A remarkably easy way to construct a sturdy trellis

For most of the country, the colder months mean preparing garden beds for their winter dormancy. Down here in the South Florida tropics, however, folks are preparing their garden beds for winter planting. Crazy, I know.

We are frost-free year-round in Zone 10a, and living right on the water means we would not have much of a risk of frost even if we did get some cooler temperatures. The main issue down here with growing edibles is the heat. Our year is basically divided into two seasons – wet summer and dry summer. The high temperatures and daily squalls during the rainy season make vegetable gardening a challenge. (It also makes working in gardens of any sort a challenge.)

All this is to say my mind is wandering back into gardening and constructing our urban food forest. I have been watching a lot of YouTube videos on urban homesteading lately. Although I definitely do not consider myself a homesteader, I have found that the homesteading channels have some of the most thoughtful and useful gardening information – particularly the urban homesteaders in Florida, who offer myriad insights into improving sandy soil, dealing with invasive plants, and the never-ending war with insects. They dive into the mechanics, which I love.

I’m going to be sharing some of the best videos I have found here. I hope you all find some of them helpful, but I also want to catalog these ideas for myself as I am undertaking this massive tropical food forest project.

This is one of my favorites, from the Urban Farmsteader channel, which is definitely worth subscribing to. The chap makes quick and simple trellises from cattle panels and hog wire. Some look modern and utilitarian, but the ones framed with redwood are just gorgeous. We have tried making trellises from wood strips in the past, and it is hard work (especially painting them afterward). This is a couple easy steps, and probably far more durable (especially in hurricane season, if you anchor it to the ground). You could also spray paint them if you wanted a different color. Just brilliant.