Thyme To Garden
What is a Trellis?
And why are they essential in the world of gardening? A trellis is a simple garden structure used to support certain crops. Not only are trellis visually beautiful, but they are also extremely helpful in your garden. Design to assist and maintain healthy growing produce. At Bricoleur Vineyards, we use various types of trellis to keep our culinary garden thriving. Learn with Manger Gardener Mikey, aka Farmer Mikey, about trellising and how they can improve your garden.
Why Trellis Plants?
Trellising helps maintain an organized garden, allowing you to maximize the space in your garden and saving time in the future for an easier more efficient harvest. A trellis is an excellent tool to manage the crops’ growth as they mature and become more fruitful. Plants can easily be weighed down by large fruits like melons, cucumbers, and tomatoes. For example, trellising keeps plants from falling over and prevents fruit from falling prematurely. It also does a great job of reducing pests that could damage and or eat your hard work. Trellising decreases soil contact allowing produce to stay cleaner and less likely to rot or develop a disease.
The Trellises at Bricoleur Vineyards
Trellis can be an inexpensive way to elevate your garden; the trellis at Bricoleur Vineyard have all been made by Farmer Mikey himself. Building a trellis can be a fun side project that the whole family can get involved in. There are various ways one can build a trellis. Farmer Mikey has used on-site supplies include t- posts, garden stakes, nylon trellising twine – tomato twine, tomato clips, and metal conduit, PVC. The types of trellis Farmer Mikey has built for Bricoleur Vineyards are an arch, a-frame, and horizontal and vertical trellis.
Arch Trellis
An arch trellis is a fantastic way to add a dramatic statement to your garden while maintaining a thriving one. This trellis is ideal for flowers and plants with growing vines, like Cherry Tomatoes, Morning Glory, and Wisteria. Guests are greeted with an arch trellis in our front garden filled with young melons. We recently added our second arch trellis center garden. Both have been made with cattle fencing and t-posts.
A-Frame Trellis
An A-frame trellis is a wonderful option for crops with more weight, for example, melons, squash, and cucumbers. It increases air circulation and sunlight while supporting the weight of the crop. You can find our a-frame trellis in our front garden; it is currently supporting our cucumbers. It has been made with cattle fencing and t-posts. Another popular material for an a-frame trellis is chicken coop wire instead of cattle fencing for smaller gardening projects.
Horizontal Trellis
Horizontal trellis works best for shorter, bushier crops such as beans, peas, and peppers. A horizontal trellis creates an open, airy feel while providing a structural boundary. You can find multiple horizontal trellises throughout the property. The back garden, lower garden, and center garden all have a horizontal trellis. Each has a different crop being supported by the trellis. The back garden has Saw Peas, the lower garden with Green Peppers, and our center garden has peppers. All three have been made with the same martial of garden stakes and nylon garden twine.
Vertical Trellis
Vertical Trellis is great for taller crops that need lots of space to grow, for instance, peas, Loofahs, and cucumbers. The back garden has multiple examples of vertical trellis with both our tomato and cucumber crops supported by vertical trellis. Framer Milkey has built them using nylon garden twine and tomato clips, supported by t-posts and a top bar made from metal poles. The plant is then secured with string to the top bar with a ‘bowline’ knot to help these plants grow strong and upward.
See your garden flourish with a trellis! Stop by Bricoleur Vineyards and gain inspiration for your garden. Which one of Farmer Mikey’s trellis will you have in your garden?