Green beans, butternut and buttercup squash crawl right to the top and over
Anytime but the dead of winter is a great time to build a center-piece for your garden – a durable, eye-pleasing trellis!
Here are instructions to build a simple arched trellis that will be very strong as well as beautiful. You will leave this one in place all year around. It holds up to high winds – we know because we have had 70-75 mph winds several times during spring and fall tornado-like storms.
We added our trellises between two of our 4’x 8′ raised beds, but there are so many ways this can be done!
Building A Strong Trellis
Check the cattle panel sizes available in your area at the local Tractor Supply, Rural King, or farm store, etc. Ask for 36-38″ wide x 16′ long. This gives more than enough room to walk under, yet easy to reach beans, squash, or melons when you are ready to harvest.
The ‘Straight Eight’ cucumbers did super last year. Stagger planting of seeds every 2-3 weeks (if you have trellis space left) for a succession of cukes.
What To Plant
Planting along the bottom of a trellis is perfect for squash, pole beans, and melon plants. As with any trellis, you will need to ‘help’ the plants up and onto the trellis for the first foot or so…just let the tendrils entwine the bottom rung or two and off they’ll go! They will flower better and bear more if given room and sunlight. Plant as many as you want, but thin leaving 6-8″ between pole bean and cucumber seedlings, and 9-12″ between squash or melon seedlings.
If you have the right soil for melons, these panels can be used to grow melons like cantaloupe or honeydew, but not watermelon.
The plants will naturally develop thicker stems to support the heavy fruit than if they lay on the ground. It will support all but the heavier of the squash varieties like the hubbards and pumpkins. Everything stays cleaner and leaves develop less fungus problems, although there will still be some.
Butternut squash (l.) can get 15-18″ if you let them (and still be perfect for roasting).
Developing buttercup squash (center) are so beautiful on the vine and on the plate!
Baby cucumbers (r.) are some of the prettiest things, and squash flowers attract pollinators every time!
Harvesting is usually at waist or eye level or above, except for cucumbers which don’t grow so tall. You can sit in a chair in the shade to pick your green beans if it suits your fancy! Over many years, my favorite is disease-resistant ‘Kentucky Wonder‘ pole bean.
Installation:
You will need two people to install these safely. They are quite stiff and can poke you if it springs back when you arch it. Wear heavy gloves and thick jeans. One person on either end, walk together gently folding the panel. Do not push the ends together too hard, or it will bend the metal at the top and crease it. The 4′ x8′ boxes will hold it in place until you can fasten it permanently.
2 cattle panels side by side arched over between 2 – 4′ x 8′ boxes
This can also be done without raised beds to arch between. An alternate way is to use sturdy, deep staking with 2 or 3 metal fence posts driven down 18″ and secured with heavy gauge wire.
Place the panels all the way down to the ground for stability. Use 3″ galvanized or exterior nails to fasten the panel to the box. Drive the nail in deeply and bend the head over the wire in several places all along the bottom.
Tips:
Once there are vines (especially the giant leaves of squash like butternut and acorn) crawling up and over, they can catch wind like a sail. We get very strong winds from the west and southwest here most summers, so we put our panels arched so you can walk under them from east to west – the wind blows right through. The vines may take a bit of roughing up, but wind has never affected our crops.
These panel arbors should be pretty much carefree, and they will not rust. Ours are now 8 years old and still wonderfully strong!
Now, the foundation of your garden is in place. Later this summer, take time out for yourself; get a chair and rest in the shade of one of these leafy, cool arbors. Then watch the bees and hear their ‘hum’ as they work the flowers.
Enjoy the fruits of your labor! Literally.
“Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness…” ~2 Corinthians 9:10
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Thanks for reading!
Robin says
These look to be a great addition to the garden. Thank you for describing how you put them up and for the tip on how to keep safe doing it!
And like I have said before, I am really enjoying your blog!
Scottie says
I definitely learned about almost all of this, but with that in mind, I still believed it had been valuable. Excellent job!
Trockenfutter says
Perfect write, We are browsing back on a regular basis to look around for refreshes.
Hank says
It’s really helpful! Thanks. We will be building one soon with this information.
Jane says
I love the trellis idea. Do you think it would work on a deck? We get
high winds at various times throughout the year. San Francisco
Bay area. What would you recommend planting to grow on it late summer, early fall? Thanks.
Jacqueline says
Jane,
Tell me more about the site you want to use. The wind won’t probably bother the cattle panels if fastened strongly. As to what to plant on it in fall in your area, I think about the squash family and cucumbers, also Kentucky Wonder, a rust resistant variety of pole bean that’s stringless and prolific. Depends on when it gets too cold ~
Plants for trellis says
Thanks a lot for the informative article on trellis. helpful for me. I will build such one for my firm.
Linda Spencer says
I love this idea and want to implement it between our raised beds. How wide was the path you put this over? My path is only 4′ wide and I’m not sure that is wide enough to make this work. Thank you!
Jacqueline says
Linda, I am sorry I didn’t see your question sooner…the space between the boxes is 4’6″, just wide enough for a big wheel barrow and a bit of squeeze-by space! For us it is good, but you may have different needs. I hope it works out for you 🙂
Jan says
I have been researching the different Trellis ideas for my Butternut Squash – This is The Best idea – I am about to put in four more raised gardens and also try my hand at Acorn Squash ! I am So Excited to get started. Glad I found your site and look forward to reading your updates ! the Gluten Free – I will have to come back and read. I have been making Gluten Free Bread and trying my best at reading labels – wheww what a task ! Also my first season for Milk Goats (LOVE THEM). I will have to come back – I must go outside and see how many panels I have left! Look forward to talking with you!
Jan . . . . . 😉
Jacqueline says
Oh, you have milk goats! You are blessed 🙂 I have always loved goat milk and raw cheese.
Actually, I must get out more gluten-free recipes. I am not able to do all I envision for the blog while our young people are home, but one day I will add more. I am glad, though, for this rich time with family. We have so much to learn.
Growing big squash on the trellis is amazing…watching those stems get thick and strong to support the weight…just another miracle provided by our fascinating Creator!
Have fun getting the trellises up 🙂
April says
I have planned to do this this spring in a few spots between my beds. How tall did they end up being? The spacing between the beds I plan to use is 5′, and I worried that would make it too short. Our local metal supply has something similar to cattle panels that are 20 feet, and I had thought about using those instead (though I have no clue how I will get them home…). I thought about putting a bench under one of them. I really want to do this at the entrances to my garden, but those run east to west, and would shade those beds, one of which has asparagus. My garden bed walls are also made of rocks, so I plant to pound in t-posts and anchor to that.
Jacqueline says
It sounds like a lovely project, April.
We used 16′ panels and the bases are 4′ apart. If you have 5′ wide aisles, the 20′ panels will probably be just right, but you may need wire cutters to shorten them 1-2 feet depending on how high you want them to be above your head. Ours at 16′ are right at 2′ above our heads! I’m sure it won’t be too difficult and a long-lived solution. Have fun!
Marilyn Friesen says
Your pictures are really attractive, but I won’t be trying anything on that scale this far north. The growing ability of the plants would be the problem, and not the trellis!
I hate to bother you when you are so busy, but i just can’t seem to figure out how to connect various pages of my blog to each other, and you seem to have gotten the knack. What am I doing wrong?
Jacqueline says
Marilyn,
I use the widget found here: http://www.linkwithin.com/learn?ref=widget
It adds automatically posts that are linked by content and keywords (i think). I hope that helps, dearie 🙂 I wish you well on your blog…I’ll be over and leave a comment if I can.
Bridget says
These looked awesome! But as I was showing my husband he was concerned that I’d have a problem harvesting since the plants would be growing on the “outside” of the arch. Do you not have a problem harvesting? I wouldn’t be able to get to the other side of the arch..
Charlene says
Because of the weight of the squash and the pumpkin they will hang inside the trellis. Gravity is your friend in this case!
Jacqueline says
Yes, Charlene! That is the easiest way to reach them when ripe 🙂 They will not fall off, either!
Thanks, friend!
Maria Keown says
I love this idea….and might also have a solution for the heavy weight fruit like melons….one could use mesh bags or garbanzo bags to put around the fruit before it gets to the point of being too heavy and just tie the bag to the trellis as a support, or maybe even create simple shelves, that are easily attached with hooks of sorts…just food for thought ….great blog, love the info.
pamela says
You can also try pantyhose for creating a stretchable hammock for the heavier melons and squash.
Jacqueline says
Yes, Pamela, We have done that once for a heavier squash and it worked very well. Thanks for your helpful comment!
Katrina says
LOVE all the photos. What super idea… trying to reason out how to make this work since we don’t have raised beds, so therefore don’t have the wooden sides. Hmmm…..
jan says
I think I will double duty this idea.
1. to grow green beans and other vegies.
2. I will use a box on one side and attach the other to the patio cover at top, for shade (west, in Texas)
Thanks for the great idea.
any suggestions?
Jacqueline says
Jan, that sounds lovely!!
You might think how you can stretch invisible fishing wire above the vines by the house patio to prevent birds from flying in to perch and poop on your deck or patio. Just a thought.
~Sarah~ says
I will definitely be adding these to my garden over the winter! I will have to use a pretty narrow path but I am not going to let that deter me! I think they will be lovely! 😀 I’m very sure they will be worth the effort of renting a truck to pick them up, because they are the coolest looking things I’ve seen!! 😀
Janet Lantz says
Love this idea but am I the only one that doesn’t understand the box part. the picture looks like two square posts, 6×6 or 8×8. Please clarify this part for me. Thanks a lot.
Jacqueline says
I am not sure what you mean by 2 square posts. The cattle panels are metal and the 4×8 boxes are made of wooden 2x8s.
Amos says
Hi
Love the wire trellis for the squash. How thick is the wire i.e. what is the gauge. Looking forward to building one. I am growing loads of squashes this year.
Jacqueline says
Hi, Amos,
I am not sure the exact gauge, but it is a regular,heavy cattle panel, (18’long, I believe), and keeps cattle in so it is pretty strong! Ask your local farm tractor supply men how think they are. I’m pretty sure the gauge varies with the length. Ours is VERY strong and has supported a huge amount of squashs and vines many years. It is not rusty, the wind goes right through, and the birds love it 🙂
Good growing~
Sandra says
Wonderful idea, Jacqueline – but how did you transport it home from the store? Even with a pickup truck, you’d have to roll it or bend it somehow? Thanks for your great site.
Sandra
Jacqueline says
We did use the farm truck with the tail gate down, tied in very well, and FLAGGED carefully. We had a ten mile drive and stayed off the interstate. I hope that helps 🙂
Have fun planting!!
Dan says
If you put the arch over the path between two raised beds, then I am wondering about shading of the adjacent raised beds. Do you get enough sun on the adjacent raised beds to raise sun loving vegetables?
Jacqueline says
Dan, great question.
The garden paths are going due east-west, so we have put garlic in the 2 boxes to the south of a trellis as the sun moves more northerly overhead in the summer. The tops of the garlic are already drying out and dying back by the time the beans and squash are up there. I also favor planting lettuces in that more shaded area. They seem to stay sweet longer there. The plants still get a good bit of sun from morning to evening. I hope that helps.
Barb Hamilton says
I accidentally grew a crazy gourd tunnel but it was over an open beamed deck awning. it was so cool!But… the gourd leaves were stinky & the flies loved hanging out in the thick foliage.
I had 15 big beauties hanging .I lost a big oak tree a few years back….there went my shade. The gourds provided shade that I needed. But………………………….THE FLIES & STINKINESS was unbearable. Haven’t done it since. got any suggestions?
Thanks,
Barb
Jacqueline says
Barb,
I think I wouldn’t use a gourd. They attract squash bugs and they DO stink!! I would rather grow a morning glory or a cardinal vine, etc. I would also tear the vines down every year and let the clean new fresh growth come up each year! I love the idea, but agree with you about yucky flies, etc! 🙂 Let me know what you do next year!! 🙂
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Susan Oddsen says
Great instructions! How high is it at the top, I assume an adult can reach the fruit up there? I am considering doing this for our elementary school garden – we have four 4′ x 8′ raised beds, and I thought we could do this between two beds. We haven’t grown zucchini or squash ever, and this might be a way to do it that lets us grow our other veggies. We do grow cucumbers on a trellis, could do them like this, probably – but I think it would be fun to try something new. Mostly, I think the kids would love the tunnel. I realize the kids won’t be able to reach the top but they should have plenty of picking on the sides? I think our space between the beds is approximately the same. (Big enough for the school’s lawn mower to mow between them.) I’d love your thoughts!
Jacqueline says
Thanks, Susan! It is easy for children to pick green pole beans or cucumbers from the sides, and for adults it is pretty much within reach for a 5’10” er like myself to pluck off acorn or butternut squash.. I do occasionally have to resort to tippie toes 🙂
I think your children are blessed to have you for a teacher!! 😀
Susan Oddsen says
Thanks so much for your reply! I’m not actually a teacher, just a volunteer who coordinates the garden. Second graders start seeds in the classroom, transplant, and as 3rd graders they harvest. Plus, our day care onsite takes care of the garden and reaps the yummy veggies any day we have harvest! Other grades help with direct seeding and I’m trying to do more and more each year. I think this may just be the new awesome thing for this year! So thank you very much!
Rachel Fauber says
Thanks for this wonderful post! We grew butternut and acorn squash for the first time last year but lost most of the harvest to critters. I think this will be a great solution.
Jennifer says
Could this also be used for flowering vines or climbing roses?
Jacqueline says
Yes, absolutely, Jennifer 🙂 Enjoy!
Mary G says
My daughter and I installed ours using 4′ metal fenceposts, and zip-tied the panel to them. We got the “cheap” kind of posts that have holes in them, rather than the heavy-duty posts. That way the zip ties could connect through those holes and keep it secure.
Jacqueline says
Mary G., it is neat to know what you did! Just check the zip ties this fall and make sure they aren’t wearing. You can always get heavy gauge wire, wrap, and twist off with pliers later! Enjoy!!
Sam says
How many of those posts did you use? I am thinking of doing the same right next to our house, so I need to use poles – either wood or metal ones. I would appreciate your experience!
Jacqueline says
Sam, in case, Mary doesn’t see your question, I would use 3 per width of each cattle panel for stoutness and to keep them out from the house just a bit so there can be some air circulation which would keep mold down. Hope that is helpful! Have fun!
Plants for trellis says
Perfect Trellis, Would like to build a same trellis for my beans plant. Really helpful article for new and home base gardener.
tommy says
Do the cattle panels get to hot for the vines to grow up??? I live in North Texas. Summers are 100 to 110 degrees.
Jacqueline says
Tommy, ourpanels have never gotten hot to the touch (even in 95-98 degree afternoons). There is so little surface area to hold heat and so much evaporative area, I can’t imagine they would. Also ours are galvanized and so are light colored. I hope that helps!
Judy says
I may have missed this, but how many panels do you put up?
Jacqueline says
Judy, we have up 4.
Spring says
Hi, Jacqueline, I have been searching for a perfect arch trellis for my garden squashes. Love your trellis!! Just wonder if it is very hard to bend into an arch. Thanks much!
Jacqueline says
Hi, Spring! I would say ‘no – not hard at all’ if you have two of you to do it (a third person isn’t imperative at all but may be helpful). Each of you stand at one end of the narrow end (base) and taking the cattle panel (which is pretty flexible) and push the bases together. The panel will arch naturally and you can carry it and put it into place for staking. Maybe have your stakes already in place if you aren’t fitting it between raised beds.
Have fun and grow some squash for me 😀 Blessings!
Spring says
Thanks a lot! It is a bit late to build trellises for plants. I will prepare it early next year!