Building Stuff (Trellis Time)

Even with unlimited space, vertical gardening is a good idea. It allows for air circulation and makes harvesting easier in addition to maximizing space. My black-eyed peas went a little crazy last year, so after reading Vertical Vegetables and Fruit, I set to work on two trellises. The running teepee type trellis will be for black eyed peas that I have yet to plant (they will shade the spinach and lettuce in this bed, as I'm hoping to extend the season a bit).

My twine ball was missing for a few days, so I have not finished running twine for the vines yet.
Below is my attempt at a ladder-type trellis for delicata squash. Tat soi currently resides in this bed, but the squash has been planted.

These are made with untreated 1x2s from Home Depot, so they won't last forever, and since this was my first "carpentry" attempt I'm fine with that. With finer grades of wood, I would pre-drill the holes to prevent splitting, but I'm pretty satisfied with the time/money expenditure. All that is needed in addition to the wood planks are deck screws, an electric screwdriver, twine (for the bean vines to climb as well as for reinforcing the structure), and optional eye screws for attaching the twine (you could just wrap it). I pretty much built them myself, with the guys occasionally holding it steady and laughing at the "oil rig" I was building. They feel fairly sturdy right now, but probably need staking to ensure they don't get toppled. We'll see!