How To: Build a Pea Trellis

I garden for a variety of reasons. One of the biggest ones is thriftiness - organic vegetables are incredibly expensive at the grocery store, especially enough to feed 5 people. I also love planting something and watching it grow.

I planted sugar snap peas this year, which is one of the earliest spring crops. They need something to climb on for maximum yield and maximum health of the plant. I didn't want to spend eleven bajillionity dollars on a bunch of stuff for the garden, so I came up with a pea trellis using things I had here at home.

You can use a variety of materials for a pea trellis, including twigs! I'll show you how to build a simple trellis using tomato stakes and cotton string.

What you'll need

- a pair of scissors

- a bunch of cotton string (I got this cone at JoAnn's on sale for $9)

- a bunch of tomato / garden stakes, a few feet high. These are usually about $1 each, cheaper if you get them at the end of the season. 

You'll need enough stakes to have one every 2-3 feet or so. 5 gave me enough for my first row, so I went and grabbed some more for the 2nd row from my garage. (I won't be using these for my tomato plants this year because frankly, they don't work. I'll be building a trellis for them as well.)

I'm a conventional gardener and put in rows. So just adjust if you use raised beds. 

Push 1 stake into the ground every 2-3 feet. I went down about 8" and then compacted dirt around the stake. You don't want them blowing around in a thunderstorm.

Taking your cotton string, tie one end to one of your end stakes. I use a bunch of knots. (DON'T cut your string from the cone yet, otherwise you may not have a big enough piece and that is super irritating.)

Wrap your string around the post you tied the knots to, and then wrap it around the next post in line. Repeat this for as many posts as you have in a row, tying it off at the end. Repeat for any other rows you have. Do this at least 2 more times (depending on the height of your stakes); one in the middle and one towards the soil.

You should have something that looks like this. (Should being the operative word here.)

Step in between 2 of your stakes. Tie one end of your yarn in the middle of 2 of your stakes, then wrap it around each horizontal layer. You're now making the vertical space.

Repeat all the way to the bottom string and tie off. Do the same for the rest of your stakes. Just tie a vertical line in between 2 stakes.

You should now have something that looks like this. Plant your peas according to the directions on your seed packet. Once they come up, they'll grab onto your trellis and cover it.

I'll post pictures once the peas overtake the trellis!