A trellis is simply a device that allows plant vines to grow vertically instead of growing along the ground. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or expensive to build. A trellis can be made easily with things found around the house or yard. All it needs to be able to do is support the weight of the plant, even a fence line can be the trellis. Old pallets make great trellis-building material. There are many ways to make a trellis from old pallets, so let your imagination flow.
Materials Needed to Build a Pallet Trellis
- Safety glasses
- An old pallet, wood stakes, scraps or pieces that can be pounded into the soil
- Screws
- Drill with a screw driver bit
- A small drill bit to pre-drill for the screws if necessary.
For this purpose, I chose a basic stake trellis. Lay the pallet on the floor or work table, so that the face of the pallet is down. Lay one of the stakes on the bottom board. If I were building this pallet trellis to go outside in the ground, I would screw the stake into the board, so that it would go into the soil as far as possible. You can cut any excess wood away from the stake if desired, but this is optional.
Drill a pilot hole into the stake (if necessary), and then screw the stake onto the pallet. This trellis is lightweight and only used indoors, so only two screws were necessary on each stake. But always make sure your trellis is as secure as you need.
Place the trellis in the area of your container or garden desired. Use a mallet to pound the stakes into the ground if necessary, or dig a hole for the trellis and back-fill around the stakes.
Plant your vining plants and train them to grow and weave in and out of the trellis.
This trellis will work for almost any plant and is excellent for growing string beans indoors!
Mike McGroarty is the owner of McGroarty Enterprises and the author of several books. You can visit his website at Freeplants.com and read his blog at Mikesbackyardnursery.com.
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