Materials
There is no need to purchase materials at a hardware store in order to build yourself a pea trellis. Use whatever you can find. If you don’t have anything lying around then go check out your local salvage yard or recycling center.
Pea tendrils are delicate and small, they will wrap around the narrowest objects. One of their favorite support materials is actually just string. Regular garden twine or even floral wire works great.
DIY String Pea Trellis
Pea planting beds are best kept long and narrow to accommodate a trellis system like this one. Place one post at either end of your planting bed right in the center. You can pound in metal posts or fresh cut branches, use a sledgehammer to drive in wooden posts.
You can use a post hole digger to dig a hole and bury your post. Anything that works for you with what you have is the best way. 6-8 feet is a good height to allow different types of peas to grow.
Place a board or flat-sided post on top of the two end posts to connect them. Screw it into place so it doesn’t move and adds stability. Stretch your string, wire, or twine horizontally between the posts every foot from the top to the ground.
You can drill holes through the posts to pass the twine through, or just wrap it around them and tie it off. Either way, stretch it tight enough and the peas will grab hold.
Net Trellis
These can be purchased at garden supply stores, or you can get crafty and make your own. Instead of suspending twine horizontally in lines, hang up a net made of twine between your two posts.
This gives the pea tendrils much more surface area to cling to and allows them to expand in all directions. It uses more string but is arguably even easier. Other materials for making a net trellis might include:
- Wire fencing
- Hog or Cattle Panels
- Old Mattress Coils
No Post Trellises
Peas are a perfect choice for growing up the side of a sunny wall. Place an old piece of wire fencing or netting against the wall of a house and let them go crazy.
Screen in a patio by running strings from the tip of the awning to the ground. Secure them to the soil with stakes or heavy weights and plant peas to grow up the strings. They will provide shade, beauty, and floral fragrance for anyone sitting on the patio.
