I’m all about saving space in the garden. You have to be efficient when you garden in an urban community plot. I’m also all about keeping plants—especially vegetable plants—neat and tidy. Trellising does both. If I can trellis or tie or suspend all or part of a plant, I’ll do it.

My new garden plot is in a community garden where gardeners are just as eager to trellis plants as I am. There are two trellis systems in the plot right next to mine. One system is so simple that I plan on borrowing the idea for myself.

Assembling a DIY Trellis

First, you’ll need to gather these supplies:

Four long (8-ft, perhaps) 1-in. wooden stakes

One long (8-ft, maybe) crosspole—this one happens to be a long branch

Two screws, maybe 3 inches long

Lengths of 2- or 3-inch nylon netting. What I mean by 2- or 3-inch is the squares of the netting are 2- or 3-inch squares.

Step 1: Stack the stakes and lay them flat. Insert the screw about 4 or 5 inches from one end of the top stake. Ensure that the screw goes through the width of the top stake and into and through the bottom stake. Adjust the screw and the stakes so there is a gap between the two stakes. The screw allows the stakes to move independently from each other.

Step 2: Repeat with the second set of stakes.

Step 3: Set up one set of stakes at the end of a row, adjusting the stakes so the ends are about 2-3 feet apart from each other, forming an upside down V. Dig the stakes into the ground a bit so they are sturdy.

Step 4: Repeat with the second set of stakes, setting them about 7.5 ft away from the first set if you do have an 8-ft. long crosspole.

Step 5: Set the crosspole into place spanning the space between the sets of stakes. The pole should fit nicely in the top V created by the stakes.

Step 6: Hang the netting from the crosspole. The netting doesn’t have to reach to the ground, depending on what you’re growing.

This trellis supports a row of pole beans. The beans and the plants don’t weigh all that much and therefore won’t put too much downward stress on the netting. The beans will wind their way up and through the nylon netting. If this were supporting something heavier like cucumbers, I’d be a bit concerned about the trellis’s stability. As it is, though, this trellis does its job perfectly—saving planting space and keeping it all neat and tidy.