For years we made a teepee-ish thing for our cucumbers to climb up.  We made it out of bamboo poles with twine winding horizontally around the poles.  It really did the job just fine.  But this year, we found ourselves in a bit of a predicament.  We've had such a cool spring that our lettuces, kale and spinach are still growing in the spot I needed to plant my cucumbers in.  What's a gardener to do!??  Enter my brain storm.  I figured I could build this trellis so that I could plant my cucumbers at each end of the bed, leaving the lettuces and kales to continue their growing in the middle.  AND…if all goes well and the planets align, my ingenious idea might provide these tender plants a little respite from our Southeastern North Carolina sun!  (if you've seen hundreds of these trellises all over pinterest, don't tell me.  I want to continue to believe that I'm the only one who ever thought of this…for a wee bit anyway.  Thanks)

Here's what I needed to make my trellis:

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• 6 6-foot bamboo poles
• 10 4-foot bamboo poles
• Ball of 3/8″ Natural Sisal Rope
• Ball of Natural Sisal Twine
• Goop or other strong glue
• 8 – 10 Cable Ties
• Yardstick and/or tape measure
• 2 6-8 foot wooden poles

Here's how I made my trellis:

• Starting from one end, I marked 12″ increments on my 6′ poles with a sharpie
• Then, I found the middle of my 4′ poles, made a sharpie mark there and made 2 more marks 19″ from the center on either side of the center mark. (Your measurements will probably be different…I just made mine to pretty much span the width of my bed)
• I first started to lash the ropes, but realized my lashing skills were not going to cut it.  Hence the goop.  I glued the 4′ sticks to the 6′ poles at each 12″ mark.
• Once the glue dried, I lashed them with the twine and then glued the ends of the twine down. 

• I then ran a piece of twine between each vertical pole, wrapping it around the narrower, horizontal pole to secure it.  

• We then secured the 6-8′ poles in the middle of my bed, where each trellis would meet.  
• We secured each trellis side to the middle poles, for added security, with the cable ties

• I wrapped the thicker sisal rope around the cable ties so it would look nicer, but you don't need to do this step.   

 Not only do I hope my creation functions well as a trellis for my cucumbers and as a heat shield for my lettuce, but I really like the way it looks.  It's that whole Functional Aesthetics thing.

It feels so good to get out and work in the dirt!  See those corn looking things in the background of the photo?  Those are our garlic.  We are anxiously awaiting the garlic scapes which should sprout out in about a month.  Not familiar with garlic scapes?  Oh my…you don't know what you're missing.  I promise I'll be back with some great garlic scape recipes soon.

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Until next time,  

 

 

 

 

 

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