Timberline Homestead A self sufficient homesteading life
I’ve looked high and low for a trellis that was priced right and didn’t find one. In my opinion if I’m going to buy something already made it a) better be the right price or b) be too difficult/time consuming to make myself. Even last season’s wooden trellises at the garden stores which have weathered the stormy winter and direct sunlight with peeled paint look 5 years old are still around $20. I thought making a trellis was something I could easily tackle and hopefully would save a bit of money. Plus it’s always satisfying to be able to say “I made that myself.”
I found a garden supplier online with moderately priced bamboo. I got 6′ lengths by 3/4″ wide in a pack of 25 for about $1.40 per pole. I used about 4 poles per trellis. The wax lashing designed specifically for bamboo was $14 a roll and I barely dented it with 1 trellis…it should last a while.
I measured the space in the garden and got to work. The design is a simple a-frame ladder. The bamboo was cut and lashed together. After a few attempts I realized it was much easier to do a few quick loops around the bamboo joints to hold everything in place then went back and securely fastened them together.
I never worked with bamboo before and wasn’t aware that a special lashing existed to make connecting bamboo easier by gripping the bamboo as you wrap the cord. I’m glad it was offered when I did my bamboo shopping and highly recommend spending a few extra bucks for this wax coated stuff. Word of caution: store it in a cool place out of the sun….unless you want a ball of melted wax covered string.
The joints were secured with a criss-cross technique. I tried a few different ways and this seemed to be the sturdiest.
Completed first half. This worked up fairly quickly. One of my favorite parts about this trellis is that it’s collapsible and wont take up much room storing over winter plus it can be adjusted to the proper width in the garden.
Where did you purchase the bamboo? Thanks.