011

I wouldn't worry about making the connections across the top permanent. Just use some long wire ties to fasten the cross pieces to the tops of the different trellises and then at the end of the year just cut the plastic ties and take down the cross pieces. The most important thing is to put in some diagonal supports driven into the ground and attached to several of the trellises. I had a whole trellis topple last year because I depended on the trellis holding upright just from being driven deeply into the ground. I now always put several diagonals on my long trellises but since yours are rather short I think one on each side of the bed with all of your individual trellises connected across the top would save you from the disaster of having them fall over. It is a lot easier to support the trellis now than once it starts leaning or after it falls. Below is a picture of one of my large trellises and you can see the diagonals that are attached with wire ties to the trellis.

cleo88 · June 11, 2011

DH ended up putting some more blocks of scrap mahogany on the wood that goes in the tube to make it stand up straighter, and boy that did the trick. The panels are so rigid they sort of twang when you try to bend them away from center. So far they are working out perfectly, and the ladderback woodpeckers like to hang out on the top bars while they wait for their turn at the birdfeeder.

May 24, 2011	#2
ContainerTed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: 6a - NE Tennessee Posts: 4,538	If you get a lot of wind, you might use some sticks to tie all the tops together and increase the horizontal and lateral strength. Otherwise, looks like a very thought-provoking approach to the support issue. I can see some parts of this design that I might adapt to my garden. Last year, I had rows of corn and some toms literally blown to the ground. Some of the toms were in 5 gallon buckets and full of damp mix and they went down. (strong winds around here) What's your plan on how to keep the PVC "cleaned out"???? Ted __________________ Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch

May 24, 2011	#3
les matzek Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Landers, CA Posts: 191	thats thinking, if you use 2 inch pvc put the 2 inch pvc into the ground 18 inches and put a coupler on the top of the pvc glue the coulper to the pvc that is in the ground then you can slip the trelles in and out of the coulper it should stand to katina winds. just my thoughts, good luck. les

May 24, 2011	#4
waterman1971 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2010 Location: The great state of Texas Posts: 43	Perhaps some triangulation is in order. This addition will add a tremendous amount of strength to your system. Looking good, best of luck with your garden.

May 24, 2011	#5
cleo88 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Sharon, MA Zone 6 Posts: 225	Interesting idea about the coupler - I'll have to talk to DH about that. Triangulation: Yes - The original thought was that these panels would have some holes in the top and then there would be cross pieces that we could attach with wing nuts - that would have been very stable - , but the problem is that a garden isn't plumb and level, and the cross pieces would be all different lengths and at funny angles. And then to figure out how to install them all in the right place next year - yikes! Already I had to label the panels "A", "B", "C", etc. and I have to get around to making a map to remind me where they go next year! That is necessary because the blocks that rest on the PVC were installed to make the panels sort of level.

June 11, 2011	#7
cleo88 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Sharon, MA Zone 6 Posts: 225	DH ended up putting some more blocks of scrap mahogany on the wood that goes in the tube to make it stand up straighter, and boy that did the trick. The panels are so rigid they sort of twang when you try to bend them away from center. So far they are working out perfectly, and the ladderback woodpeckers like to hang out on the top bars while they wait for their turn at the birdfeeder.