I'll be quiet after this :)

I just wanted to mention that I found an EXCELLENT (way better)

photo step-by-step tutorial on building a conduit trellis.

http://www.njprepper.com/2010/09/the-emt-trellis/

Jo

Wow - I really like that one, too, Jo! It shows me exactly how to do it and what to get and everything! I wonder what the expense for the EMT is versus PVC? I am off to do some research!

Do you think it is feasible to kind of do a Florida weave between the posts? I'm a little iffy on using the square netting for tomatos because I'm afraid it might damage the vines and it could be difficult to try to train vines thru it. What kind of material would you suggest using for the weave? Jute, Clothesline? Appreciate your opinion, and please don't stop with the info. This could very well be an ongoing thread with more options for staking and trellising!

Would the conduit act as a lightening rod? Just curious.

Susan

Susan, I think an impact driver would be a handy tool for you to have.

I have Arthritis and it is hard for me to lift things, but I can use an inpact driver well. I have three of them. When they would go on sale for $100 for a driver, drill, charger and two batteries I would buy them and just sit them back. I have two pneumatic framing nailers but cant lift them over sholder high, and it takes both hands to do that but, I can drive deck screws like crazy.

Larry

The conduit is really inexpensive. If I recall correctly it's under $5, maybe as low as $2 or $3. Two 10' lengths will make one trellis 6' highx 4' wide with four feet left over for your next one.

I LOVE the nylon trellis netting. It is very strong (60# break strength) but very soft and flexible. It has a LOT of give and training my vines through it over the last several years has been cake. It is much softer and more springy than rope or string.

I bought a 5x30' pacakage for around $11 or $12, and cut it into seven peices each 5' by 4'. Each pc can do one trellis. Even though my trellises are 6' high, my netting only hangs down 5'...so it starts one foot off the ground. The bottom of the plants don't need support anyway. So my cost for netting per trellis was less than $2.

I'll give you a rough ballpark of what I think the trellises cost to build, if I recall costs correctly:

10' conduitx2= Approx $6
elbow connectors x2+ approx $6
5' rebar x2=$2
5x4 pc of nylon trellis netting $2

total somewhere around $16 for each 4' wide by 6' high trellis. Not cheap, but no horrible.

I have never seen lightning hit my conduit but I don't knwo. I have a LOT of it in my garden.

Jo

Yeah, that's about what I figured cost-wise after checking prices at Lowes online. Except don't I need 4 elbow connectors? One for each post would be 2 for each set up?

That's close enough for cost however you look at it.

Larry, $100 is a bit steep for my budget. I won't use it that much, hopefully. I'll probably get my daughter's fella over to pound them in for me, and my neighbor said she'd help me cut them. I've actually had HD or Lowes cut boards for me before, and they may cut the pipes for me, too. Sure would fit in the car better.

I'm done with figuring everything out now, so no more questions to bug you with. Appreciate all the input!

Susan

I am putting together a few more trellises, so I thought I'd report back with more accurate prices

The Rebar I buy is 4'. I was mistaken thinking it was 5'.

Rebar $1 each at Atwoods
10' 1/2" conduit is $1.99 at Home Depot.
EMT Elbows are $2.59 at Home Depot.

HTH

Jo

Thanks, Jo. My intention is to get my materials next week along with my garden amendments.

Ain't it grand today?

Susan

Jo, those sound like good prices. I paid $6.10 for 20' 1/2 rebar and $13.70 for 20' 3/4 rebar. The EMT is cheaper than I can get it also. That is part of the problem of living in a small town.

Larry

I am not able to see any of the pictures, so here is my .02 worth.

I would advise the ones buying PVC to buy the gray electrical type. It has more UV protection for outside use. The white water pvc pipe will get brittle when left out in the sun over time.

And if you folks did'nt live so far off, i'd haul you some cattle panel and cut them to what ever length you needed.

But then i dont know how you survive without a pickup truck.

Busy1,

I agree with you on both counts.

I cannot imagine life here without a pickup truck. Ours is old and has high mileage but I consider it indispensable. Do you know what I find odd though? How many people buy and drive very big, powerful pickup trucks with all the bells and whistles but won't haul anything in them because it might scratch up the paint job. I don't see the point in driving a truck that's too pretty to use.

Dawn

That is why I call my pickup a work truck. It's like naming the pig Pork Chop, or the turkey Thanksgiving. I don't want to begin thinking about it in any other way. It knows it's way to the garbage dump and Lowes and an occasional run to Home Depot in Joplin, and soon it will be a compost hauler. Although we probably don't need 3 vehicles, that old truck comes in handy.

Of course, my husband drives an Avalance, and I refer to it as the 'Truckette', because although it has a small bed and is a good vehicle, it just isn't what you load down with manure or compost. LOL

I would like to replace my pickup, its like me its getting old and tired. I built a ladder rack for it over a year ago and it is so handy I just cant give it up. There was one just like it in the paper a few weeks back with only 53000 miles on it. I jumped on that in a heartbeat, but I didn't jump fast enough, it sold before I could call. It looks like me and that old truck with the rusty ladder rack will be together for a while.

I am just a suburban housewife on one acre who gardens as a hobby. I don't think we could justify the purchase price or insurance on a pickup ;)

Jo

I bought 8 cattle panels ($15.88) and 20 6' T-posts ($3.59) from Lumber at South Sooner. Seems to cheapest among other stores.

Biradarcm, that is cheaper than anything I have seen in the Ft. Smith area, by about 20 to 25%. If I liver in that area I would buy a few cattle panels.

Here is how I built Vertical Trellis over 16 feet raised beds! I used 3 cattle panels (16'x5.2') and six T-posts.

I will plant peas as a spring crop then will go for inter-crop of cucumbers and pole beans once peas done or still producing. -Chandra

Beautiful, Chandra! You are a man of many talents! It looks like you raised the height of the trellising to about 6', no? I am very impressed, great job!

Susan

Susan, Thank you. Yes I raised about a feet so that we can walk easily in the tunnels! The tunnel can be nice place to relax in hot summer when entire trellis covered by plants! -Chandra

Wow, Chandra, you got great prices. The trellis is gorgeous -- can't wait to see it in summer!

Diane

BEAUTIFUL!

Jo

Chandra,

It looks great!

Dawn

I wish I could find that price in my area, but I know I can't. I got my arch moved yesterday before the rains came, but still have the others to put up. Today it is a lake.

Wow, Chandra!! That is NICE!!

I have been watching this thread intently as I need to build a pea trellis and was wondering if the netting was better or if wire was better. I am going with the netting I think.

I didn't know that about conduit (being so cheap). I have some shopping to do!

Ezzirah, yes, I was going to get the conduit, too, because it is a bit less expensive than the PVC. I know the conduit will rust some, but am wondering if you can paint it eventually.

Susan

Susan, I think EMT has a G-90 Galv. coating. It will last a long time without painting except on the ends where you cut it. If you tie a wire across the bottom to keep the ends out of the soil it will help keep the ends from rusting. ( I think you and Jo said you were dropping then down over re-bar)

I thought I might make DW a trellis like that. She is wanting to grow some flowers this year, altho I doubt she will be able to care for them.

Larry

Susan I have EMT conduit in my garden for three years with absolutely zero rust spots or dulling.

I eventually hope to paint it just to make it more cheerful. But I don't think I will NEED to for YEARS.

BTW I am HEARTBROKEN. It looks like my only trellised plants this year will be tomatoes and flowers. I ordered Alabama no 1 pole beans from Sand Hill Preservation, and they sent me a store credit slip. Rabbits got their crop. It is the only pole bean I could find that was Nematode resistant, and I cannot find it for sale anywhere else :(.

Jo

Larry, big hugs to your wife. If you were close, I would come grow her some flowers.

Jo

Today we installed another four cattle panel trellis in the center of raised beds for tomatoes, cucumbers, pole beans... btw, what other vegetables need trellis? I have one teepee, 3 lattices in addition to 8 cattle panel trellis.

Here is a link that might be useful: see more pics

Oh, Chandra, that's a thing of beauty! I hope your wife and kids forgive me because I'm going to have to take a little trip to kidnap you and put you to work making my garden.

Diane

Sorry, I was so distracted by the gorgeous garden set up that I forgot about the question.

Climbing veggies (that I can think of) are:

Peas
Pole Beans
Squash
Melons
Cucumbers

I know I'm not thinking of everything but I'm sure someone will be along to add to the list. Just remember that there are bush and vining types of quite a few things so check what you have.

Diane

LOL Diane, my wife said she can offer you ransom in advance for not kidnapping me, she offered you fresh harvest! I can say treat this as your garden, and feel free to visit any time and pick the stuff you want :-)

Those five types of climbing veggies are already in my grow list. I think I have more trellis than I required. -Chandra

By the way, I have planted many peas (1-2" seedling grown indoor) ~85 plants of 8 types.

Chandra, I use cattle panels for part of my tomatoes. I just loop them through as they grow and if I miss one I just tie it to the panel. I like tomato cages but they are a hassle to store in the winter time, so I decided that panels work just as well. I use both.

Your yard long beans will grow very tall also.

You can grow some winter squash on trellises, like Seminole and Trombocino. Cucuzzi and snake melon also grow on trellises.

Some vining types of southern peas, aka black-eyed peas or pinkeye purplehull peas, grow well on trellises. One southern pea variety that grows very well (and very tall) on trellises is "Red Ripper", also known as "Mandy" or "Big Red Ripper". I know that seed of Big Red Ripper is usually available from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Victory Seeds and probably Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, although I haven't looked at their websites to see if they have it this year.

You can grow tiny mini-pumpkins for your children on a trellis. One that is just the right size for a trellis is "Jack Be Little" and another one is "Baby Boo".

You can grow some melons on trellises, provided you make slings of cheesecloth or from knee-high stockings tied to the trellis to support the melons as they enlarge. I've even grown the small refrigerator-sized melons like Sugar Baby and Yellow Doll on a trellis, using a sling to support the fruit once it was about softball-sized.

Ornamental gourds are great on trellises and the cured gourds make lovely autumn decorations on the porch, patio or in bowls set on a table inside the house.

You even can grow luffa gourds on a trellis and let the gourds dry and then you've got natural sponges.

If you still have more trellis space available than plants to grow on it, plant purple (or the more rare white)hyacinth bean vines. They are simply gorgeous and some people eat them, but I grow them just for their beauty.

A vining summer spinach-substitute that grows well on trellises is Red Malabar Spinach.

Dawn

Thank you so much Dawn, you have provided me many choices, so many veggies can grow on trellis! So I am not regretting of buying many trellis :-) I almost forgotten about Malabar Spinach, Southern Peas and Purple Hyacinth beans, they are my favorite. Regards -Chandra

my setup is below. I was told by an old timer at our community garden that this wont work with trying to weave the tomatoes through the mesh, he said as they grow the branches off the main stem will run into the mesh and get cut. It seems like the branches would just work their way through the mesh, and I could work the main stem through the mesh? I just wanted to get more input before I pull all my tomatoes out of the mesh. Thanks!

I have 17 plants growing on cattle panels and I have been doing that for several years. Cattle panel is a little thicker than your wire and is therefore more rigid but I have never had problems using them for tomatoes. It is best to check them about every other day so you can continue to tuck them through. Couple of days later I run them back through another block. You can't wait too long or they won't be flexible enough to pull through. This doesn't support every branch but I have never had one break from the weight of fruit and have certainly not had them grow into the wire and get cut. Sometimes I wait to long and have to put a clip on a vine to get it going in the right direction again. All you are really doing is supporting the main stems of the plant so that it remains upright and doesn't sprawl on the ground.

My DH built me a couple of dozen new cages this year and I will probably use all of my trellis for peas and beans in the future, but the panels have worked just fine for me.

Premier87, I don't think there is a perfect way to support tomatoes, all methods have +/- to them. I use a system like yours except I use T-post and re-bar along with binder twine. I plan on trying crw bent into an "L" with hooks bent into the wire where I cut it apart. I will then hang the hooks over the re-bar after planting time. I now disassemble everything at the end of the season, which is too much work.

so many GREAT posts, we should save!

Is this still active? I've tried to find a GardenWeb page, but it seems to have disappeared. Please, not true?!

It is Houzz now. The Garden Web forums are on Houzz.

Okay, so I have the link to Houzz, but how do I find the other garden discussions? I don't see much listed on the sidebar.

Pat, If you go back to the top of this page, you'll see these words in green:

Garden Web Topics/Garden Forums/Oklahoma Gardening.

To get to an index of all the Garden Forums, just click on the green types that says Garden Forums. To get to an index of all the Garden Web Forums (home, garden, misc), just click on Garden Web Topics.

If you click on Garden Forums, you get the page I've linked below:

Garden Forums

Hope this helps,

Dawn

I saw an interesting design that made it very easy to clean out the trellis at the end of the season.

A fellow made some 3" wide uprights, 6' long, with 1" holes drilled in them. He drove the uprights in the soil and slid 3/4" pvc through the holes. At the end of the season, he simply pulls the pvc out allowing the plant to fall to the ground.

My reaction was "I should have thought of that!"

Johnny

I wish I could see a picture, Johnny. It sounds like it should be a great idea, but I'm having a hard time getting the visual of 3" wide uprights that are 6' long.

Wouldn't it almost have to be 3' wide, and not 3"??

Another note on using cattle panels. The can be set horizontally for plants to climb on, or arched for the same purpose. They can be mounted overhead on posts (even wired to t-posts) to act as support for shade cloth. However, they can NOT be actually bent. If you think you can turn one to a right angle, think again. Not possible. They are inexpensive and will last for many years.

Sandplum1,

I guess you could look at it as two 2" by 4" by 6' boards standing vertical with 1 inch holes drilled every foot. The one inch holes allow the pvc pipe to be slid in. The result looks like a ladder.

The neat part is, at the completion of a crop, you just pull the pvc pipe out and the plant falls to the ground.
Much easier than having to untangle the vines from a frame.

I can't find the video to point you to it.

Johnny

Picture 2 wood stakes 3 inches wide, 6 feet tall with holes drilled at regular intervals. lets say we put them in the ground 4 feet apart. Then put pvc horizontally through the holes from one stake to the other, creating a ladder of pvc. My problem with it is that pvc gets brittle after a couple of years. dowels or metal rods might get pricy, but there must be other options, maybe bamboo.

Johnny was posting the same time I was...