> Next: Staking and Supporting
Supporting Vegetable Plants
Install supports when you plant or after shoots emerge.
Slicing tomatoes, vining plants with heavy fruit and pole varieties of beans and peas require supports to train them vertically or hold them above the ground.
These are best installed at time of planting rather than later when the need for them becomes necessary, and it avoids disturbing the plants after their roots have developed and become established.
Smaller bush vegetables such as bush beans, bush peas, peppers, and cherry tomatoes require string supports or trellises to help them support their fruit. For best results, plant them in rows and install a string trellis along each side, or make a tepee of wood stakes for them to climb.
Heavy-fruited vegetables like pumpkins, gourds and squash benefit from sturdy supports that prevent soil contact and fungal diseases. Simple pyramids made of garden stakes are ideal for increasing air circulation around the new growth and ripening fruit.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Trellises and Tepees
Gather wooden stakes, a mallet, a marker, garden twine or wire, a staple gun, and a knife or pair of scissors, then follow the steps shown for each option before or after planting:
Installing a String or Wire Trellis
Drive 2 parallel rows of wood stakes 42–60 in. (1.1–1.5 m) long into the soil 10 in. (25 cm) to each side of the center of the planting furrow and spaced 4 ft. (1.2 m) apart.
Mark points along each stake at 6-in. (15-cm) intervals from the soil to their tops. Stretch wire or twine tautly between the marked points, fastening it to the stakes with a hand staple gun or tying it securely to each stake.
Repeat until the stakes have several tiers of wire or string spaced vertically 6–12 in. (15–30 cm) in horizontal rows, making a fencelike structure to support the growing plants.
Installing a Simple Tepee Support
Use 3 poles, 8 ft. (2.4 m) long, to make a tepee for pole beans and peas. Lay 2 poles parallel to each other. Add a third pole between them, laid in the opposite direction to overlap the ends of the first poles by 16 in. (40 cm).
Using twine, loosely lash the poles together at the crossover, tying 3–4 loops around each pole and knotting the twine to make a pivoting junction.
Erect the tepee by holding the lashed junction, raising and folding the poles to make a tripod. Centered the feet of the poles on the planting area and push down to set them into the garden bed’s soil.
Supporting Heavier Vines and Fruit
Gather wooden landscape tree poles, a handsaw or circular power saw, a hammer, and 10-penny nails, then follow the steps shown to cut the poles and erect a log-cabin-style support for heavy fruiting vines such as squash, melon and pumpkin:
Installing Log-Cabin Plant Supports for Heavy Vegetables
Cut 4 each 2-ft., 3-ft., and 4-ft. (60 cm, 90 cm, and 120 cm) landscape tree poles, made of stock about 4 in. (10 cm) in diameter.
Lay 2 of the 4-ft. (120 cm) poles on the ground parallel to one another and spaced equally from the center of the plant. Overlap them with the other pair. Create a strong join by nailing through their junction.
Measure 6 in. (15 cm) from the ends of the bottom course’s poles and lap a pair of 3 ft. (90 cm) poles. Again, nail the joints. Repeat for the last course of 2 ft. (60 cm) poles.
As the plant grows, blossoms and sets fruit, train the vines near each fruit to grow onto the log-cabin plant-support structure. Raising the fruit off the ground prevents the fruit from coming direct soil contact and conserves space in the garden.