Build a trellis for cucumbers and beans

An hour · Easy · 5 steps

Two posts and a net: climbing crops grow up instead of out, and the fruit stays clean.

A net trellis for cucumbers, with the soil cut away at the posts
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Fig. A net trellis for cucumbers, with the soil cut away at the posts.

  1. Top bar keeps the net from sagging
  2. Wire or two zip ties crossed in an X hold the bar to each post, just below the top
  3. Steel posts at each end
  4. Trellis netting, pulled tight
  5. Tie the net to the bar and posts every foot or so
  6. Tendrils grab the net on their own
  7. Drive posts at least a foot deep

What you'll need

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You'll also need

  • A post driver or a heavy mallet
  • A straight board or metal pipe as long as the row, for the top bar
  • Heavy-duty zip ties or wire

Steps

  1. Put the trellis on the north side of the bed, so it doesn't shade shorter plants.
  2. Drive a post into the ground at each end of the row, at least a foot deep. For a row longer than 8 feet, add one in the middle too, so the bar doesn't sag.
  3. Hold the top bar across the posts, an inch or two below their tops. Fasten it to each post with wire or two heavy-duty zip ties crossed in an X, pulled snug just above one of the bumps on the post so it can't slide down.
  4. Tie the top edge of the netting to the bar every foot or so, then stretch the net down and tie its sides to the posts. Pull it tight: a sagging net gets heavy with vines.
  5. Plant along the base. Guide the first tendrils onto the net; after that, the vines climb on their own.

Tips

  • Cucumbers, peas, pole beans, and small melons all climb well. Tie heavy melons up with a sling of old T-shirt.
  • Leave the net up all year and plant peas in spring, then cucumbers or beans in summer.

Use it in Planting Year