We have a lot of big trees around our property which is wonderful except when I'm wanting to plant a veggie garden. We studied the sun patterns for almost a year before determining where to put it. We have a section in the very back of our lot which was to be our main veggie garden. Then there was this area along the side of our house about 23 by 11 feet which was pretty much good for nothing. I didn't think it really got enough sun for a garden but I thought I'd plant some things and if they didn't do well I wouldn't be heartbroken. Big surprise! This crapshoot ended up being the best spot so far. Everything has thrived. It gets the morning sun and is sheltered by the side of the house and apparently veggies like that a lot.
When I was planning this side garden I knew two things, I wanted to spend as little as possible on it in case it was a flop and I wanted to plant more things than I had space for...unless I went up. So I bought some seeds and started them inside, bought some twine, a soaker hose, hauled in a truckload of free mulch from the city and cut down a whole lot of bamboo from some friend's property down the street. Thank goodness for their bamboo forest and kindness or my garden would be looking a whole lot different. Also, I must say my husband and brother did the cutting of bamboo, shoveling dirt and mulch and hauling - one of the benefits of being pregnant :)
Now to the building of the trellises. For the one pictured above I started with 16 - 8 foot long pieces. Took 8 of them and drove each one a foot into the ground at an angle just short of 3 feet apart. Did the same thing 3 feet from that row so the poles crossed at the top to form an upsidedown V. Tied the mates together with twine being careful that the ties were all about the same height because I will eventually be putting a pole on top of the joints to help stabilize them.
Then I took 21 - 6 foot long pieces and started tying (learn about lashing here and here) them horizontally. I found the best way was to start at the bottom of one end about a foot or so off the ground, then tying on the second pole about a 1.5 feet up from that one and a third pole 1.5 feet from that one. Each 6 foot pole was tied at three points where it joined three verticle poles. I continued to the next section, again starting at the bottom, overlapping the end of the new pole to the top of the previous one. I continued this all the way around on both sides till I was done. Then placed the last of the 6 foot poles on the top where the verticle poles crossed. Now if you've done the math you know something isn't adding up. My very last 3 foot section I did with 3 foot poles and followed the same steps.
Each 3 foot section has the same veggie on both sides so when they grow up and over the other side I'm dealing with the same thing. I took these photos a week ago and they all have grow two feet since and many are up and over the top growing down the other side already.
So you know what I have here...starting at the far end coming towards you are; watermelon, cantaloupe, zucchini, yellow summer squash, patty pan, butternut squash and acorn squash. The zucchini, summer, and patty pan squashes won't actually be trellised but these tellises will be here for years so I wanted to keep my options open. I'll be slinging the melons and winter squashes with nylons or old t shirts and tying them to the horizontal poles to keep them from breaking off when they get heavy.
For the photo above I basically drove 3 - 8 foot long poles in the ground at an angle about 3 feet apart and 3 feet away from the wall. Tying 4 - 6 foot long poles horizontally. The whole thing rests against the side on the house. On here are pumpkins and gourds. Gourd vines are insane and can grow endlessly but I'm hoping to get enough bird houses off them this year that I won't have to plant them next year, freeing up some space.
Next to this trellis is a block of ornamental corn. I wanted to have these for harvest decoration and winter critter feed. Corn stalks tied up by the front door in the fall and the corn on the mantel and table centerpiece. When we move on to Christmas decor I'll use the corn to feed the squirrels during the winter. A few notes regarding corn. Plant in a block rather than a single row...they need to be planted that way for proper polination. Also don't plant two varieties next to each other or they will cross polinate. My sweet corn is down at the back of the property but next year I think I'll swap the two.
Next to the corn are my sugar snap and snow peas. I took 3 - 5 foot poles drove them a foot into the ground about three feet apart. Then took 4 - 3 foot poles and tied two horizontally along the bottom a few inches off the ground and the other two horizontally a few inches from the top. I suppose I could've used 6 foot poles but I was all out and all I had left were 3 footers. Then I wove twine up and down between the upper and lower poles all the way across for the peas to climb up. Below is a photo of it when I was building it. Next year I think I'll do a full 6 foot row of each pea instead of only 3 feet. I never seem to have enough even though they are planted 2" from each other. I just need to figure out where I'm going to place another 6 foot long trellis.
You can barely tell but looking at the photo below at the very end of the row in the center of my trellises shaded by my watermelon plants are a few planters. In those planters I started broccoli in one, swiss chard in another, and lettuces in a third. These are cool weather plants but I've found that having them shaded a bit yet still getting some filtered sun in the cooler part of the early day that they are doing quite well. I also have some of my smaller tomato plants that didn't quite make the cut waiting in their little pots in the center of the trellises. It's made a nice nursery of sorts because it allows just enough sun and protection.
Final thoughts...even though I started most of these plants indoors next year I'll be starting them (melons, squashes, corn, peas) outside. The ones started indoors I
found took two weeks to acclimate and in that time we had a big storm
that killed some. I replaced those by just planting seeds directly
outside and they all seemed to be much stronger vigerous plants. My exceptions are tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, and herbs - those I'll be starting indoors in early spring and put outside when I start turning the A/C on.
Trellising not only saves space but helps keep your plants healthier and less susceptible to slugs, bugs, fungus, mildew, rot, etc. and you end up with straighter prettier fruits and veggies. It allows for better air circulation especially in humid summer climates like ours. You'll also find that the plants will produce more. Tie the plants to the trellis as they grow with that green tie tape that stretches a bit. I find that about twice a week now I have to go out there and tie them up they are growing so fast.
Using a soaker hose is the way to go. The water gets down to the
roots better and keeping the moisture off the plants themselves makes
them healthier.
Mulching
is key. Not only keeps a mass amount of weeds down, it helps keep the
ground from drying out so fast and adds organic matter to the soil.
These plants generally have shallow root systems and when the top
couple inches of soil dry out your plants suffer. Mulching really does
help keep your soil moisture from yo-yoing. Your plants will be so much
happier. Some counties/cities offer free mulch from all the yard debris, leaf collection they do.
Use appropriate fertilizer and fertilize regularly. This is a whole other post that I'm not going to get into here but a few google searches will fill you in on all you need to know.
Happy gardening!
