How to Assemble a Simple Bamboo Trellis for Climbing Plants

For building a simple, cheap and easy-to-build climbing structure for plants, nothing beats the versatility of bamboo. It's cheap and easily available in places that sell stuff for garden needs. Some shops also sell bamboo for fencing and chicken coop construction purposes. A tied bundle of 4 foot long bamboo split bamboo pieces numbering around 20 pieces cost Php75.


Splitting the Bamboo

Bamboo can easily be split into thinner pieces and you need a machete for this. Position the blade of the machete on one end and tap it a little until it makes a dent. Bamboo that's 1/2 or 3/4 inch thick is strong enough for a sturdy climbing structure or garden trellis for plants. After the blade splits the top end, continue adding force on the machete so the bamboo splits completely.


A newly split bamboo piece will have rough and sharp edges. Trim off this excess material with the machete. Don't worry if the edges become a bit rounder. You'll be handling these split bamboo pieces for this DIY project and you wouldn't want cuts on your hands and fingers.

If the bamboo pieces need to be cut for this DIY project, use a hacksaw and not the machete. The hacksaw cuts the pieces more cleanly thus leaving smoother ends.

Measure the width of the area for the trellis. Cut two of the bamboo pieces to the length that will cover the measured width of the area.


Assembling the Bamboo Pieces

Use a suitable string or tying material to lash 4 bamboo pieces - 2 for the length and 2 for the width of the trellis. I have plenty of scrap plastic straw and so I use that to bind or lash the bamboo pieces together. Plastic straw is easy to cut, durable and easy to work with. Be sure corners are also lashed diagonally as shown below.


Lay out the assembled 4 pieces on the ground. This will give you an idea on the size of the area you will be working on to form the latticework of the trellis.

With a pen or pencil, mark the spots on the 4 bamboo pieces where you will be positioning the vertical and horizontal members of the trellis. A spacing of 4 inches for vertical members and 6 inches for horizontal members for the trellis is sufficient for most climbing garden plants.


Split and cut the rest of the bamboo pieces that will form the latticework. Lash them together as shown below.



Mounting the Bamboo Trellis

The two outward pieces of the trellis need to be longer so they can be staked on the ground. You can extend the length of these two by using a couple of wires.

Simply overlap the two pieces together and wind the steel wires to bind the two pieces together.


Shown below are the two completed outer stakes of the trellis. Staking the trellis to the ground will make it rigid and more stable.


If the trellis is too short for the area, you can use additional metal wires to connect the latticework to a wall mounted trellis as shown below.


Shown here is the completed trellis as it was mounted.



UPDATE:
Sturdy DIY Bamboo Trellis in a Container