Pea Trellis Ideas
A couple of weeks ago I bought a package of ‘Tom Thumb’ peas. This edible podded pea is an heirloom and grows on dwarf, 18-inch tall vines that do not really need any support. I’m planting them in containers, but I’m also growing ‘Wando’, a great English shelling pea and snow peas, both of which will need a trellis. Last year I grew my peas up my fence trellis, but there are a ton of ways to trellis peas. I did a little searching online to see what other gardeners are up to and pulled together a roundup of my favorites.
The very first trellis I came across was this sturdy cedar trellis on Sequim Daily Photo. I love how these trellises really make use of the vertical space in small raised beds. You could easily grow baby greens between the rows of peas and plant cucumbers on the trellis when the peas finished up in June.
Renee from Wolfie and the Sneak stapled chicken wire onto an old wooden window frame. Such a clever way to recycle in the garden! And cute, too.
Another awesome recycled material idea comes from Patti at New World Geek. She bought a bunch Cat-5 wire from a Re-Store and used it to make trellises! She built two trellises for about a dollar each and still has several hundred feet of wire left.
This colorful geometric design comes courtesy of Just Fine Design Build. The cool off-set design allows you to grow two rows of peas in the space of one and the trellis is pretty enough for a front yard. I bet you could use that Cat-5 in place of twine!
At This Old House they have an easy-to-follow guide for building a container trellis out of tree trimmings. They have sweet peas growing up it, but this trellis would also support edible peas. I think it would look especially pretty to sow some climbing nasturtium seed in the pot as well, because the nasturtiums would begin to bloom when the sweet peas started to fade.
Here are two trellises I’ve grown peas on in the past. Jon built the A-frame trellis for me and peas and cucumbers easily scramble up the wire panels. If I was building it again, I’d use chicken wire instead of 1/4 inch hardware cloth. I also love to build bamboo trellises. For this one I made decorative panels at the bottom of the trellis out of round and U-shaped bamboo. Peas don’t grow well up bamboo—they need something to grab on to—so I strung twine onto the trellis to create a climbing surface. In 2008, I grew a vining pea that reached nearly to the top of the 7-foot tall trellis by the end of June.
OK, so I’ll admit I’ve quietly crushed on you for a while Willi, but then you referred to Cat-5 and piled nerdglee on.
Thanks for the great idea!
March 4th, 2010 at 8:14 pmDIY projects are passions for my sweetie, Mark, and we both love, love English peas. Awesome recommendations! Thanks – Sharon
March 5th, 2010 at 1:54 pm.-= Sharon´s last blog ..5 Gardening How-To Information Sources =-.
I love the container trellises in the first picture. These are great examples that I’m defintitely going to study for ideas. This year I’m planting my peas in narrow beds that I’m cutting out as a border around our front lawn. Peas and beans are so beautiful, I think they’ll make a great edible border in place of flowers or shrubs.
March 5th, 2010 at 2:55 pmPerfect timing – I just planted my snap and bush peas today! Need to start my sweet peas and purple podded peas. Thanks Willi!
March 6th, 2010 at 7:13 pm.-= Lorene´s last blog ..Spring cleaning tips for the NW garden =-.
There are some fun designs here! I’d love to read more about how to grow cucumbers on a trellis. I’ve tried to do this before, but the cucumber vine wouldn’t ‘stick’ to the trellis & kept flopping back on the ground. Do I need to grow a specific variety? Any help appreciated!
March 7th, 2010 at 2:04 pmMy husband built your A-frame trellises for me this year for the peas. My only problem came in the high winds, because it wasn’t quite stable enough, so now it has a movable cross piece and is solid as a rock!
May 9th, 2010 at 9:24 pmHi,
May 22nd, 2010 at 6:37 amThese ideas are great and so is your site. I haven’t seen such a good resource online in a while. I am going outside now to build some trellises that use string instead of netting so my peas are less tangled.
[...] Bean and pea trellises are lovely. Check out Willi’s latest pea trellis post! [...]
August 15th, 2010 at 6:56 am[...] Look at these beautiful pea trellises. [...]
October 2nd, 2010 at 6:51 am[...] around them horizontally, and tied twine from the bottom to top too. I got inspiration from this DigginFood.com post and my trusty Vegetable Gardeners’ [...]
May 10th, 2011 at 3:13 pmVery good idea. I love the 1st pic and the raised trellises. I did garden boxes last year and this will be on my list for the Spring.
January 18th, 2012 at 12:26 amThanks, thats given me some great ideas. I only started gardening last year just to see if I could do it, and I was quite impressed, so I’m having a serious go at it this year.
February 22nd, 2012 at 5:09 amThanks, thats given me some great ideas. I only started last year just to see if I could actually do it, and I was impressed by what I actually managed to grow. Had a lot of trouble with the pheasants, but I will have a serious go at it this year.
February 22nd, 2012 at 5:11 amI love these ideas! I can’t wait to see them when the plants are in full bloom! I would really like to try the idea with the pot with the trellis made out of branches.
April 16th, 2012 at 6:19 amThanks for the great ideas!
[...] Pea Trellis Round Up [...]
April 17th, 2012 at 10:00 pmI was wondering how I could get the plans for the sturdy cedar trellis since I have never built one before.
Thank you,
May 29th, 2012 at 8:24 amAnne
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