If you enjoyed this video, please “Like” and share to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching ☺TIMESTAMPS for convenience: 0:00 Intro To Vertical Gardening 0:58 Materials List 2:13 Installing The Trellis Posts 4:20 Installing The Cable 6:58 How To Trellis A Tomato Plant 8:05 How To Trellis A Cucumber Plant 9:20 Vegetable Trellising Lessons Learned 10:45 Adventures With Dale
I go low-tech and save long branches from a Mulberry that I trim every year in my front yard and make tepee structures and interconnect them with other smaller branches. Primitive in appearance but easy to throw together, quite functional, handle occasionally 40+ mile wind, 12 to 15 feet tall at the peaks and best of all - absolutely free. Well... Jute twine is really inexpensive and I save copper wire from conduit when I run across some.
Vertices trellis for plants is the way to go. I've been using it for years. But I have. An alternate method. Use 1/2" EMT conduit which, around here runs about $6.25 for 10' lengths. I cut 4 of them to 8' and Zip tie them to T posts 10' apart (I actually just use 5' U posts and they work fine). Drill holes in the ends of 3 10' lengths and use "S" hooks to hang the tops of the vertical EMT pipes (alternate hanging front and back so they don't interfere). I can make a 30' trellis that doesn't warp or sag and will last forever for less than $50.
Needing a little clarity ... so, the U or T posts being one method, and the latter thing mentioning vertical conduit is a 2nd method ? Also, when putting any post into the ground, you need several in. going in, maybe as much as a foot if it's going to end up with a lot of weight on it &/or thick foliage which will catch wind. So, a 5ft. post won't be tall enough for many things incl. pole beans. I use 7 or 8 ft. ones. I have just used Josh Sattin's " trellis to make you jealous" this year, but am interested in your ideas as well :) !
Nice idea. I can use T or U posts if they are bolted to raised bed sides. In my clay soil with rain and ANY weight or tension the poles won't remain upright. I learned the hard way with blackberries!
How deep are they? I used an auger bit to drill a 2 -3 foot hole then hammered it in from there with a 6'6" t-post with 4"' of post above ground into decomposing wood chips. So far no problems except for a couple posts I probably drilled too deep they keep dropping.
I did the same setup with the T Post, 2x2 and zip ties for some of the vertical post. The zip ties are still working and this is it's 3rd year. I prefer using U post because it's cheaper and it has holes in it so you can screw in the 2x2s. Although they aren't as sturdy as the T post but it shouldn't matter if you are using 2x2 on top rather than wire. This won't sag and require tension. I'm growing a grape vine up the 2x2 and eventually over the top. My setup is more for a permanent trellis. It would be hard to take down because the 2x2s on top are screwed onto the vertical post. I usually secure the tomatoes to the trellis rope with a clip at the bottom. I prefer to twist the plants around the rope after the first clip. This makes cleanup after the seasons done a lot faster/easier. Sometimes the rope is too tight or the plant is growing awkwardly, I will use a clip. Clear white clips last one season, when you take them down at the end of the season, they usually break apart. The green clips seem to last at least 1 season.
dude what a fantastic video. I just set up my tomatoes on the standard type of trellis. I am going to change my cucumbers peppers as well as tomatoes over to this quick system. thanks man been a long time subscriber first time really commenting cheers
Built mine out yesterday following your instructions! Was very easy and I'm satisfied with the results. I did have to add a ladder to the shopping list.
Nice job. I came up with a very similar trellis but instead of using the stainless cable, I used electrical conduit as the horizontal support which is very inexpensive, rigid, and worked very well.
I built a conduit trellis a few weeks ago as well. What do you use to hook the tomato hook onto the horizontal support? I’m using zip ties at the moment but the wind is blowing them around too much. I’ve thought about using a garden hose clamp with a key ring on it to hook the tomato hook onto it but was wondering if there was a something easier and better.
@@jhorsch94 I also used zip ties and didn’t have wind issues. I used the tomato hooks last year but I didn’t end up needing to “lean” the tomato vines down so this year I may just forego the tomato hooks and just tie the twine directly to the conduit using a clove hitch or constrictor hitch. Were you actually using the tomato hooks to lean the tomato vines down as the grew up the twine?
@@e.j.johnson7366 This will be my first season with the tomato trellis so I’m not sure if I’ll need to lean them yet. The trellis is only 7’ tall by 10’ long but if I have to lean them I have a plan to extend the horizontal support pipe or lean them towards a determinate tomato that should be done growing by the time I need to lean the indeterminate tomatoes. Last year my indeterminate tomatoes grew over the cage and were touching the ground which is why I built the tomato trellis this year.
That will certainly work. EMT costs have skyrocketed about 3x over the last couple years. I originally considered that, but I couldn't justify the current cost of EMT. You can purchase a 300' reel of aircraft cable for the cost of 30' of EMT now. It's a shame. I used to buy the 10' sticks of 1/2" EMT for under $4 pre-pandemic.
Indeed, conduit is more rigid and likely hold more pressure by a windstorm. However, the cost is much more and might give a person reason to consider if that extra cost is worthy.
Lovely! This will be perfect for my Scarlett runners. The hummingbirds just abound when they are in full bloom. DALE is adorable!!! Been wanting to tell you that. Anybody who loves dogs are ok people to me! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Great idea but I would add screw anchors in the ground on each end and attach the cable with turn buckles from the anchors to the tops of the 2x2s. Take the effects of wind and the weight of your fruit and it will collapse the way you have constructed this. Love you channel.
Wonderful idea. Thank you. Trellises do not need to hold up the Empire State Building, but a tomato, cucumber, or similar plant. To add a note. For those with less hand strength, one can use a screwdriver (or similar tool) to gain the leverage needed to screw the screw eyes into the 2x2s, deep enough for them to be secure enough to hold the weight of the cable line and plants. Thank you so much.
Thanks! Dale is so cute. He hit the jackpot finding a home with you guys. I would just have to secure the poles with rebar stakes because of the high summer (Monsoonal) winds around here.
Thanks in maybe reading my comment about the trellises. Not too many other pro gardeners talk about this. I may need to re-watch how you T-posts install first. Also, at the end of your video shows that you're growing your plants in straw bales? Interesting idea and it makes up the raised bed phenomena that every garden site is trying to sell you something way too expensive for my tasted. I can get straw bales for about $20 which I find a great cost-savings. I will be trying that out next season. Thanks again.
I'm just seeing this now after doing a couple of very similar trellises today! I have a wire fence surrounding my tomatoes about three feet up and that provides the bottom support along with its T posts that hold some old 10 foot fence pickets tied to them. I used a green vinyl coated cable similarly tensioned!
Nice trellis system!👍I'm interested in seeing how well the zucchini do with your trellis system.😃 Dale was like, "Dad, you must be talking about someone over there!"😄
So am I. So far, I've had to kill nearly a dozen squash bugs in my regular garden at my zucchini plant growing in the ground in my raised beds. However, my zucchini plant in the straw bale, which is the same exact variety, hasn't had a squash bug yet. I'm starting to notice the squash bugs like dirt. Maybe because they blend in? They don't seem to come over to my weed barrier area much.
I am also very i interested in an update on the zucchini as time goes on! I was just watching videos today on using a stake by tying it to the stake and cutting off the lower leaves as the zucchini or squash grows. I may try both ways with the squash and zucchini I just planted this week. I am a bit behind you in my planting.
@TheMillennialGardener My two zucchini plants are inside my cube made from pvc and covered in insect netting. It works well. I also use the cube as a coldframe to extend my potato season on both sides of the year. I started potato plants in pots inside of it in January. I had a good harvest a few weeks ago.😃 No squash bugs, but I've seen and killed several vine borer moths. I'm seeing more cuke beetles in the last few weeks.🤨
Thank you for another great gardening video. Yours is one of the best channels out there. We use a trellis system too with commercial spools and plastic clips - works great. However, we used nylon cord between the posts which can be a little more prone to sag, especially when wet, so thinking of replacing with aircraft wire. 1/8 in. is very thick and strong - why not use less expensive 3/32 or 1/16 wire, which is still plenty strong? Also, would you recommend galvanized or stainless steel?
Can you guys imagine having this guy live next door to you? I mean that would be fantastic! I bet you have a neighbor or two who has asked gardening questions! I'm a mile from the NC line in the upstate SC. Great channel I just subscribed!
My neighbor is from Sicily. We are the only 2 guys that garden in our neighborhood, so it was fate. He planted an olive tree on his side of the fence last year, and I’ll be planting mine across from his for cross pollination 😆
MG thank u soooo much for this cheap easy method. Im a first time gardener and was encouraged by ur video to try these tomato hooks. However i used them for my cucumber plants and they worked like a champ! Super easy to clip onto plant. Do u think they will support the fruit of a cucumber tho?
I made mine the lazy way. I purchased two sixteen foot cattle panel fence sections, folded them over, butted them together, and joined them with zip ties. Then I anchered the four corners and middle with four foot long stakes driven 18 inches into the ground, and secured the panels to the stakes with zip ties. This gives me a four foot wide, seven foot tall, eight foot long trellis tunnel between two raised beds. I use one half for pole beans, the other for cucumbers, and let the vines fight it out. It is a cool spot in the summer to escape from the suimmer heat, often ten to fifteen degrees cooler in the shade. It is also a lot easier to harvest the cucumbers and beans from inside of the tunnel.
I love your video's and they have taught me so much. I am establishing a new garden system of raised beds this year. Only 1 question, what on earth do you do with all the produce you grow? Your garden is beautiful.
My only question about the design would be whether it was able to hold heavy tomato crops without sagging in between the Tposts or did you ultimately use a guy line on the ends to keep the cable taut?
@TheMillennialGardener If I have 4' x 8' raised beds, is this something I can get away with just running two lines of per bed (long way) and just bring two rows of plants up to the same center guide line, along the middle of those two rows? I'm doing square foot gardening and I'm growing tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, winter squash, a variety of hot and sweet peppers, and pole beans (among other things that dont necessarily need trellising). Trying to make a to-do list for my hubby before I transplant my seedlings outside (zone 6b). Also, would this style of string trellis work for winter squash and/or luffa? I don't have enough room between my raised beds to do a cattle panel between two beds (my original plan for luffa - which has been 86'd for this growing season). Thanks! Love your videos and your channel - one of my favorites.
you could install a wire on the outside of the poles and pull away from the trellis to keep them up straight. With the weight of the tomatoes this may fall over or lean even more.
All the advice I can get on this, vertical growth. Im trying to figure out how to get a garden height of 6-8ft because Im going to assume my plants wont get higher. Any ideas on what products to use, thats cheap to decent pricing and will be durable for weather and long lasting and wont rust?
just to clarify the post eyebolt positions....would you pre-drill the initial holes 8.5 inches down from the end of the 2x2 post instead of 2.5" down? Thankyou
Hi, I'm very interested in this method, but I wonder - do the tomato hooks slide around on the cable? It seems like the wind might blow them out of place! Thanks!
I live in the desert and the ground in my backyard is full of rocks do you think i could cement the t posts and wood into a cinder block woud work? Also how can i put shade cloth over these tomatoes. it will be in the 90’s beginning of May in Las Vegas
This is fantastic! Thank you so much for another helpful, thorough & very easy to understand tutorial. Right now I’m gardening in containers over cement and can’t install t-posts. Do you have an idea of what kind of load the wire will need to be able to hold toward the end of the season? I know it will vary widely with how many and what kinds of plants. I’m wondering if I might be able to install just that guide wire up top between two beams/eaves extending down from our roof. They’re right above where I have 7 20gal grow bags full of tomatoes & melons that would greatly benefit from this sort of trellising. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge so generously!
I don’t know the load. I would imagine it needs to be able to hold a couple hundred pounds. If you figure 10-15 lbs per plant, plus the force of the wind, it can add up quickly. Melons may be heavier than tomatoes. That’s why I recommend spacing the posts 6-8 feet apart to alleviate the pressure. I think it can be done, but finding a way to add bracing in the center would be helpful.
my goodness! So simple. I had no idea. So, what do you do for shorter trellises? Same thing? Can you use the same theory for horizonal planting? I know things need to go up some, but I'm short, so at some point they will need to go horizontal.
I have a video on storing pepper seeds here: ua-cam.com/video/p234fvARD8Y/v-deo.html Saving seeds from plants need to be done individually by species. Pepper seeds can be saved right out of the peppers, but some plants like tomatoes have to be fermented first to germinate. Seeds should be stored indoors at room temp in a cool, dry place out of any light. I store mine in a cardboard box in my clothes closet.
so I built the trellis for my lima beans. The trellis is 6 feet tall. The beans are now taller than my trellis. Any suggestions as to what to do now? I've installed some bamboo stakes, 8 feet tall and the beans are climbing up past the top of the bamboo.
QUESTION: How do you keep the tomato hooks from sliding when the wind blows? I live in Illinois and it seems the wind blows alot! Thanks for all the gardening tips!
They don’t move. The tomato plants will naturally sway some like a pendulum. That alleviates the stress. Trying to fix them to an exact point will lead to more damage. Some gardeners tie the strings to the ground, which is a mistake and causes stress, and they don’t fully understand what they’re doing. The beauty of this system is they sway with wind and work with it instead of against it. It is the same concept with skyscrapers. Skyscrapers actually bend and flex with wind. If they were completely rigid, they’d be structurally unsound.
How do the zip ties hold up under the sun? Are they UV ray resistance? Maybe some kind of clamp could be added. I tied a straw bale garden a few years back and the heirloom tomato plants thrived in the beginning but later died from some kind of disease.
i think your trellis will collapse with weight before long. You need to use post for the ends, landscape post will work , they're 8" long and you can attach your 2x2's to them for extra height. Your t post should work thru the middle
It's really not much. I purchase barely any produce anymore. I just eat what is in season. 3 people can go through a lot if it's all you eat along with meat and dairy.
Question: my apple tree's main trunk was destroyed by a rabbit about 3 years ago. Next year from under the earth, 2 branches did grow out and are now 5 feet high. But, can actually apples grow when the main trunk is dead? The tree is 5 years old. Thank you! :)
It depends on the size and weight. Anything will hold up if you place the spacing of the supports close enough. You may need to bring in the spacing of the t-posts. This is a general design. Modify it for what you’re growing.
It is just a hook. They’re the items linked in the description. They must be loose and float. Fixing them leads to plant damage. You want them to sway with the breeze, which alleviates pressure. Gardeners that fix them don’t understand what they’re doing. They actually leave their plants open to damage by fixing them, because then the plants cannot away and will snap instead.
I don’t think these 2x2’s will last more than a couple seasons as-is. They’re thin, so they’ll wear out. The bases rotting will probably take a lot longer than the natural wear of the wood exposed to air, and you want the wood pinned at the base for stability.
Would this garden trellis work for a balcony garden? The floor is ceramic tile. How would I anchor the T-post to the floor? Could I use a 2x 2 x 8 whitewood furring instead of pressure heated lumber? Thank you.
Don't use t-posts to make it, make it from wood. Frame it like a wall. Or build a wood frame base and secure t-posts to that. You could also use electrical conduit 3/4". You can bend it over and connect both sides together at the top. You could build a frame and make an arched trellis with a cattle panel.
@@heyyou4023 This is a good example. A rectangular frame on the tile and a piece of wood on each end and across the top. You can put your pots inside the rectangular frame or put a piece of plywood across the top and set the pots on the plywood. The plants would add weight and increase stability and keep from staining the tile. ua-cam.com/video/_yWeBT61cNk/v-deo.html
I’m not sure about that. You could maybe try buying heavy concrete blocks and installing anchors in them. Honestly, I would try to find a way to run the strings to the balcony above you. If there are supports built into the balcony above you, you could run the stainless steel cable between them.
I will be super surprised if those 2x2's last the season. I built basically this same idea out of 4x4's and they weren't structurally sound enough until i connected them with 2x4's at the top. Tomatoes end up weighing a lot. Perhaps you'd only need the 4x4's on the ends and that might be ok
The tomato plants will be single stemmed, so it should keep the weight fairly reasonable. The 4x4's in my garden can bear an incredible amount of weight.
He isn’t discussing his shade cloth cover in this video. I think those are actually metal electrical conduit that he has bent. I am guessing that he used zip ties to attach the conduit to the T posts, but I could be wrong.
I do not recommend growing watermelons vertically. Every time I've tried, the watermelons snap off the vines once they reach more than 4 lbs or so. If you're growing a *very small* watermelon, it may work, but keep in mind that will still add up to a lot of weight on a trellis like this. You may need something a little more stout.
Not at Tractor Supply, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. They may technically exist, but you’re not going to find them anywhere locally and you’ll need special equipment to pick up something that size. It isn’t realistic for 99+% of backyard gardeners, nor is it necessary to get speciality equipment.
Not sure if that construction is going to hold up to the weight of all those plants once they are 2 meters high. Especially the end posts are likely to fail. Let us know how it went.
If you enjoyed this video, please “Like” and share to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching ☺TIMESTAMPS for convenience:
0:00 Intro To Vertical Gardening
0:58 Materials List
2:13 Installing The Trellis Posts
4:20 Installing The Cable
6:58 How To Trellis A Tomato Plant
8:05 How To Trellis A Cucumber Plant
9:20 Vegetable Trellising Lessons Learned
10:45 Adventures With Dale
This system is brilliant
I go low-tech and save long branches from a Mulberry that I trim every year in my front yard and make tepee structures and interconnect them with other smaller branches. Primitive in appearance but easy to throw together, quite functional, handle occasionally 40+ mile wind, 12 to 15 feet tall at the peaks and best of all - absolutely free.
Well... Jute twine is really inexpensive and I save copper wire from conduit when I run across some.
Cheap and easy? That’s a great combination!
Out of all the garden projects I've built over the years, this was the fastest and cheapest. It was insanely easy.
so glad i found your channel im in your zone and just starting
Your thoroughness is appreciated and you deserve your success. Keep it up! Thank you.
Vertices trellis for plants is the way to go. I've been using it for years. But I have. An alternate method. Use 1/2" EMT conduit which, around here runs about $6.25 for 10' lengths. I cut 4 of them to 8' and Zip tie them to T posts 10' apart (I actually just use 5' U posts and they work fine). Drill holes in the ends of 3 10' lengths and use "S" hooks to hang the tops of the vertical EMT pipes (alternate hanging front and back so they don't interfere). I can make a 30' trellis that doesn't warp or sag and will last forever for less than $50.
I like your idea! Thanks!
Needing a little clarity ... so, the U or T posts being one method, and the latter thing mentioning vertical conduit is a 2nd method ? Also, when putting any post into the ground, you need several in. going in, maybe as much as a foot if it's going to end up with a lot of weight on it &/or thick foliage which will catch wind. So, a 5ft. post won't be tall enough for many things incl. pole beans. I use 7 or 8 ft. ones. I have just used Josh Sattin's " trellis to make you jealous" this year, but am interested in your ideas as well :) !
Nice idea. I can use T or U posts if they are bolted to raised bed sides. In my clay soil with rain and ANY weight or tension the poles won't remain upright. I learned the hard way with blackberries!
How deep are they? I used an auger bit to drill a 2 -3 foot hole then hammered it in from there with a 6'6" t-post with 4"' of post above ground into decomposing wood chips. So far no problems except for a couple posts I probably drilled too deep they keep dropping.
I did the same setup with the T Post, 2x2 and zip ties for some of the vertical post. The zip ties are still working and this is it's 3rd year. I prefer using U post because it's cheaper and it has holes in it so you can screw in the 2x2s. Although they aren't as sturdy as the T post but it shouldn't matter if you are using 2x2 on top rather than wire. This won't sag and require tension. I'm growing a grape vine up the 2x2 and eventually over the top. My setup is more for a permanent trellis. It would be hard to take down because the 2x2s on top are screwed onto the vertical post.
I usually secure the tomatoes to the trellis rope with a clip at the bottom. I prefer to twist the plants around the rope after the first clip. This makes cleanup after the seasons done a lot faster/easier. Sometimes the rope is too tight or the plant is growing awkwardly, I will use a clip. Clear white clips last one season, when you take them down at the end of the season, they usually break apart. The green clips seem to last at least 1 season.
dude what a fantastic video. I just set up my tomatoes on the standard type of trellis.
I am going to change my cucumbers peppers as well as tomatoes over to this quick system.
thanks man been a long time subscriber first time really commenting cheers
I appreciate you subscribing for so long! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Best of luck!
Built mine out yesterday following your instructions! Was very easy and I'm satisfied with the results. I did have to add a ladder to the shopping list.
Drill a hole on each 2x2 and create an anchor point to the ground with your wire to keep the top from bending over time
I did that years ago. Larry, Moe and Curly plumbing tutorial was my inspiration!
Nice job! Thanks for the detailed demo that you are always good at doing. Much appreciated.
You’re welcome!
Good job, Dale!
Dale sends his love! 🐕
What a great idea. Thank you for this great idea.
You're welcome!
Wow what an awesome design! Thanks for the video!
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
Dale is a very good boy ❤🐕 Great video as always 👏
He is. He's a stinker, but he's also the best guy.
Nice job. I came up with a very similar trellis but instead of using the stainless cable, I used electrical conduit as the horizontal support which is very inexpensive, rigid, and worked very well.
I built a conduit trellis a few weeks ago as well. What do you use to hook the tomato hook onto the horizontal support? I’m using zip ties at the moment but the wind is blowing them around too much. I’ve thought about using a garden hose clamp with a key ring on it to hook the tomato hook onto it but was wondering if there was a something easier and better.
@@jhorsch94 I also used zip ties and didn’t have wind issues. I used the tomato hooks last year but I didn’t end up needing to “lean” the tomato vines down so this year I may just forego the tomato hooks and just tie the twine directly to the conduit using a clove hitch or constrictor hitch. Were you actually using the tomato hooks to lean the tomato vines down as the grew up the twine?
@@e.j.johnson7366 This will be my first season with the tomato trellis so I’m not sure if I’ll need to lean them yet. The trellis is only 7’ tall by 10’ long but if I have to lean them I have a plan to extend the horizontal support pipe or lean them towards a determinate tomato that should be done growing by the time I need to lean the indeterminate tomatoes. Last year my indeterminate tomatoes grew over the cage and were touching the ground which is why I built the tomato trellis this year.
That will certainly work. EMT costs have skyrocketed about 3x over the last couple years. I originally considered that, but I couldn't justify the current cost of EMT. You can purchase a 300' reel of aircraft cable for the cost of 30' of EMT now. It's a shame. I used to buy the 10' sticks of 1/2" EMT for under $4 pre-pandemic.
Indeed, conduit is more rigid and likely hold more pressure by a windstorm. However, the cost is much more and might give a person reason to consider if that extra cost is worthy.
Lovely! This will be perfect for my Scarlett runners. The hummingbirds just abound when they are in full bloom. DALE is adorable!!! Been wanting to tell you that. Anybody who loves dogs are ok people to me! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Oh my gosh. Another very informative video to tesch me how to make this! Thank you❤
You're welcome!
I am so glad I found your channel. I live in NC and always looking for good advise for my Garden.
Glad the videos are helpful!
Great idea but I would add screw anchors in the ground on each end and attach the cable with turn buckles from the anchors to the tops of the 2x2s. Take the effects of wind and the weight of your fruit and it will collapse the way you have constructed this. Love you channel.
Wonderful idea. Thank you. Trellises do not need to hold up the Empire State Building, but a tomato, cucumber, or similar plant. To add a note. For those with less hand strength, one can use a screwdriver (or similar tool) to gain the leverage needed to screw the screw eyes into the 2x2s, deep enough for them to be secure enough to hold the weight of the cable line and plants. Thank you so much.
Love it! So helpful!👍Thank you MG😀
You're welcome!
😅 poor Dale is like Dad, what are you talking about? I'm a good boy keeping things secure around here.
He’s a nosey noser always keeping tabs on everyone. Dale is always watching 🥷 😂
If you flip the warped 2x2 around 180 degrees you will eventually have straight wood again haha.
Thanks! Dale is so cute. He hit the jackpot finding a home with you guys.
I would just have to secure the poles with rebar stakes because of the high summer (Monsoonal) winds around here.
Thanks in maybe reading my comment about the trellises. Not too many other pro gardeners talk about this. I may need to re-watch how you T-posts install first. Also, at the end of your video shows that you're growing your plants in straw bales? Interesting idea and it makes up the raised bed phenomena that every garden site is trying to sell you something way too expensive for my tasted. I can get straw bales for about $20 which I find a great cost-savings. I will be trying that out next season. Thanks again.
awesome great video!!
I appreciate it! Thanks for watching!
I'm just seeing this now after doing a couple of very similar trellises today! I have a wire fence surrounding my tomatoes about three feet up and that provides the bottom support along with its T posts that hold some old 10 foot fence pickets tied to them. I used a green vinyl coated cable similarly tensioned!
Thank you for this video! Great idea! ❤
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
Really enjoy your channel. You're so thorough! Thank you.
You’re welcome! Thanks so much for watching.
Nice trellis system!👍I'm interested in seeing how well the zucchini do with your trellis system.😃
Dale was like, "Dad, you must be talking about someone over there!"😄
So am I. So far, I've had to kill nearly a dozen squash bugs in my regular garden at my zucchini plant growing in the ground in my raised beds. However, my zucchini plant in the straw bale, which is the same exact variety, hasn't had a squash bug yet. I'm starting to notice the squash bugs like dirt. Maybe because they blend in? They don't seem to come over to my weed barrier area much.
I am also very i interested in an update on the zucchini as time goes on! I was just watching videos today on using a stake by tying it to the stake and cutting off the lower leaves as the zucchini or squash grows. I may try both ways with the squash and zucchini I just planted this week. I am a bit behind you in my planting.
@TheMillennialGardener My two zucchini plants are inside my cube made from pvc and covered in insect netting. It works well. I also use the cube as a coldframe to extend my potato season on both sides of the year. I started potato plants in pots inside of it in January. I had a good harvest a few weeks ago.😃
No squash bugs, but I've seen and killed several vine borer moths. I'm seeing more cuke beetles in the last few weeks.🤨
Thank you for another great gardening video. Yours is one of the best channels out there. We use a trellis system too with commercial spools and plastic clips - works great. However, we used nylon cord between the posts which can be a little more prone to sag, especially when wet, so thinking of replacing with aircraft wire. 1/8 in. is very thick and strong - why not use less expensive 3/32 or 1/16 wire, which is still plenty strong? Also, would you recommend galvanized or stainless steel?
Can you guys imagine having this guy live next door to you? I mean that would be fantastic! I bet you have a neighbor or two who has asked gardening questions! I'm a mile from the NC line in the upstate SC. Great channel I just subscribed!
My neighbor is from Sicily. We are the only 2 guys that garden in our neighborhood, so it was fate. He planted an olive tree on his side of the fence last year, and I’ll be planting mine across from his for cross pollination 😆
@@TheMillennialGardener that's awesome keep up the great work!
Just what I needed to see. Txs so much. I can do this
You’re welcome! It’s a fun little project.
Great Work
Thanks!
Blessings, awesome idea Iam going to try! Thanks for share
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
Good morning 😃
right on time with this video!! thanx
You're welcome!
Cool. thanks for showing us.
You’re welcome!
Nice job!
Thank you!
MG thank u soooo much for this cheap easy method. Im a first time gardener and was encouraged by ur video to try these tomato hooks. However i used them for my cucumber plants and they worked like a champ! Super easy to clip onto plant. Do u think they will support the fruit of a cucumber tho?
Great video!
Thanks!
I made mine the lazy way. I purchased two sixteen foot cattle panel fence sections, folded them over, butted them together, and joined them with zip ties. Then I anchered the four corners and middle with four foot long stakes driven 18 inches into the ground, and secured the panels to the stakes with zip ties. This gives me a four foot wide, seven foot tall, eight foot long trellis tunnel between two raised beds. I use one half for pole beans, the other for cucumbers, and let the vines fight it out. It is a cool spot in the summer to escape from the suimmer heat, often ten to fifteen degrees cooler in the shade. It is also a lot easier to harvest the cucumbers and beans from inside of the tunnel.
I love your video's and they have taught me so much. I am establishing a new garden system of raised beds this year. Only 1 question, what on earth do you do with all the produce you grow? Your garden is beautiful.
Add guy lines to the outside standards to balance them and turn buckles to the inside so that they can be dismantled easily at the end of the season
Dale, Dale, Dale
My only question about the design would be whether it was able to hold heavy tomato crops without sagging in between the Tposts or did you ultimately use a guy line on the ends to keep the cable taut?
@TheMillennialGardener If I have 4' x 8' raised beds, is this something I can get away with just running two lines of per bed (long way) and just bring two rows of plants up to the same center guide line, along the middle of those two rows? I'm doing square foot gardening and I'm growing tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, winter squash, a variety of hot and sweet peppers, and pole beans (among other things that dont necessarily need trellising). Trying to make a to-do list for my hubby before I transplant my seedlings outside (zone 6b).
Also, would this style of string trellis work for winter squash and/or luffa? I don't have enough room between my raised beds to do a cattle panel between two beds (my original plan for luffa - which has been 86'd for this growing season). Thanks! Love your videos and your channel - one of my favorites.
you could install a wire on the outside of the poles and pull away from the trellis to keep them up straight. With the weight of the tomatoes this may fall over or lean even more.
All the advice I can get on this, vertical growth. Im trying to figure out how to get a garden height of 6-8ft because Im going to assume my plants wont get higher. Any ideas on what products to use, thats cheap to decent pricing and will be durable for weather and long lasting and wont rust?
just to clarify the post eyebolt positions....would you pre-drill the initial holes 8.5 inches down from the end of the 2x2 post instead of 2.5" down? Thankyou
Where do you buy your airplane cable? Thank you for your videos, your explanation is very clear and simple!
Hi, I'm very interested in this method, but I wonder - do the tomato hooks slide around on the cable? It seems like the wind might blow them out of place! Thanks!
I live in the desert and the ground in my backyard is full of rocks do you think i could cement the t posts and wood into a cinder block woud work? Also how can i put shade cloth over these tomatoes. it will be in the 90’s beginning of May in Las Vegas
This is fantastic! Thank you so much for another helpful, thorough & very easy to understand tutorial.
Right now I’m gardening in containers over cement and can’t install t-posts. Do you have an idea of what kind of load the wire will need to be able to hold toward the end of the season? I know it will vary widely with how many and what kinds of plants. I’m wondering if I might be able to install just that guide wire up top between two beams/eaves extending down from our roof. They’re right above where I have 7 20gal grow bags full of tomatoes & melons that would greatly benefit from this sort of trellising.
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge so generously!
I don’t know the load. I would imagine it needs to be able to hold a couple hundred pounds. If you figure 10-15 lbs per plant, plus the force of the wind, it can add up quickly. Melons may be heavier than tomatoes. That’s why I recommend spacing the posts 6-8 feet apart to alleviate the pressure. I think it can be done, but finding a way to add bracing in the center would be helpful.
my goodness! So simple. I had no idea. So, what do you do for shorter trellises? Same thing? Can you use the same theory for horizonal planting? I know things need to go up some, but I'm short, so at some point they will need to go horizontal.
Can you do a video on harvesting seeds from your garden. And how to store them?
I have a video on storing pepper seeds here: ua-cam.com/video/p234fvARD8Y/v-deo.html
Saving seeds from plants need to be done individually by species. Pepper seeds can be saved right out of the peppers, but some plants like tomatoes have to be fermented first to germinate. Seeds should be stored indoors at room temp in a cool, dry place out of any light. I store mine in a cardboard box in my clothes closet.
@@TheMillennialGardener thanks so very much.
Hey Mur. When you going to have our boy Tuck on your show?🤎🖤🤎🖤🤎🖤🤎🖤🤎🖤🤎🤍
so I built the trellis for my lima beans. The trellis is 6 feet tall. The beans are now taller than my trellis. Any suggestions as to what to do now? I've installed some bamboo stakes, 8 feet tall and the beans are climbing up past the top of the bamboo.
Nice 👍
Thanks!
QUESTION: How do you keep the tomato hooks from sliding when the wind blows? I live in Illinois and it seems the wind blows alot! Thanks for all the gardening tips!
They don’t move. The tomato plants will naturally sway some like a pendulum. That alleviates the stress. Trying to fix them to an exact point will lead to more damage. Some gardeners tie the strings to the ground, which is a mistake and causes stress, and they don’t fully understand what they’re doing. The beauty of this system is they sway with wind and work with it instead of against it. It is the same concept with skyscrapers. Skyscrapers actually bend and flex with wind. If they were completely rigid, they’d be structurally unsound.
Very well done video. Just curious as to how you use those arches and what material was used to make them.
I think you hurt Dale's feelings. Heez gud boye
Great video! Thank you for sharing. Do you secure the bottom end of each vertical line to the straw bale?
How do the zip ties hold up under the sun? Are they UV ray resistance? Maybe some kind of clamp could be added. I tied a straw bale garden a few years back and the heirloom tomato plants thrived in the beginning but later died from some kind of disease.
I add fresh zip ties to mine every year just in case.
What are the (looks like) PVC "hoops" over the top of the trellis? They're perpendicular.
Do you have a video on starting seeds?
Very many of all different types over the years.
i think your trellis will collapse with weight before long. You need to use post for the ends, landscape post will work , they're 8" long and you can attach your 2x2's to them for extra height. Your t post should work thru the middle
What do you do with all your fruit? Can/freeze?
It's really not much. I purchase barely any produce anymore. I just eat what is in season. 3 people can go through a lot if it's all you eat along with meat and dairy.
❤
Thanks for watching!
Question: my apple tree's main trunk was destroyed by a rabbit about 3 years ago. Next year from under the earth, 2 branches did grow out and are now 5 feet high. But, can actually apples grow when the main trunk is dead? The tree is 5 years old. Thank you! :)
Would this hold up to the weight of winter squash? Thanks so much for your helpful videos!
It depends on the size and weight. Anything will hold up if you place the spacing of the supports close enough. You may need to bring in the spacing of the t-posts. This is a general design. Modify it for what you’re growing.
How do you attach the top of the trellis tomato line to the main cable? Is it locked in place or is it loose and float? Any images or suggestions?
It is just a hook. They’re the items linked in the description. They must be loose and float. Fixing them leads to plant damage. You want them to sway with the breeze, which alleviates pressure. Gardeners that fix them don’t understand what they’re doing. They actually leave their plants open to damage by fixing them, because then the plants cannot away and will snap instead.
Um, how did you get the t-posts to stand up vertically like that? Methinks you skipped an important step. ;^)
Have you given up raised bed gardening entirely and doing only straw bales now?
No. This was just an experiment.
Nice Job! You could just drink some fertilizer... might grow 6 inches 🤣
Didn’t see what the part was called that attaches the twine to the above cable.
They're called Double Tomato Hooks. I have them linked in the Video Description so you can see exactly what they look like.
IMO you should have told everyone to raise the wooden post of the ground by a couple inches. If you keep them dry they will last a lot longer.
I don’t think these 2x2’s will last more than a couple seasons as-is. They’re thin, so they’ll wear out. The bases rotting will probably take a lot longer than the natural wear of the wood exposed to air, and you want the wood pinned at the base for stability.
Is this type of trellis needed for determinate tomatoes?
No. For determinates, all you need are 4ft stakes or Florida weave. String trellising isn’t great for determinates. This is for vining plants.
Is that a coffee tree behind you at 7:30?
How far apart did you space your plants for this method?
There are 2 plants per bale. The bales are 36 inches long.
why do you plant in hay bales
Use 3/4" electrical conduit instead of the wood
It’s become too expensive, and it is hard to attach to. EMT prices are crazy now.
Would this garden trellis work for a balcony garden? The floor is ceramic tile. How would I anchor the T-post to the floor? Could I use a 2x 2 x 8 whitewood furring instead of pressure heated lumber? Thank you.
Don't use t-posts to make it, make it from wood. Frame it like a wall. Or build a wood frame base and secure t-posts to that. You could also use electrical conduit 3/4". You can bend it over and connect both sides together at the top. You could build a frame and make an arched trellis with a cattle panel.
@@RayH- I'm going to ask a carpenter how to do this. I'm a recently retired RN
@@heyyou4023 This is a good example. A rectangular frame on the tile and a piece of wood on each end and across the top. You can put your pots inside the rectangular frame or put a piece of plywood across the top and set the pots on the plywood. The plants would add weight and increase stability and keep from staining the tile.
ua-cam.com/video/_yWeBT61cNk/v-deo.html
@@heyyou4023 You could also build a planter box as the base. This would make it more difficult to move. You could add wheels.
I’m not sure about that. You could maybe try buying heavy concrete blocks and installing anchors in them. Honestly, I would try to find a way to run the strings to the balcony above you. If there are supports built into the balcony above you, you could run the stainless steel cable between them.
I will be super surprised if those 2x2's last the season. I built basically this same idea out of 4x4's and they weren't structurally sound enough until i connected them with 2x4's at the top. Tomatoes end up weighing a lot. Perhaps you'd only need the 4x4's on the ends and that might be ok
The tomato plants will be single stemmed, so it should keep the weight fairly reasonable. The 4x4's in my garden can bear an incredible amount of weight.
@@TheMillennialGardener ya i did single stem, though I was doing mittleider fertilizing so they got a huge amount of fruit
How did you attach the pvc tube to the t post?
I’d also like to know how that was done.
He isn’t discussing his shade cloth cover in this video. I think those are actually metal electrical conduit that he has bent. I am guessing that he used zip ties to attach the conduit to the T posts, but I could be wrong.
I believe he uses rebar attached to the Tpost with a metal garden hose clamp. He has a video showing how he built his shade cloth cover.
@@deeswormstedt6389I found the video where he built the high tunnel 2months ago.
I have a guide on that here: ua-cam.com/video/l0gt7MhRrVQ/v-deo.html
will this work with watermelons ?
Smaller melons can, bigger ones will need support.
I do not recommend growing watermelons vertically. Every time I've tried, the watermelons snap off the vines once they reach more than 4 lbs or so. If you're growing a *very small* watermelon, it may work, but keep in mind that will still add up to a lot of weight on a trellis like this. You may need something a little more stout.
check out the trellis to make you jealous you can get 10' t post
Not at Tractor Supply, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. They may technically exist, but you’re not going to find them anywhere locally and you’ll need special equipment to pick up something that size. It isn’t realistic for 99+% of backyard gardeners, nor is it necessary to get speciality equipment.
summit1g after he retires
Would this set up work for draping shade cloth too?
That is what I use my tunnel for. This is my shade structure: ua-cam.com/video/l0gt7MhRrVQ/v-deo.htmlsi=LPJwIYHRjIM3WfKZ
Not sure if that construction is going to hold up to the weight of all those plants once they are 2 meters high. Especially the end posts are likely to fail. Let us know how it went.
Get you some of those Gene Simmons shoes and you'll be able to reach it just fine. 🤣