How to Build a Veggie Plant Tower

Vegetable plant towers help conserve space by encouraging plants to grow up instead of out. They also help hold vegetables off the ground away from the dirt, protecting them from rot and insects. The shape and size of the tower depends on what type of vegetable it is for: Potato plants require box-like towers while tomatoes and beans require trellis-type towers. Build the base of the tower before the plant begins to bloom, then add on and adjust the shape slightly if necessary as the plant grows larger.

24 boards, 1-by-6-by-24 inches

4 boards, 2-by-2-by-33 inches

96 wood screws, 2 inches

3-foot wooden stakes

Garden twine

Scissors

Drill

Bamboo stakes, 3 feet tall

Speed square

Garden rake

Rubber mallet

Pre-drill holes on all of the 24-inch boards in the top two corners 3/4 inch from the edge and one inch from the top. Use the 1/8-inch drill bit.

Lay two of the 2-by-2-inch boards down 24 inches apart to form one side of the box, then arrange the 1-by-6-inch boards across those so the edges are flush. Do this with the other two 2-by-2-inch boards to create the other side of the box.

Screw the boards together, making sure the 2-by-2 boards are square with the 1-by-6 boards using the speed square. Repeat with the other side of the box; the result will be two matching box sides.

Connect the two box sides with two more 1-by-6-inch boards along the bottom to create a square shape. Check that all corners are square with the speed square, then drill the 1-by-6-inch boards to the 2-by-2-inch side posts.

Place the potato tower where you want to plant potatoes and fill in the base with soil. Plant the potato, then add more boards to the potato tower as the plant grows. Alternatively, screw several more 1-by-6-inch boards to one side of the box to create a side that the plants can attach to as they grow.

Loosen the soil around the bean plant with a small garden rake. Lightly draw a circle around the plant that measures approximately two feet in diameter using the rake. The circle can be as large as you want depending on the space you have.

Push the thickest end of four or five bamboo sticks into the ground around the circle to form a tent shape. Try to keep at least six inches of space between each pole.

Cross poles directly opposite each other at the top to form an "X." Add in other poles, continuing to cross them at the top.

Tie the poles tightly under the area where they create an "X." Weave the garden twine in and out of the "X" shape to secure the poles, then tie a square knot. As the plant grows, direct it toward the poles so they creep up the tower as they grow larger.

Loosen the dirt around the tomato plant using a small garden rake.

Push a stake into the ground next to the plant. Hammer it down several inches into the ground using the rubber mallet.

Tie the plant loosely to the stake as it grows, spacing the garden twine ties about four inches apart.

Harvest new potatoes by removing the bottom boards and reaching under the box to grab them.