Making a Pea Trellis with Kids

This simple project is a great way to get the kids out in the garden for a little free labour…{ahem} I mean garden therapy.

Spring is the time to plant peas out in the garden. Seeds germinate well in cool soil so plants have a strong start by the time summer hits. I like to start my peas indoors then move the little vines out when they are strong enough, but you can also buy started pea plants at nurseries and farmers market this time of year.

When you plant your peas they will start to ramble and tangle along the ground and the sweet tips get munched on by just about any vegetable loving creature you can imagine (slugs, snails, the darn dog!) so it’s nice to grow them vertically up a support. The little vines cling and twine nicely around string, and this simple trellis is perfect to pack a lot of peas into a small area.

Materials:

• Bamboo poles of various lengths
• A spool of garden twine
• A garden helper

Directions:

1. Stick two 6’ or longer bamboo poles into the soil on either side of your pea patch.

2. Make a frame using two more bamboo poles that measure a few inches longer than the width of your side stakes. Secure the poles together by tying twine around the poles where they cross in a figure eight pattern.

3. Using twine on a spool, tie one end of the twine to the bottom of one side of the bottom of the frame. Run the twine up and over the top of the frame, and allow to drop back down. Let your garden helper wind the twine around the frame over and over until you have reached the other side. Tie the twin in a knot on the end of the frame to secure.

4. Gently lift the tips of the pea plants and tuck their tendrils onto the twine. The peas will take it from here.

Stephanie Rose

A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.