How To Make a Garden Trellis

Trellises come in many different types. Some are for fruits and vegetables, some are for vines and other plants that like to grow vigorously, while others are for decoration. Whatever your need is for a trellis, there is always a way you can build it yourself. This article will help you build a trellis specifically designed to go in your garden to help your fruit or vegetable plants find sturdy support or along the side of a wall or fence for vines and other climbing plants.

Two 8-foot 2x4s

Seven 8-foot 1x2s

1 pound of 1 1/4-inch deck screws

Gravel - enough to fill 10 inches

Circular saw or hand saw

Power drill

Post hole digger or narrow shovel

Tape measure

Framing square

Lay the two 8-foot 2x4s down on a large work table or any solid surface top. Place them so they are 42 inches apart.

Cut two of your 8-foot 1x2 boards into 48 inches each (cut them directly in half). This will now give you four 48-inch boards.

Using a tape measure, mark 20 inches from the bottom of your 2x4 boards. The bottom is the part that you will stick into the ground to hold it up. Then from the 20-inch mark, measure another 4 inches up and lay your first 4-foot 1x2 board across the two 2x4s in a parallel manner. Space the other three boards 18 inches apart in the same parallel manner. Use a framing square to get a perfect square for each board. Your trellis should now look like a ladder.

Using the deck screws and power drill, drill one screw into each side.

Turn the trellis over so that the parallel boards that you just screwed into place are now face down on your work table or solid surface.

Vertically lay one 1x2 board directly in the middle of the trellis, which would be 24 inches in from each 2x4 board. Move the bottom of the board up to the first parallel board. Screw this board to the parallel 1x4 boards that you just screwed together. Be sure to use a framing square to get a perfect square.

This vertical board should now stand 24 inches taller than the rest of the trellis.

Cut two more 1x2 boards down to 84 inches. Lay them in the same vertical manner as the first board, only place these two boards on both sides of the first one, centering them 12 inches from each side.

Using the deck screws, attach them to the parallel boards that lay behind them.

These boards should both stand 12 inches higher than the top parallel board and 12 inches shorter than the tallest vertical board.

Flip the trellis over again.

Cut two more 1x2 boards into four 30-inch boards and one 8-inch slat.

Lay the first 30-inch board 9 inches up from the bottom 48-inch parallel board in the same manner across the back of the three vertical boards that you just screwed into place. Lay the other three 30-inch boards 9 inches up from the other 48-inch parallel boards. Screw them into place, making sure they are perfectly square with the framing square.

Attach the 8-inch slat to the top of the tallest vertical board.

Using a post hole digger or shovel, dig two 25-by-6-inch holes. Place approximately 5 inches of gravel in the bottom of the hole. The gravel will help your trellis to stay in place and not sink or shift as the soil gets wet.

Place trellis posts into holes and replace dirt around the post and pack heavily.

If you are wanting or needing a more sturdy hole, fill the holes in with cement once you have placed trellis into the ground. Allow to dry for 24 hours.