07/15/2026
Trellises provide support for greater fruit production per square foot of soil and for longer periods because more leaf area is exposed to sunlight for more effective photosynthesis, and more air circulation means less fruit rot and ground-insect attack. Vines spreading on a trellis can also provide shade for a porch, patio, or wall. Crops grown on a trellis are easier to pick and cleaner, not available to snails and slugs, and not prone to ground rot. Some vines need more guidance and anchoring onto the trellis than others, but all will grow well with proper fertilization and irrigation.
Support heavy fruits on shelving, in netting, or with rags or old nylons. If left unsupported, their weight will drag the vines down from the trellis.
Short cages originally marketed for tomatoes are perfect for shorter plants like 2-foot-tall flowers, bush beans, peppers and eggplants.
A six-foot-tall structure in the shape of an “A” is especially helpful for harvesting fruits that hang down, like pole beans and cucumbers, since the fruits are so much easier to see than “lost” somewhere in bushy plant foliage.
Spread upright berry canes evenly along the trellis wire for good airflow of developing foliage that’ll bear blossoms and fruit. At the top of the trellis wire, prune strong new canes to a foot to redirect growth to fruiting sideshoots instead of even longer main vines.
Determinant varieties will grow to 3 or 4 feet tall so one 5-6-foot trellis will usually suffice. Indeterminant varieties may extend to 8 or 10 feet high, so I stack a second trellis on top of the first one.
To anchor a long row of trellised plants, I stake one corner of each trellis with an upright stake and then tie in additional ones horizontally at the top of each trellis and stretch along the whole batch.
This technique effectively shores up the entire row of plants as they develop through the summer, and it’s especially helpful later in the summer and fall when the plants are huge and full of heavy fruit. I’ve done this ever since the year that the Santa Ana winds blew down my whole row of plants following my deep watering.
