Garden fence build

[oldballs]

here'smine...for the past 10 years or so........

 

[drumminj]

Bought some cone shaped metal tomato cages years ago that are still my favorites. They used to make them out of heavier wire. The ones today are so thin that they will bend over in a strong wind if you have a full grown tomato plant inside of them.

This has been our problem - we have a handful of cages but they're so lightly built they start falling over, and also a few of the welds have broken.

 

[drumminj]

Had a break in the series of stormy days (though man is it oppressively hot and humid!) so got a chance to finish the tomato trellis. Took $40 in cedar 1x3s to finish it out, the rest was scrap from previous projects.

We'll see how the wood holds up over time but it seems strong and stable enough, especially once we fill the bed with dirt.

Really hoping this is the last construction project for the garden this year.

 

[EddieWalker]

Did you screw the trellis together? I'm wondering if wrapping it together with wire would work better?

 

[ning]

Can you pull the trellis out of the box at all, or are you expecting to leave it there kinda forever?

 

[drumminj]

Can you pull the trellis out of the box at all, or are you expecting to leave it there kinda forever?

It's free-standing so we can pull it out for the winter or move it to another bed if we want to rotate in a given year.

Did you screw the trellis together? I'm wondering if wrapping it together with wire would work better?

It's a mix of screws and crown staples:

• The "frame" 1x2s (what you see assembled that I posted a few days ago) are screwed into the 2x2 legs with 2" screws.
• The "interior" 1x2s (two at each level) are screwed to the short-side frame rails from below using 3" screws.
• The 1x1s are attached to all 4 1x2s using 1 1/4" crown staples

I pre-drilled all holes (including counter-sinks) to avoid risk of splitting since it's thin cedar. Nothing split so I guess that worked, but probably should have used a thinner bit.

Most of the force on it should be gravity/the weight of the plants which led to the arrangement - everything is supported from below other than the frame rails on the short sides. 24 2-inch screws ultimately hold it all up.

Why do you think wire may have worked better? Lashing being more secure with smaller pieces?

 

[EddieWalker]

From what I've seen, wood seems to wear out around screws and then it all gets wobbly. I haven't done this; it's just an idea that hit me while looking at your pictures. If the wood was wrapped together with wire, it wouldn't get loose as it breaks down from being exposed to the elements.

 

[drumminj]

Huh, makes sense. Part of why I wish I'd used a smaller bit when pre-drilling for a snugger fit.

On the upside, I can always go back and wrap/lash the joints if things start getting wobbly.

 

[bigtiller]

Huh, makes sense. Part of why I wish I'd used a smaller bit when pre-drilling for a snugger fit.

On the upside, I can always go back and wrap/lash the joints if things start getting wobbly.

Back the screw out and put a short piece of a zip-tie in the hole then the screw and tighten it.

 

[Gem99ultra]

@EddieWalker how do you support your tomatoes?

I was not informed ahead of time that'd I'd have to build accessories for the garden. Had to figure out a way to support netting to protect broccoli and the like from cabbage worms(?) -- see attached rebar + 1/2" sched40 pvc -- and apparently I need to build something to support tomato plants.

View attachment 3201456

Going to go with a 3d wood grid that is freestanding. I believe I have enough scrap wood for half of it..will have to go buy some more lumber to finish it.

Of course I just cleaned up the shop yesterday. Re-stacked all the scrap wood, swept and blew out all the sawdust and put up the saws after making a stool out of scrap cedar 8x8s to go with the tables for the garden.

Ha! And you thought you were through? There is no end.
I suppose however, that that's part of the pleasure for you both. Keep the faith - rewards are forthcoming.