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Old 01-20-11, 10:40 PM   #1
tomboy mom
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Default trellis ideas--not sure how to use my materials

i'm working on a trellis to go against a block wall. i have gathered a nice supply of sticks about 2-3 inches diameter and about 10-15 ft long. they are mostly palo blanca and ironwood.

i want to build a trellis of sorts for tying things on. any ideas for how to secure the sticks to each other? i don't want to have to make them square or anything like that...the goal is very little work here, lol! the sticks are actually a close match in color to the fence so they should blend in nicely if i can figure out a good support system.

the goal of the trellis--provide a grabbing place for whatever will survive the radiant heat of the block. i'm trying grapes but if that doesn't work i will use cucumbers and beans. i'm aware that the production will be less than ideal and i am okay with that. my main concern is to reduce the heat bouncing back on our fruit trees. it's definitely a bonus to have something for the kids to snack on.

i would really prefer something that could climb on the wall without tying but creeping fig is out unfortunately. we are sort of the neighborhood house that all the kids come to for hanging out. the kids know everything in the backyard is edible and i really want to keep it that way. so--anything poisonous is definitely out for this area of the yard. thorns are okay though. i

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Old 01-21-11, 12:44 AM   #2
strider3700
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this is a video on diagonal lashing.

How to use Diagonal Lashings to tie poles together | Video « Wonder How To

if you want to just do 90 degree angles you could also do a square lashing.

I made a frame for peas years ago using crappy twine from the dollar store. It lasted 4 years until I hacked it down to make the yard "pretty" to sell the house.
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Old 01-21-11, 02:17 PM   #3
benpope
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Also, you could weave the poles together into a wattle. This short article is more of a how-to.
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Old 01-24-11, 05:22 AM   #4
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Thank you both so much! I got some twine yesterday so I am going to give this a try today.

The poles I have now won't work for the second one--but I love the look of it so I'm going to go hunting for sticks after I take the kids to school one day this week.

Thanks again for the replies. I'll post some pictures once I get somewhere with this project.
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Old 01-24-11, 05:43 AM   #5
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i got another idea from that wattle article--we have cats. the cats are pampered and loved but suffer some confusion from time to time. they seem to believe any freshly worked soil is their brand new litter box. being the big meanie that i am, i've been mulching with bouganvilla and palo brea trimmed branches for about a year. it's highly effective but the stray branches that get out are a bit annoying. i may try weaving a few mats to keep them together. i could use a mix of thorny and not thorny to minimize the pain.
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Old 07-04-11, 03:34 PM   #6
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Default picture of project

thanks for the great ideas! unfortunately i did not take this picture soon enough--but if you look closely you can still sort of see the fence in the background. it's set just a couple of inches (at most) out from the block well. i have been tying the grapevines to it with string every few weeks.

i used the diamond shearing method posted earlier in the thread . i hope i can find more sticks. the last time i went to get some from a pile that had been cleared i got stopped by the police. i told him what i was doing and he let me go after running my id but it still shook me up a bit. (to be fair--he said they watch the area where i was because of people stealing metal from the construction sites.)

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