Bamboo and Twine...

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Ohhh the things you can do.... like make a trellis for your climbing peas.

Remember the bamboo hanging out of the trunk of the lil black Civic.  Here is the end result. Da peas were stretching up into nowhere, looking for something to grab onto, hence banboo and twine.

Tried lashing it together the old Boy Scout way, but was using wire instead of string, but didn't work as well as i liked.  Torqued too easy using the wire, string would have been much better, but I don't want to be rebuilding these every year.  The trellis for the pole beans I will lash using string, just to compare the two.  Ended up drilling thru the two pieces and threading the wire thru and just twisting it tight.  Simple, easy, and it worked.  I wanted a shelf type of top, with strings hanging down for each plant.  9 plants per square (3x3).

Yeah, I know, nature isn't gonna follow my self-proclaimed perfect plan.  Here's are 2 pics of the top.  Basically a shelf with 45 degree bracing.  I notched the vertical poles a bit to accept the shelf.  Everything else is center drilled. 

Wow. The strings look so organized and taut.  How'd you do that?  Glad you asked.  I wanted some sort of system on the bottom that would hold the twine next to the plant so it would grow straight up. Tried using thin bamboo and wrapping the string around that, but i didn't like how it looked.  Got some landscaping staples and straightened them out, (since i couldn't find cheap heavy wire) and put a hook on the end, pushed them in the bed, and vola.  Long hooks perfect for what i wanted.  Notice the pipe clamp upper right.  Those were what i used to hold the two vertical pieces.  Screwed them right into the side of the bed.

Here's the peas, each one with it's own string, and hook.

And of the finished trellis.

I like how it looks, and how sturdy it is.  Neighbor commented on how it will hold up in the wind.  Confidently I said it'll do just fine.  He smiled and turned back to his yard work.  Great guy, and makes a killer pork loin slow cooked over charcoal.  We'll see who's right. 

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