Dalen Gardeneer Trellis Netting

Plants Grow Up, Not Out

Our current patch of ground in the burbs ca

Pole beans covering a 5' x 5'
section of trellis netting.

me with a yard the size of a postage-stamp; tough enough on two large dogs, but worse for dedicated gardeners. We barely shoehorned in a garden space using the Square Foot Garden method, but hey what are you going to do when the closest farmer's market is forty minute's drive away? Our attempt is meeting with moderate success, although the horrendous heat waves and droughts of the past few years may have influenced that.

One thing we learned from our labors was how to make a homemade trellis from a frame of EMT conduit set on rebar pegs. Instead of a a wood or metal mesh, our reference said to use trellis netting… what? Never heard of it… until we found it at a nearby garden supply shop. We've since seen it even at our local BigBox hardwares.


A bag of Dalen Trellis Netting looks pretty much like ball of string after a kitten's been at it. Unpack it, however, and it's obvious that it really is netting: the lightweight braided polyester string forms a network of five-inch squares. Different packages vary in overall dimensions, from four to six feet wide and up to 30 feet  long, but five-inch openings are standard.  Since our frames are five feet high, the five-foot width was perfect.

Using Trellis Netting

It's easy to cut the netting to size with sharp scissors. A wise gardener will then touch each ragged end with a hot soldering iron or a lit match to keep the thread from unraveling. Polyester doesn't burn, though it melts. Next, string your netting in place. Tie it up with the loose ends or strap it up with cable ties; tying is probably more secure since the edge of the cable tie might cut through the string. Train your plants onto the trellis, water, weed, fertilize and finally harvest. The trellises we made have overwintered in the garden (if you can call the season "winter" in Houston) for three or four years and suffered through an equal number of brutal summers, There's not a frayed section or break anywhere in the netting that I've seen, even after our trellises have been moved from place to place. They've supported one or two seasons of peas and pole beans each year; and runaway tomato plants have made their homes there as well. Dalen says the netting can support melons, but I haven't tried.

Although it's fine, the braided polyester is soft, which prevents damage to delicate plant tendrils and fruits. The openings are wide enough that you can harvest from either side, too.

While at the cost of five or ten bucks for what looks like a wad of string seems almost scandalous at first, Trellis Netting is well worth the investment because of its utility and its durability. Every gardener should have some in his or her potting bench!

Summary:

PLUS: durable, sturdy, and easy to use
MINUS: seems expensive (at first)
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: A single bag of Dalen trellis netting will keep your plants growing up instead of out for years.