2021 Hand-knit Tomato Trellis

Another spring, another hand-knit tomato trellis.

It certainly is a California rainbow over the garden plot!

Unlike past tomato trellises, this one is made of bulky acrylic yarn, knit on US 19 knitting needles. It's super easy to make.

Cast on 82 stitches -- or more if you want and your needles are long enough. Knit it in stockinette stitch: knit the first row, purl the second, and repeat until the piece is as long as you like.

On the last row, bind off four stitches, then drop a stitch. Repeat this, keeping the first stitch that you bind off after a dropped stitch loose, until you come to the end of row. Thread yarn through the last stitch and weave in the end. Voilá, a tomato trellis.

I experimented with dropping off more than a single stitch, but it seemed to make the trellis too loose. I also stitched on fabric casings for the poles that support the trellis. There are about four, evenly spaced casings. It makes it easier and more stable to string up the trellis. The sides were tied to the pole.

Now that it is up, I see some things I'll do differently next time:

I used Caron Chunky Cakes, Rainbow Jellys for the yarn. Yarn is much easier on your hands when you're knitting. But yarn stretches. That makes the trellis a little saggy as the weight of the tomato vine is put on it. It's good to stretch the trellis out as tightly as possible.
Next time, I'll go back to construction twine or string or something that doesn't stretch.
Dropping more stitches might be a good idea. You don't want to risk breaking the tiny branches of the tomato vine as you weave it through the openings in the yarn. Or, using bigger needles.

From past experience, I've learned that it doesn't pay to get too fancy with your stitches. Patterns hardly show up at such a big scale. Once the vine grows up the trellis, you'll hardly see the knitting. If you want to make a lace trellis, knock yourself out, but it won't make a visual statement by the middle of the summer.

In an ideal world, I'd have some jumbo circular needles custom made for these kind of projects. Regular straight needles tend to be short for such a large project. You have a lot more freedom with the circulars.

We'll have to see if such a colorful trellis confuses the bees, the butterflies and the humming birds.

Comments

Know Your Soil For Best Garden Results

I've always taken soil for granted. It was there. You put seeds into it. You put water on it. Plants grow and produce flowers, fruit or vegetables. Gayle Weinstein, author of Xeriscape Handbook; A How-To Guide to Natural, Resource-Wise Gardening , takes a different view: “Soil . . . acts as a highway between life and death, land and atmosphere, plants and animals.” It stores water, air and nutrients and makes it possible for an exchange of elements and chemical reactions to occur, she adds. She describes soil as being animal, vegetable and mineral combined. Here are six tests Gayle recommends for getting to know your soil. Grab a shovel and a quart jar. Dig up two cups of dry soil two-to-six inches deep from the areas you want to test. Gather a glass of water, dish washing detergent and paper towels. A soil pH kit, a meter or litmus paper will be needed for the final test.

Away With Holey Leaves: Offing the Pests

I can't stand the tell-tale signs of garden pests: the leaves with holes, the failure to thrive. I believe in early assault with organic deterrents. Kate has great faith in plants' commitment to survive. She considers holes in leaves to be a mere cosmetic blemish. Like politics and religion, getting rid of pests in a garden is sure to cause a community donnybrook (or at least rapid words over ice water in the lounge chairs). To do organic warfare against pests means using one or more of these tools:

Herbal challenges

The thought of an orderly, scented kitchen garden like I've seen at The Huntington Gardens or in books is so appealing. Ranks of herbs -- thyme, oregano, basil and parsley -- lining neat pathways in easy reach for cutting. A garden right outside the kitchen when you need a pinch of marjoram for a sauce . . . At Fink Farms, it never works out like that. Unruly bunches of herbs grow into each other, or bolt or shrivel in the sun without water. When we first started the farm, we were growing herbs in the main garden with the tomatoes, and beans and lettuce greens. I decided to set up a separate herb area along the cinder block wall, first because of squabbles about what should go where between the then-three partners and, secondly, because I'd read that herbs like adverse conditions. Since we were composting up the main garden, I thought perhaps the herbs would do better in less rich ground. There were problems with that thinking: There probably isn't enoug...

The Fink Farm Dirt

Search This Blog