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| Find it Fast | | Organic Twine Nutscene Gardentwist twine (which stays tangle-free in a cool can), $12.50; 978/887-3388 or gardentalk.com.Wooden Finials prices vary; 800/787-3355 or vandykes.com. |
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| Raised Garden Bed |  | | Build a raised garden bed in just a few hours with basic tools. |  Instructions |
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| Simple Garden Trellis |
| Garden editor Kate Karam shows it’s as simple as a few lengths of lumber and a ball of twine. She says, "If you can tie a knot you can build this trellis." |
| By Kate Karam |
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| photography: Robbie Caponetto |
From season to season your trellis is ready for planting
summer tomatoes, fall baby lumina pumpkins, and spring edible peas or sweet peas.
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Make just one stop at a home-and-garden center and in a few hours you’ll have a custom trellis ready for tying up succulent summer tomatoes. When the season ends, either untie and store the trellis or leave it in place year-round.
What you’ll need
to make one (8' by 3' by 7') trellis: Skill: On a scale of 1 (easiest) to 5, we give it a 2. If you didn’t have to dig a hole, we’d give it a 1. You may want to enlist a friend to lend a hand.
Cost: $25 to $75, depending on size
Time: one morning to set it up
From the home-and-garden center:
6 (10-foot lengths) 2 x 2 cedar (for verticals)
9 (8-foot lengths) 2 x 2 cedar (for horizontals)
2 large balls of green twine
(see “Find It Fast”)
Wooden finials (optional)
Powdered gypsum (or flour)
6 (4-inch) tomato plants
From your supply of tools:
Measuring tape
Shovel or post hole digger
Mallet or hammer
Scissors
Start... 
photography: Robbie Caponetto
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photography: Robbie Caponetto
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photography: Robbie Caponetto
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8 a.m. Select a flat, level location in full sun (if growing tomatoes); clear out any debris. Measure the length and width to suit your particular space (ours is 8' by 3') then mark the four corners with gypsum or other powder. Our trellis required a third vertical post, so we marked the midpoint on each long side with more dots of powder. You will now have the outline of your trellis and the points where posts will go.
9 a.m. Pick up coffee, then head for the home-and-garden center and place your order for lumber. While waiting for cuts, hit the garden section for twine and plants.
10 a.m. Back home, loosen the soil where dots are marked with a sharp shovel to a depth of 1 foot
for each of the six posts. Using a mallet—or even a large rock—pound the vertical posts into the ground. Measure 1 foot down from the top of each vertical post and then tie opposite sides together to make three tepee shapes. With strong twine and sturdy knots, tie the horizontal rails at 2-foot intervals on each side of vertical posts. Snuggle the remaining horizontal post into the crossed pieces at the top of trellis, and secure. (We added screw-on wooden finials for a final flourish.)
Finish...
photography: Robbie Caponetto
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11 a.m. Done! Simple, natural, and ready to plant, your new cedar trellis will age soon to a nice silvery gray. We planted six varieties of tomatoes on each trellis, training them up as they grew. In fall, either cut strings and take down posts or leave over winter for visual interest, planting with sweet peas in early spring.
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