As you are planning your garden, an important consideration is how to use vertical as well as horizontal space.  Will there be plants requiring support?  Do you want to expand your garden space by utilizing vertical as well as the horizontal space available?  

Vertical plantings can also add visual elements that enhance the beauty of the garden over and above the appearance of the plants themselves. Incorporating trellises into your garden space may be an option to consider in response to all these considerations.

Many plants benefit from the support provided by trellises.  Tomatoes, pole beans, and melons are great examples.  The plants benefit from airflow around the plants.  The plants and their fruit receive more exposure to the sun that helps the fruit ripen.  By securing the plants above the ground you can reduce the risk of exposure to various pests thus reducing the need for pesticides.  And if additional interventions are needed, it is easier to pick off the pests, or spray or dust with pesticides or herbicides.  

Vertical gardening is also a way to expand what you can produce in a limited space.  Instead of using a larger footprint there is space to grow other plants. In addition, trellises simplify weeding by moving the plant from the ground.  They also reduce the need to kneel down to harvest by moving the vegetables to eye level.

When you have decided to include trellises in your garden, you need to decide what kind. There are a many different types of trellises available for purchase.  Here are examples of cages and flat trellises.  Cages are used with tomatoes, squash, melons, and other vegetables.  Two-foot diameter cages fashioned from wood or wire allow for easy trellising and harvest.  Hog-wire, woven wire panels, or concrete reinforcing wire can be used.  Each comes in a 4-inch square grid.  These materials have the strength necessary to support healthy vines with heavy fruit.  For ease of plant management, cage your vegetable plants at planting and train the vines to the inside of the cage as they grow.

However, homemade vertical plant supports are also an option. There are an infinite number of ways of creating homemade supports.  When designing a trellis, a primary consideration is assuring that the structure will be able to support the plant when the plant is mature and full of its blossoms or vegetables.  With that in mind a trellis for cucumbers or melons needs to be stronger than that to be used for beans or peas.  Flowers such as peonies will also benefit from trellising. A trellis for peonies should be somewhere between the strength needed for melons and that needed for beans.

The primary support can be provided by PVC pipes, bamboo stakes, wooden or steel fence posts, to name a few options.  Chemically treated wood should be avoided to prevent the possible harmful impact on the plants. The type of plant dictates how you will need to secure the plant to the trellis.  Beans and peas create tendrils that will twine to the structure.  However, tomatoes and other plants need to be tied.  Choose wires, nylon or polypropylene cording should be selected instead of cotton to tie to the supports since these options won’t stretch.  

A vertical trellis can be built by setting sturdy support posts about 2 feet into the ground. The tops of the posts should be about 6 feet above the soil surface.  Stretch a heavy wire, barbed wire, cable, or wooden two-by-four between the tops of the posts and another, if desired, between the bases of the supports, near the soil. 

One trellising method is to drop vertical twines from the upper support down to each plant.  A double wire works especially well as a support here because it prevents twine from slipping to the center as the top wire sags with the weight of the plants.  Tie the vertical support to the base of each plant or to a bottom wire, if one is used.  As plants grow, wrap them around the twine for support or tie or clip them to the twine using plastic clips that greenhouse tomato growers use (see Resources). 

Another trellising method uses nylon mesh or hog wire with a 4-inch square grid.  Either material can be attached to the upright stakes and upper supports to provide trellising. With this method as well, use ties or clips to train the vines to the mesh as they grow. When using wire mesh for trellising, check that the fruit does not imbed itself into the wire.

Support can also be provided by existing structures such as building walls or fences.  Trellises can also beautify these structures.  

In the online article, Trellising, Staking, and Caging, Vertical Gardening Techniques for Vine-Type Vegetables, the Wisconsin Horticulture Division of their Extension program provides the following details for constructing plant supports:

Staking requires 5 to 6-foot wooden, metal, or plastic stakes made with PVC pipe, electrical conduit, bamboo stakes, galvanized pipe, or wooden or steel fence posts. Wooden stakes should be at least 1 inch square. Again, do not use chemically treated wood. Metal stakes can be of smaller diameter and have the advantage of lasting many years. 

Vines can be tied to single stakes, or three or four stakes can be grouped and secured at the top to form a tripod structure, with vines trained to climb each pole. Another method is to weave a wire, cording, or wood such as saplings and branches between the tripod stakes and train vines to climb along the woven material and up the tripod structure. 

The stake-and-weave method (photo below) is an alternative system to support plants in a row. Stakes are spaced about every 6 feet. Use polypropylene or nylon cording (it doesn't stretch like cotton or hemp products): tie the cord to the first stake about 6 to 10 inches above the ground. Run the cord to the second stake and wrap it around the stake once at the same level; be sure to keep the cord tight. Repeat this process, going on to the third, fourth, and remaining stakes until you reach the end of the row. Come back with the cord on the opposite side of the stakes, wrapping it around each stake. Plants are held in the space between the cords; this will help support plants that do not form tendrils, such as tomatoes.

Repeat this process as plants grow so the branches are always held between the cording. Three to five runs down the row should be enough for the season. If the woven cording begins to stretch apart, tie the parallel cords together about midway between the stakes for added plant support. While this method is very successful with tomato plants, be sure to prune out the suckers as the plants grow in order to reduce the foliage that must be supported.

There are many reasons to consider vertical gardening in your yard and there are many different methods and tools to do so. Whether your trellis is handmade, store-bought, plain or fancy, the important thing is that it is sufficient to do its main job – supporting your plant.

References:

https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/trellising-staking-and-caging-vertical-gardening-techniques-vine-type-vegetables/

https://extension.k-state.edu/news-and-publications/news/stories/2025/04/horticulture-vertical-garden.html

https://lancaster.unl.edu/vertical-gardening-makes-most-small-garden-footprint/

Photo Credits: Linda Stein (1-6), University of Wisconsin Extension (7)