Nylon Trellising for Climbing Garden Plants

Climbing and vining plants -- cucumbers, cantalopes, pole beans, etc. -- can be a problem when you have limited space.

I had heard of nylon trellising from Mel Bartholomew's book, but I could not find any in my nursery stores here in the Metroplex.

I finally went to Amazon, and found Dalen Gardeneer brand nylon trellising. I bought a 30-foot length to experiment with. As you can see from the picture, there is plenty of room in the trellis open spaces to stick your hand in, and start training your vining plants. I have nailed mine to my backyard fence, and fastened the ties to the nails. The picture shown is my yellow pear tomato plants and my one Better Boy hybrid tomato plant.

Particularly with tomatoes, there is always the newest thing that we hot weather vegetable growers must try. In the south, every gardener has his own method of growing tomatoes -- from tomato cages to the "topsy-turvy" tomato of television ad fame.

I have a feeling that my vines are going to be somewhat unruly, but I'll try anyway. Bartholomew says that the nylon trellising is very strong -- strong enough to support cantalopes and large squashes. But be forewarned. For that kind of crop, you're going to need a tremendous amount of strength and support. That means staking rebar in the ground, and slipping electrical conduit pipes over the exposed rebar to form a supporting structure. I think I'll stick with lightweight vegetables.

Here is a link to the nylon trellising product:

Raised Bed or Square Foot Gardening Trends in America

No doubt about it. Intensive gardening, or square foot gardening, is growing more popular in the U.S. How do I know this?

The other day, I visited a large general store (also known as a feed store). Ordinarily, I wouldn't have any problem obtaining bags of earthworm castings. However, when I requested one bag, the store owner informed me that a lady had just come into the store and purchased every bag he had. I had to wait several days until their truck came by with another delivery.

The owner told me that "everyone is doing raised beds this year." And, yes, to get the 8 cubic feet of dirt required for a square foot garden, you need a fair amount of compost, assuming you don't make your own. You also need vermiculite and peat moss.

I also went over to Home Depot recently, and they have some lovely cedar square foot gardening kits for your raised beds, for $34.95 each. Personally I think this is a good price, especially if you're getting cedar. All of the lumber comes with pre-drilled holes for easy assembly. If you've ever assembled a box, you know how much this is appreciated! Also, the kits have those lovely corner pieces that look very professional and finished.

Hmmmm.... I just might have to buy a couple of them.

The Use of Nylon Net in Square Foot Gardening

Nylon net is a useful and versatile thing to have around the house. And, as I found out, around the garden.

I just planted this table-top square foot garden last week with green beans. Unfortunately, I found footprints in my garden, and some of the green bean seeds displaced!

Could it have been a squirrel? Well, either that, or a possum leaping down to the box. At least twice this week, the pesky possum that I saw a few weeks ago is back to terrorize my dogs -- and who knows what else. The possum could be using the table-top box as a jumping off point. In one of my table-top gardens, though, I found pecan shells, so that tells me that at least one squirrel is looking to bury a pecan or an acorn. In fact, I saw at least 12-14 places around the yard this spring where a buried pecan had sprouted.

Well, nylon net works quite well to protect the garden, at least when it is in that delicate status of germination/young seedling. You can water very easily, and your plants will get plenty of light.

What else is nylon net good for? If you can figure out a way to drape or tent it properly, it will keep cabbage moths away from your broccoli or cabbage. They can't lay their eggs that produce caterpillars unless they have a good landing spot on your prized plants.

On the other hand, if you want to see options to purchase or use nylon trellising for your climbing plants, go here:

Trellising for Plants