Growing tomatoes is usually the first step for many gardeners and a must if you actually enjoy the flavor of a tomato! Growing up we grew all of our tomatoes in your standard tomato cages and that worked just fine but I LOVE the effect of growing them on a trellis. I typically grow indeterminate varieties of tomatoes and every year they seem to outgrow whatever I put them on. Tomatoes have a habit of doing this. My dad once had a tomato plant get up to 23 feet!
I started training mine up a livestock panel a few years back and they still were getting to the top part way through the season and then just folding over and smothering out everything planted in front of them. This year I put them on an arch and I AM HOOKED! I don’t know why but it feels like something you would see in the Shire from the Hobbit movie and I just love being able to pick tomatoes from the ceiling.
Also, these couldn’t be easier to construct and are reusable year after year. We purchased these panels at our local Tractor Supply store. They are 16 ft long so you will definitely want a trailer to bring them home. I tried picking them up myself in the bed of the truck and lets just say that didn’t end well. 16 ft is just too long to hang out the back of the pickup safely…
Once we got them home I initially thought that I would need a T-post to keep each of them secured as I planned to put them with the bottom resting inside the raised bed. After placing the first arch elevated up off the ground like this though I quickly realized that there is no way all 5 foot nothing of me would be able to harvest off the middle of this arch without a ladder. So the other 3 panels were just placed at ground level and I really like the effect of it.
I just plant my tomatoes in the bed in the center of the trellis and as they grow train them up and over. I have also grown green beans, peas, melons, and different types of squash up them and they look great. Growing up the trellis has also really helped to create more usable space in the garden beds. In the case of the squash, it also has helped a lot in the battle against the dreaded squash bugs. With the plants up the trellis, they have fewer places to hide due to less of the stems and leaves lying on the ground. WIN WIN!
So if you are looking for a way to maximize space in your garden or even just adding a great visual element I highly suggest adding some panel trellises.
