It’s easy to make a trellis with your own hands in the garden or in a greenhouse. The support method of growing tomatoes or cucumbers in a vertical plane has several advantages.
- The trellis allows you to walk freely between the rows without stepping on, for example, cucumber vines.
- Planting tomatoes and cucumbers when grown on a support is well blown and ventilated. The leaves don’t seem to sweat; there are no droplets of water on the bottom of the leaves. This means that it is more difficult for spores of peronospora or late blight to germinate, i.e. conditions for the occurrence of diseases are not created.
- Harvesting from plants growing on a trellis is much easier and more enjoyable - everything is in plain sight. Branches and shoots do not need to be turned or turned over.
Definition of trellis, what is it
Bushes fixed on special supports and carefully tied up in practice give a larger harvest; a trellis is a supporting structure that can withstand sufficient loads and is not difficult to make yourself.
The trellis is installed on vegetable beds and can be of different configurations; in addition to a stable frame, its design includes longitudinal and transverse guides necessary for tying up plants of different heights or for a certain period of growing season and development.
How to make a trellis for cucumbers with your own hands
You can make a simple support for cucumbers yourself. The design is chosen depending on what materials are at hand. In addition, you need to realistically evaluate your construction skills and not try to make a trellis of a complex shape. Before starting work, you should prepare the necessary materials, tools, and equipment.
Simple rectangular
The structure is made from wooden blocks with side sizes of 50 x 50 and 40 x 40 mm. In order for the height of the trellis to be 2 m, the workpieces must be 3 m long. Installation sequence:
- Large bars are placed along the edges of the trellis. Digging depth – 0.8 m.
- The posts are reinforced with guy wires (diameter 2-3 mm).
- Intermediate pillars with sides of 40 mm are dug between the side supports at equal intervals.
- Stretch the wire. The lower one should be located parallel to the bed at a height of 0.2 m from the ground surface. Then, at intervals of 0.3-0.4 m, the wire is attached to the very top of the supports.
From lumber
A trellis of thin wooden slats can decorate your garden. To create it you will need several bars and slats measuring 5 x 25 mm. Construction sequence:
- Along the edges of the bed, side pillars made of 50 mm thick bars are dug to a depth of 0.8 m. They are reinforced with guy wires in three directions.
- Intermediate supports are installed in increments of no more than 1.5 m.
- Attach the crossbar to the top of the posts.
- The first row of slats is nailed at an angle of 45°. The second layer is attached in the opposite direction. The pitch between adjacent planks is selected so that the cell size is approximately 15 cm.
From a metal profile
Steel frames are designed for long-term use. Externally they look like a hut, 1-1.5 m high. The design is based on two metal frames made of a square or round profile pipe. In the upper part, the fastening is done with loops or simply tied. A metal mesh is fixed in the center of the frame. Manufacturing procedure:
- Cut the pieces to the required length.
- Rectangular frames are welded on a flat surface.
- A metal mesh is inserted inside and secured with wire.
- Paint and connect two frames together.
For your information! A folding support for cucumbers will not take up much space in the utility room. Keeping it in a dry place in winter will protect metal parts from corrosion.
From the tire
Using a stand made from an old tire allows you to install a trellis for cucumbers anywhere in your summer cottage. To create it you will need a car tire (preferably from a truck), a stand, and a bicycle rim.
Sequence of work:
- One sidewall is cut out of an old tire and holes are pierced or drilled along the edges.
- Place the tire on the garden bed and fill it with soil.
- A support is installed in the middle. The rim is attached to it.
- Stretch the twine through the holes for the spokes and punctures in the tire.
Cucumbers in barrels - a large harvest from small areas
From a special mesh
The cucumber net is stretched between support posts connected by a rigid jumper or wire. Installation procedure:
- Install racks made of wooden blocks or metal pipes.
- They are connected by a crossbar with a mesh threaded through the cells.
- The intersections of the lintel with the posts are reinforced with wire or twine.
- The supports are additionally secured to the guy wires in three directions.
- Tie the net.
Purpose and necessity of the design
A practical and stable support for tomatoes helps to simplify the procedures for caring for tomato bushes; tied bushes are easy to weed and remove weeds, water and feed in a timely manner.
Reliable structures are stationary and portable, so they can be constantly used in farming to effectively increase the yield of various and popular garden crops.
The advantage of using trellises
For the formation of the ovary and the full ripening of the crop, the plant needs a sufficient amount of oxygen, which it receives more when tied up, while eliminating the slightest chance of the leaves coming into contact with the ground.
An additional and important advantage of tying shrubs to trellises is the practical opportunity to reduce the load on the main stem during a bountiful harvest.
How to place it correctly on the site
Cucumbers are a moisture-loving crop, so it is advisable to place the beds near a water source. A universal option is to install a drip irrigation system. At the same time, water will be used sparingly, each bush will receive full watering and the liquid will not get on the leaves and stems.
To ensure that the plants are illuminated evenly and receive equal portions of illumination, the trellises are placed in the east-west direction. For comfortable maintenance of plants, the distance between the beds should be 0.8-0.9 m. If the bushes are planted in two rows, then a distance of 0.15-0.2 m is maintained between the rows.
When growing any vegetables, it is important to follow the rules of crop rotation. It is not recommended to plant cucumbers in one place for more than two seasons in a row. Therefore, it is advisable to install simple structures that will be easy to assemble/disassemble and move to another location.
Materials for making trellises
Do-it-yourself trellis supports for tomatoes can be made from a variety of materials, and you can use wood and metal, canvas fabric and wire; to reduce the cost of construction, it is recommended to use used building materials.
To the traditional materials used for the manufacture of trellises, metal-plastic pipes have recently been added, which are easy to process and retain their shape for a long time, which is successfully combined with strength and reliability.
What varieties of cucumbers are suitable for trellis growing.
Cucumbers growing on trellises bear fruit faster and have a neat appearance. Since greens are a light crop, the trellis method of growing it is just what you need.
You can use different varieties of cucumbers, but gherkins are considered the best option, such varieties as:
- Vocal F1;
- Asterix F1;
- Motive F1.
Hybrid varieties are the fastest to ripen and light, so gardeners often use these varieties of cucumbers for growing on a trellis.
Types of tomato trellises
According to the generally accepted classification by design, supports are divided into trellises for open and closed ground. When choosing which type of supports is best to make, it is necessary to focus on a set of their operational characteristics.
It is important that the trellis ensures free movement between the beds, provides excellent ventilation of the tomato bushes and facilitates the harvesting procedure, without damaging the ripened fruits, which is important for their subsequent storage and processing.
Features of trellis growing of cucumbers.
Any business has its own characteristics. This also applies to the presented method of growing cucumbers. What should you consider before planting crops?
- An old rule for all gardeners: cucumbers should be planted after a year of planting tomatoes, potatoes or cabbage.
- Before planting plants on trellises, you should fertilize the soil with humus.
- It is preferable to plant the crop in beds. This method promotes good warming of cucumbers and will protect the plants from possible night frosts.
- It is best to plant trellis cucumbers when the ground warms up to 14 degrees.
It does not matter how the cucumbers were planted: seedlings or seeds. The cultivated crop requires care and control over growth and development.
Trellis for open ground
Convenient and practical supports for tomatoes, used in open ground, consist of a simple structure of poles stuck into the soil, located at an angle, and securely fastened in the middle.
It is necessary to place a horizontal guide in the hollow created by intersecting poles and fix it; it will definitely be useful for tying up young seedlings or low-growing tomato bushes, which are recommended to be planted on both sides of the trellis to save space. Ready-made versions of simple and complex trellises can be viewed here.
Making a support for cucumbers with your own hands
Specialized stores have a large selection of trellises. But it is quite possible to make a structure yourself from available materials. There are enough options for installing poles: straight, at an angle, in a hut.
Wooden trellis
This simple design is the most common. When choosing wooden elements, products made from chestnut, oak, ash, and mulberry deserve preference. Racks made of maple, poplar, and birch will quickly rot. Several layers of drying oil will protect the pillars. The parts that will be dug into the ground (approximately 60-70 cm) are especially carefully impregnated. Installing a horizontal trellis will take a little time:
- Wooden posts are dug in along the edges of the bed.
- A mesh is stretched between the supports.
- If there is no mesh, you can arrange a vertical trellis - the supports are connected by a crossbar and cucumber lashes are tied to it using ropes.
Metal structure
Arranging a trellis from a metal frame is a costly and labor-intensive process. But the structure will last for more than one season. It is advisable to first make a drawing taking into account the size of the bed. The trellis is constructed in several stages:
- Along the edges of the row, pillars 2.2-2.5 m long are dug to a depth of 0.5-0.6 m. The earth is compacted.
- A crossbar of appropriate length is welded to the tops of the supports.
- Pegs are dug in near the cucumbers.
- A twine is tied to each peg, and the other end is tied to the crossbar.
When using metal devices, they must be protected from corrosion. It is enough to paint the frame with special paint.
Tire and wheel rim support
Structures made from strong materials at hand look extraordinary and impressive. The design assembled from a tire and wheel rims deserves special attention. You will need a large tire (a wheel from a truck or tractor), a bicycle rim without spokes, a metal pipe or a wooden pole. Stages of work:
- The wheel tire is cut lengthwise. One half is laid cut side up, after making several holes in the bottom. The improvised container is filled with a drainage layer and soil mixture.
- A pipe is inserted into it (to a depth of approximately 0.5 m).
- A bicycle rim is attached to the top of the rack.
- To make vertical supports, ropes are used to connect the rim and tire.
To give a creative trellis a beautiful look, pour earth around the tire or you can cover its edges with unnecessary burlap.
Trellis for closed ground
In greenhouses and greenhouses, it is recommended to use low, but most reliable supports to preserve plants and crops, which is facilitated by the mandatory staking of plants; such a structure can be built independently.
Metal-plastic pipes are used as supports, inserted vertically into the soil and filled with sand for stability; using special fasteners, horizontal guides made of elastic and soft cord are fixed on them (at different heights) for tying up plants.
Methods for gartering tomatoes on a trellis
When using supports for tomatoes in open ground, it is important to prepare the material for garter in advance; it must be strong and soft; gartering is carried out in two ways, which differ in the technique of carrying out the procedure.
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Experienced gardeners recommend fixing the shoots on horizontal guides as they develop, or you can lower the garter material from the top guide and secure the branches on it, constantly adjusting the length of the soft ropes.
Gartering tomatoes is a mandatory agrotechnical measure necessary to increase productivity; the use of a trellis can significantly simplify the care of tomatoes planted in open ground.
Advantages of the trellis method
Is it possible to grow tomatoes in Siberia? And not just grow, but grow tomatoes that will surprise everyone? Can! You just need to put in the work and know agricultural technology. Siberia is also different; in Minusinsk, for example, there are annual competitions for gardeners to grow the largest tomato. The tomatoes grow more than a kilogram or even two, and the winner gets a car. And there are cities like Norilsk: no forest, no heat, and even permafrost. Therefore, we will consider options for growing tomatoes on permafrost and without it. Read more…
First of all, to make trellises from wood, you should choose durable material - oak, ash, chestnut, mulberry, and try not to use birch, poplar and maple. Wet wood is also not suitable for creating such elements.
Having installed our curved elements of the trellis (base), in the required place, parallel and strictly according to plan, we make horizontal jumpers, so to speak, stiffening ribs, which will increase stability and become special “rose holders”. You can see what we got in the photos below.
- Trellises can be divided not only by type of production materials, but also by direction and purpose
- Trellises can be made independently or purchased, but the materials for their production remain almost identical. For the most part, “home” trellises for the dacha are made from wood, wood and wire, while purchased ones are most often made from steel rods and plastic.
- The design of the trellis made of wooden slats is interesting. It is not only functional, but also very decorative.
Three columns are buried so that their height above the ground is three meters, and four meters apart from each other, in one row. The posts must be buried well so that they do not wobble. We connect the top of three posts with two four-meter slats. We nail it firmly on top.
