This year, I really wanted every plant to be propped up. Sprawling plants make for a messy looking garden.
And since I planted much closer than usual this year, we needed to go vertical.
Trellises are pricey, usually one trellis per plant.
But I wanted a trellis that could prop up a whole row of peas, beans or cucumbers. So I got on Tom. Tom’s a gym teacher.
With his go-big or go-home mentality, he was racking his brain with ideas to win.
And he came up with a seven’ high and six’ wide trellis made out of PVC pipe.
Guess what else? There’s a surprise at the end of this post.
What you need to make a PVC garden trellis
- Hacksaw
- Miter Box to cut straight lines on PVC Pipe
- A Sharpie marker
- Drill with 9/32 bit
- Yardstick to mark 6″ marks on sides
- Tape measure to mark PVC pipe where you need to cut
- PVC Cement
- Rubber mallet to secure PVC pipe and fitting
- PVC pipe one 7′ x 6′ trellis needs 33 feet
- PVC joints (2 elbows, 3 Tees, one cross)
- Clotheslines approximately 125′
He then cut them with a Hacksaw/Miter Box into three 2′ sections (these will be buried underground), three 5′ sections used on the vertical sections of the trellis, and four 3′ sections for the width of the trellis.
Tom used medium gray PVC cement to combine the fittings and pipe. He used a rubber mallet to ensure pipe was seated well inside the fitting.
Trellis Stages
He then drilled with a 9/32 bit at every Sharpie line.
This is where you secure the clothesline.
Tom tied the vertical clotheslines first.
What I like most about my PVC garden Trellis
- PVC pipe will last virtually forever (unlike wood).
- I could make the width the exact dimensions of our raised beds. Not to short or long.
- Simple to cut and assemble.
- Fairly inexpensive to make.
- You can’t buy a trellis this big. You’d have to buy several and piece them together.
Prices
Two elbows per trellis is needed 52 cents
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Three Tee’s for each trellis is needed= $1.44
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One cross per trellis is needed $1.46
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