DIY Trellis Ideas Using Pallets, Panels, and Repurposed Materials

DIY trellis ideas using pallets, ladders, panels, and branches. Cheap, creative ways to support climbing vegetables in any garden.

I learned pretty quickly that letting vines sprawl everywhere makes more work for me. Climbing plants like cucumbers, morning glories, indeterminate tomatoes (should you be removing the suckers from your tomatoes?), peas, squashes, and other climbing vines need support to reach their maximum potential. You can purchase tomato cages or garden obelisks, but you can DIY one (or 100) for less money.

They can be simple and practical, or they can add some character to the garden. The best part? Most of mine cost next to nothing. Some take ten minutes to throw together. Others take a weekend. It depends on how much time and energy you want to put into it. I love repurposing things I already have. I love it even more when it is old, beautiful, and given new life.

Here are some budget-friendly ways to get vines off the ground without buying expensive cages.

Why Climbing Plants Thrive on Trellises

There’s a reason I bother putting things on trellises instead of letting them sprawl.

When vining plants grow along the ground, they compete for space, airflow, and sunlight. Leaves stay damp longer after rain, fruit rests on soil, and harvesting turns into a bit of a treasure hunt. Getting them off the ground makes a noticeable difference.

More air moving through the leaves usually means fewer mildew problems. It exposes more leaves to sunlight, which supports better growth and stronger production. It also keeps fruit cleaner and easier to spot when it’s ready to pick.

And honestly, it just makes better use of your garden space. Instead of letting vines sprawl, you grow up. If your garden isn’t huge, that vertical space matters.

Upcycled Trellises

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that not everything needs to be thrown out just because it can’t do its original job anymore.

Sometimes the best trellis isn’t something you buy. It’s something you almost tossed.

Repurpose an Old Ladder

A great example is this wooden ladder. It may not be beautiful, but it does have some charm.  Mostly, it serves a purpose. As a ladder, its days were over. The bottom rung pivoted, and the other rungs creaked under a small person’s weight. Now it lives its life trellising gourds and pumpkins. With pumpkins on the side with the larger steps, I can frequently rest the growing pumpkins on the steps to take the weight off the vine. If it’s sturdy enough, the little shelf could be used for some decor or even a small drip irrigation bucket.

When using a ladder for a trellis, ensure the feet are planted into the ground a bit. Once it has foliage on it, it tends to catch the wind. A strong wind could knock it over, ripping the plant up by the roots.

Check out Growing In the Garden for tips and tricks for using ladders in the garden.

Try a Window Frame + Chicken Wire

I’ve seen some really good trellises made from old window frames. Below is a beautiful window frame trellis found on Cool DIY Ideas that uses chicken wire to support the growing plants.

Tree Branches

After a long, hard winter, it’s often easy to find branches that have fallen under the weight of the snow. They work really well as simple, natural supports. You can use them to create a teepee or as a structure to attach chicken wire or twine. They blend right into the garden, and they’re free.

By cutting or snapping the branches, you can customize them to whatever size and shape you need. The rough bark gives vines something to grab onto.

See the tutorial for building the tree branch trellis above at Gingham Gardens.

Bamboo Poles

Bamboo works like branches, but it’s straighter and easier to build with. If you have bamboo growing natively, you can use that (just be sure to dry it completely before using it so it doesn’t root in your garden). If you don’t have bamboo natively, your local garden center should have them cheaply.

House Grail has six bamboo trellis ideas for you to scope out.

Pallets

Most small businesses are happy to have someone haul pallets away. Either staked into the ground with a 2×4 or made into a triangle like shown in the picture below, they make a great trellis for your shorter-growing vines.

Not all pallets belong in a vegetable garden. Be sure that the pallets you are using are heat-treated and not chemically treated. They will be marked with HT or MB. MB stands for methyl bromide, a chemical that is not food-safe. HT stands for heat-treated. Heat-treated pallets are safe around edible plants.

Hog and Cattle Panels

Cattle panels are my go-to when I need something strong.An arch between two beds gives you a ton of vertical space. The way they are set up means they will support each other’s weight. These tall panels are great for beans that frequently grow very tall. You can reach the topmost ones from inside the arch.  Short rows of panels can be used for short crops like snow peas. These look great grown as a border around raised beds.

Get Busy Gardening shows you how to make a cattle panel arch trellis.

In the video below, Urban Farmstead shows you how to make a hog-panel fence trellis.

French Tuteurs

These trellises are more “polished” than many of the ones above, but they still cost only $25 and take only 90 minutes to make. If you like a cleaner look, this one might be worth trying. Follow this tutorial for wooden trellises from She Holds Dearly.

I mix and match trellises all the time. It keeps the garden from looking too uniform, and it lets each crop have what it needs. Some beds have cattle panels because I know the beans are going to go wild. Others just get a few sturdy branches tied together because that’s plenty for peas. It doesn’t all have to match to work well. In fact, I think it looks better when it doesn’t.

Common Questions About DIY Garden Trellises

Here’s what tends to come up when gardeners start adding trellises.

Pin this so you’ll have these cheap DIY trellis ideas ready when your vines start taking over your garden.

Trellises don’t have to be expensive to work well. Once you grow up instead of out, it’s hard to go back. By being creative, you can improve your gardening capabilities without breaking the bank, keeping things tidier and easier to harvest.

Have you built a trellis you really love? I’m always looking for new and exciting ideas.