Easy Vine Trellis

I love all flowering vines, but bougainvillea especially remind of tropical climates, ocean breezes, and cerulean skies.  When I was a child, my family had them growing up over the wooden beams of our lanai in Hawaii.  The thorns were ominous, so I learned to admire the plants from a safe distance.

These beautiful plants can also grow here in the desert.  They are cold hardy to about 40 degrees, so they may need some special care on chilly winter nights, but they love the summer sun and heat that we have here. The blooms come in several colors, including shades of white, red, pink, yellow, orange, and purple.

Photos by MM Del Rosario Gallery

                                                                                

The brilliant hues really contrast nicely with the browns and reds of our desert landscape.

You can buy them on a stake, on a trellis, or in a simple pot, but somehow I think they look happiest with a structure to climb on.  







Here is the vine I had purchased last year.  
It was in a small pot with just one stake to climb on.  

Walking through a local plant nursery one day, I saw this plant shown at left, and realized how simple and inexpensive it would be to build my own trellis. 

You could use smaller landscape stakes, like the ones shown in the photo, or you could use larger pieces of lumber like I did, to make it look more polished and permanent.  

Here is the plan for the one I built, with estimated costs.  It can easily be adapted for your space, and used for bougainvillea or other vines.

Materials List:

6 - 1”x 2” x 8’ furring strips ($6)

30 - #6  1 ¼ “ screws ($2)

Power drill with phillips head drill bit

Sandpaper

1 qt. outdoor paint or stain (optional) ($5-$10)
Power or hand saw (optional)

Cut List:

2- 1”x 2”x 77”

2- 1”x 2”x 65”

9 – 1" x 2” x 18”

Directions: 
1. Cut all wood down to strips. 
Optional: Cut corners off of the 77" piece bottoms, to make it easier to insert them into the ground. 
2. Lay the 2 77" pieces down on a level surface, so that their outer edges are 18" apart.

3.  Place the 2 65" pieces evenly spaced between the 77" pieces.

4. Place the top 18" on top of the long pieces, across their top edges.  Drill pilot holes, then screw them into place, making sure they are level.

5. Place the bottom 18" pieces across the long pieces, 12" from the bottom of the longer stakes, and even with the shorter stakes.

6. Place the remaining 7 horizontal pieces in place.  Drill pilot holes and screw them into the vertical pieces.

7. Sand the wood to remove any splinters, and finish with paint or stain.  Allow to dry.

8. Dig holes at least 6" deep and place the trellis into the ground behind the plant. (I faced the sides with the screws toward the back.)

9. Tie branches of the plant to the trellis with landscape tape or twisty-ties.

Enjoy!

Pergola Irrigation

Once our pergola was up in the back yard, it didn't take me long to realize that I needed to create some sort of irrigation system to regularly water the grapes in the pots.  One day without water in our 100+ degree weather could seriously harm or kill the plants, and with our busy lives, I was afraid that would happen too easily.  So I came up with a plan.  I wasn't sure that the water pressure would be strong enough, but I wanted to try connecting a long, 1/4 inch irrigation tubing to our existing irrigation lines, up the side of the pergola, along the tops, and down to each pot.   

I used green irrigation tubing from my local plant nursery, and picked up some cable nail clips from the hardware store, like this:

  They are just the right size to hold the tubing in place.  I connected the tubing to the nearest existing irrigation line we had, ran it across a short section of the patio, and connected the line all the way up to the top of the post using cable clips.  At the top of that corner, I split the line into two lines by connecting an irrigation piece to it, ran one line over to and down one post, and one off to another post.  From that 3rd post, I split it again to have one line go down that post, and one line go across the top toward and then down the remaining post.  Near the post bottoms, where the pots are, I connected a short piece of tubing with a bubbler on the end to go directly into the pots. 

Here's a photo showing the irrigation line going across near the top of the pergola.  For the bubblers, I used adjustable flow ones, so that I can adjust the amount of water coming out to water the pots.  Depending on rain and heat, sometimes I need to increase or decrease the water.  I turned on the irrigation system after rigging it up, and voila!  We have water for the pots.

Around the grape vines in the pots, I've added mesclun lettuce, spinach, strawberries, and some colorful flowers.  It adds a lot of color to our patio.

Watering Can from Recycled Carton

This a a classic way to recycle a used milk carton to water those spring plants that are coming up.  (Thanks, A Journey to Dream)  I've also used a large laundry detergent container, which is quite a bit stronger than the plastic in milk cartons.  But the for the lid you'd have to use a power drill to make the holes.  Please let me know if you have any great recycling/reusing ideas! 

2 Liter Upside-Down Tomato Planters

I love spring!  I love planting seeds or seedlings, and watching the little shoots come up with my kids in the sun.  And of course, eating the fresh veggies and fruit. 

I had always wondered about those inverted tomato planters that are sold on t.v., if they really worked well or had any benefit of growing healthier plants, but I didn't want to shell out the money to try one, not being sure of the result.  So I did a little research online and found that you can easily make your own planters by recycling 2-liter bottles, chopticks, and a chain or twine.  How cool is that?  Here's the link I found to make the planters: Upside-down Planters (Thanks, cheapvegetablegardener.com!).

Once you make the planter, it's simple to get the seedlings into it.  Small, 4-inch pot or smaller seedlings work best for this project.  Gently wrap a paper towel snugly around the leaves, and use tape to secure.  

Thread it through starting from the bottom of the planter, through the nozzle, and carefully pull the paper-towel wrapped plant through.  

 

Unwrap the paper towel, and hang the planter up using a chopstick and twine or chain.  

Water generously, and wait for your yummy tomato harvest! (I'm using grape and cherry tomato seedlings from my local nursery. Each 4-inch plant was only $.98.)    

Now, the verdict is still out as to whether these are better at producing fruit than right-side-up plants, but it's fun to hang them around our small yard.  They're at about eye-level so it reminds me to water them, and as an added bonus, our veggie-loving dog cannot reach them!  Let me know if you try it and how your harvest goes...