How to build your own trellis and support heavier fruit’s and vegtables.

Back in 2020, I had setup a new planter with two watermelon seeds… That’s right just two little Crimson Sweet Watermelon seeds…. To my surprise, they started growing. To my other surprise, the soil was being constantly aerated by little furry hands trying to find an acorn or hide an acorn.

Needless to say, my watermelon seedlings didn’t like it. I am sure I would of lost more plants if it hadn’t been for my two helpful puppies… who love to play chase away with the squirrels.

With the squirrels being a nuisance and knowing watermelons, cucumbers and pumpkin plants are mostly vine plants, and lacking the proper space for them to naturally spread out, building my own trellis was the best option. Purchasing a trellis can be mighty expensive. Some range from $45 and up for a non-protective, open-door, squirrel pantry.

Items to build that Trellis.

Here is what you’ll need:

Large Plastic Pot (this is useful for attaching the trellis by drilling holes in the sides and using zip ties to attach the trellis).
Galvanized Fencing I wish I could say it would be cheaper, but in the long run you will be able to make a dozen or more trellis vs the cost of four purchased trellis. Plus it is an added layer of security from critters.
Metal Cutters/Tin Snips
Needle Nose Pliers
Zip Ties

Hopefully, you will have some or more of these items.

Once you have some of your fencing unrolled you will need to wrap it around the pot you are “protecting” and get the measurement on where to cut. I let mine overlap a little for added support. This will let the watermelon, cucumber, or pumpkin grow up.

After you get the desired shape you’ll take your tin snips and cut the same row all the way down; make sure to leave an extra length of bar; this will be used to hook the fencing back into itself.

You can use some old twist ties to create a temporary hold as you check the diameter. Alternatively, if you know your pot size try to get the inches using this site.

Great! Now we take the two ends and wrap them around our potted plant, this will be up to you if it fits on the outside or inside. Once you have the two sides of the chain about where you want them, you’ll take your needle nose pliers and bend the long barb back around the other side of the fencing to hook it together.

We are almost done!

Once you’ve completed wrapping the barbs back over and created a nice round shape, it’s time to set it in. *Something to note, if you are growing a watermelon, cucumber, or pumpkin plant you will need to find a way to secure the fence, if not there is a potential for your plant to be ripped out of the soil if the fencing was removed.

I used some holes I had drilled into the plastic pot originally. The pot in the image already has some already existing openings, in order to secure the vines once they start making runs on the trellis. Especially if you have to ever move it. I recommend some zip ties, good for later too, when you need to cut it down for next year.