Is there any kitchen garden space more beautiful than one adorned with trellises supporting thriving edible vines?

We haven’t found one yet. But trellises are for more than just their looks. Here are five more reasons to add a garden trellis to your vegetable garden.

Why We Use a Garden Trellis for Climbing Plants

If you’ve never grown your vegetables vertically, here are five good reasons to give it a shot:

1. Trellises give vining plants room to grow up, instead of out. This ensures none of your edible plants feel too cramped to grow to their fullest potential.

2. Trellises hold plants and their heavy fruits in place, keeping them clean and dry, and preventing mold, disease, and pest pressure.

3. Trellises provide better airflow and more access to sunlight for the plants growing on and around them.

4. Trellises give you more available growing space by allowing you to fill in around the base of each trellis with small and medium plants.

5. Trellises make it easier to tend and harvest from your plants by holding leaves, vines, and fruits in place.

Learn which plants you can grow on your trellises for each Central Texas growing season here.

Why We Love Metal Garden Trellises

Wooden trellises are often a cheaper option, but they’re likely to be flimsy and, because they’re often made with very thin pieces of wood, will rot after just a couple of years in the garden.
 
Metal trellises, in contrast, are incredibly durable. Most metal trellises you’ll find online or at a store are powder-coated for greater weather and rust resistance. Don’t worry—metal is safe to use in an organic garden, even if the material rusts over time.
 
Metal is also the sturdiest option. As long as you secure your metal trellis in the soil of your raised garden beds or with stakes if placing your trellis in the ground, you don’t have to worry about strong winds or rains knocking it over.
Because metal is easy to work with, you can find a metal trellis matching your style, whether that’s contemporary, minimalist, farmhouse, or French.
 
Metal trellises are both affordable and beautiful, making them the perfect option to spruce up your garden space and give your climbing plants more support. You can feel good knowing that your metal trellises will enjoy season after season in your garden.

Our 3 Favorite Garden Trellises for Vegetables

These are the three styles of trellises we’ve seen look great in every garden space.
 

Panel Garden Trellis

A panel is a flat trellis (usually with two to three stakes to bury in the soil, depending on the width) that gives vining plants a sturdy surface to climb. Panel trellises are perfect for the back of garden spaces that border a fence, house, patio, or another structure.
If you plan to grow cherry tomatoes up a panel trellis, look for one that’s at least 6ft. tall.
panel trellis for raised bed gardens

Modern Panel Trellis

A modern geometric design perfect for vining plants, including tomatoes.

$99.99

Obelisk Garden Trellis

The word obelisk comes from the Ancient Greek word for pillar. Obelisk garden trellises, fittingly enough, are tall and narrow structures, often circular, that come to a point at the top. We love placing obelisk trellises in corners of raised beds. 

You can grow several vining plants around the outside base of an obelisk trellis. This is the best garden trellis for cucumbers because you can fit three to four plants around each trellis and have easy access to the flowers and fruit for tending. 

I recommend purchasing the tallest obelisk trellises you can find to give your vegetables plenty of vertical space.

French Obelisk

Solid steel obelisk with dramatic swirls. Powder coated black. Assembly will be required. 

Starting at $110.00

Arch Garden Trellis

Like those triumphal arches you see in top European travel destinations, a garden arch can really make a statement. An arch can serve as an entryway into a large kitchen garden space or connect two raised beds in a smaller space. 

The best part about arches is that they give vines all the climbing room they could possibly want. A cherry tomato could literally span the top of the arch, snake down the other side, and then flip around to climb back up the other way! 

Since arches covered in vines can be really heavy, make sure to properly secure your structure in place.

Scroll Arch Trellis
Scroll Arch Trellis

Scroll Arch Trellis

Add sophisticated design to your garden with the Scroll Arch Trellis. 

$158.99

NEED MORE TRELLIS IDEAS?

Check out all of our trellis options in the LGS Store.

Now all you have to do is pick a trellis type for your vegetable garden and find a panel, obelisk, or arch that brings you joy!

If you need a little help getting your kitchen garden set up and growing, book a consultation with us today. We love helping our community of kitchen gardeners grow!