Hand-Knit Trellis Now Ready for Climbing Foot-Long Beans

Just as the "June" gloom is starting to burn off, I finished my knitted trellis for the garden.

It completely surrounds one of our bamboo tripods, with space at the bottom for tending the romaine lettuces growing within the tripod.

It's knit out of nylon twine on US 35 needles. While the nylon has no stretch (the way a wool yarn does), the huge gauge has loads of give. The piece was knit flat with ties attached along one edge. It is tied to the tripod along one leg.

One some early samples for a knitted plant trellis, I experimented with lace patterns. They look lovely, but I realized two things. One, once the plants grow up the trellis any knitting pattern is lost. Secondly, the plants and leaves need space to grow in and out of.

I used a pattern for a shawl: k1, yo, k2tog and then repeat. I got lost a number of times: the yarn-overs drifted over other stitches on occasion. As this was a speed project that won't be visible ones the beans grow over it, I didn't worry about precision knitting. The end result is a little crazy, but fine for its purpose.

More photos will come as the beans grow.

Meanwhile, the tomato plants have bulked up their presence. Hidden among the many green tomatoes, are a few reds deep in the jungle of leaves. Even more amazing are the Japanese cucumbers, which appear like magic.

The purple cabbages are balling up nicely -- just in time for coleslaw season. The lettuces are coming in slowly and the bush beans are starting to stand tall.

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