Trellis material

[imafan26]

PVC pipe works for light trellises. I used tent poles and fittings to make a trellis. the 1/2 tubing bent from the weight of the squash vines.

Next regular fence posts were used instead of the tent posts and conduit was used to form the roof with CRW used as a covering between the conduit on the roof. The tent trellis is permanent over the garden bed.

The cost was minimal considering the tent has been around over 15 years now.

[tomf]

!/2 inch pvc is not strong, try 3/4 or 1 inch.

[mattie g]

One way to cure bamboo is to soak it in salt water and dry cure it. It actually lasts a long time if the post hole borers can be kept out. The borers will turn bamboo to dust. I use the 3 inch or larger culms for posts, they are thicker and last longer.

Smoking or boiling bamboo is another way to cure it.

The natural color will fade over time, but curing will minimize the cracking. Bamboo shrinks as it dries.

https://www.ehow.com/how_4812295_cure-bamboo.html
https://www.chalet-bamboo.com/treatment.html

Interesting - thanks for the low-down!

I suppose if I want to keep the bamboo for a long time I could go this route, but with a fairly small garden it's not too hard to go cut some new stuff down each year. I wish it would last the whole season without cracking, but it's really only about the last few weeks that it starts to fail on me. But by that time I'm already thinking about pulling my tomatoes and moving on to fall planting.

[jal_ut]

You can get concrete reinforcing wire that has squares six inches and comes in rolls of six feet, or stock fencing that is 3 ft high by 16 feet long and six inch squares. The stock fencing is heavier and galvanized. Steel posts to hold it up. Just some thoughts if you want to go for something quite durable.

Lumber yard. Farm supply store.

[imafan26]

I like concrete reinforcing wire and rebar myself for trellisses, not free, but they last a long time.