Building a Trellis

Hello dear reader! Welcome back to the farm!

Better late than later!

Well, things got away from us (as they do sometimes) and we waited a little longer than we should have to build the cucumber trellis.

Worry not! We didn’t wait until the point of no return……we were able to untangle the vines off of the sticks that we were using to build the trellis. I do love how it just knew which sticks to grow on.

If you build it…….(you know the rest)

Once the cukes got untangled and carefully laid to the side, the building of the trellis commenced! For us, the first rule of the homestead is Use What You Already Have. So in that spirit we save branches from all the small trees we prune on our property. Sometimes we get to pick up good ones off the curb when neighbors set them out for bulk pickup too.

We are still learning how to use different tools (and are very slowly acquiring things like drills and such), and still do a lot by hand or hand tool. Use What You Already Have. Tools are expensive! I was blown away when I saw that a wheelbarrow cost over $100! (you’ll read more about that in a future post)

Any-how………this trellis was built with the cut branches that then had the little twiggy parts cut off and the whole thing is tied together with twine. So far it has held up well in the several storms we’ve had since its installation. If you know anything about Southern Summer thunderstorms, then you know this thing is pretty sturdy to have withstood them all!

Grow where you’re planted

Since we first got the cukes on the trellis they’ve been doing really well! We got everything in late, so I feel like we should have some full grown ones ready to pick, but no. Hopefully they will start to take off because there are a ton of flowers on it!

It decided it wanted some more room than what I gave it, so now it is growing over on a shepherds hook that is by it. Note to self: build bigger trellises next time. Hey, that’s what this part of our journey is all about! We learn from our mistakes on this farm. Daddy always said that every set back is a lesson, and I take that to heart with everything we do.