The key to effective modern-day gardening is making use of all available space, including the one directly above the ground. If you want your garden to have that vertical mobility of sorts, you might want to put a trellis over it.
Consisting of a simple wooden frame, trellises are great for crawling plants like tomatoes, grapes, and cucumbers. Fortunately, it is also one of the easiest woodworking projects to complete.
Step 1: Designing
Generally, there are two design categories with trellises. The first is the frame or ladder type which can be mounted like a wall above the plants. Alternatively, it can be propped up next to a wall for support.
The second category is the tent or pyramid type. Basically, the trellis is designed to have a wider area at the base which narrows down to the top. This is excellent for open gardens that have minimal shade from shrubs or trees.
Either of these designs is viable for any garden. You can also find multiple woodworking plans for these trellises online which you can enhance to meet your needs.
Step 2: Materials and Tools
Trellises do not require expensive wood like redwood or cypress. You can have wooden boards made from reclaimed or reprocessed wood and the trellis would still be functional. If available, you can also use bamboo panels as they are cheap, thin, light, and yet highly resistant to weathering.
For materials, you only need a hand saw to cut the wood, a hammer and nails to fasten them to each other, and polyurethane or paint to give them protection from the elements. If you have a drill, you can also use galvanized screws instead of nails to make the trellis more stable over a longer period of time.
Step 3: Assembly
The first thing to build is frame of the trellis. Have your board cut into several 2×2 beams at 60 inches in length. Alternatively, you can cut a third beam for the middle to increase the frame’s stability. For frame type trellises, you would also have to cut 2 2×2 beams at 30 inches to be fastened at the top and bottom.
Once done, you would then have to cut the “ladders” from where the plants can crawl up through. Depending on the length of the frame, your ladders could be as long as 15 inches each and as thick as 2 inches at the side.
You have the option at this time to sand down the rougher edges of your beams. Not only will this give your trellis an overall uniform surface but it should minimize fitting issues later on.
The process from this point on involves laying the short beams to the frame and then fastening them with nails. You can also fasten extra nails along the surface of the ladders so you can mount pots for hanging plants on them.
Give the trellis a coat of polyurethane or paint for protection. After this, the trellis is ready to be mounted to any wall or propped directly over your garden.
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