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.