Easy PVC Tomato Trellis

An avid gardener and HomeSpot HQ user from Southern California shared this tip for making simple but durable tomato trellis’ for use in a 4 foot wide garden box.

For each trellis, you’ll need:

• 2 – 10 ft length of 3/4″ Schedule 40 PVC pipe
• 2 – 3/4″ PVC 90 degree elbow connectors
• 2 – 3/4″ PVC ‘T’ connectors
• 1 – 5 ft length of 1/2″ EMT electrical conduit
• Trellis netting measuring about 5′ x 7′ (We recommend Burpee’s Garden Trellis netting.)

Tools required include:

• measuring tape
• hacksaw
• hammer

Assembly Instructions

1. On each of the 10 foot lengths of PVC, cut a 46 1/2″ length for the cross piece,  and a 35 1/2″ length for the upright.  I measure these cuts from either end of the pipe, so you always are using a factory edge instead of a cut edge.
2. Lay out the trellis frame as shown here.  The 46 1/2″ pieces are the horizontal lengths, and the 35 1/2″ pieces are the top vertical lengths.
3. Count off 11 squares of trellis netting.  Cut off and lay out over the PVC frame.
   
4. Weave the PVC cross pieces through the squares on the trellis netting and attach the elbow connectors.
5. Weave the top PVC vertical pieces through the squares on the trellis netting lengthwise.  Connect one end to the elbow connector, and the other end to the T connector.
6. Weave the second PVC vertical pieces through the trellis netting and connect to the T connector.
7. Pull the trellis netting tight, then weave the final horizontal crosspiece through and connect to the T connectors.
8. Cut the 1/2″ electrical conduit into 30″ lengths with a 45-degree angle.
9. Pound the conduit into the  ground, inside your garden box, approximately 8-12 inches.
10. Slide the assembled trellis over the 1/2″ conduit and position the netting for each plant.

This trellis will support 2 tomato plants per row.  In a 4′x8′ box, you should be able to get four rows (as shown above).

These trellis’ will provide plenty of support for your growing plants, and are durable enough to be used for many seasons.  At the end of the growing season, they’ll stack together or disassemble for easy storage.

If you have a tip to share, send it to us at blog@HomeSpotHQ.com.

About the author

Derek Smith wrote 70 articles on this blog.

Derek is the co-founder of HomeSpot HQ, and uses it to manage the seemingly never ending list of projects and maintenance tasks around his suburban home.

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