4 Cheap and Easy DIY Trellis Ideas with Twine

Here are 4 DIY garden trellis ideas that are cheap, easy, and quick to make. Additionally they can add vertical structure and unique features to your garden. And you can make all 4 for less than $10! Your biggest expense will be a ball of twine, and maybe a couple of posts.

Granted, these trellises will likely only last for one season. But the savings are worth the little bit of extra effort. Plus you get the chance to be creative and make your yard waste work for you.

Here are some ideas to help kickstart your creativity. Don’t worry if your first attempts are a little weird. This is what my first attempt looked like. EEK!

Three sticks clumsily joined together by twine at the top and two rounds of bent sticks and twine leaning against a tan exterior wall

Tips for Making DIY Trellises with Twine

Bury the anchors (sticks or posts) first!
Keep the twine as tight as possible without pulling the sticks or posts too close together.
Wrap the twine all the way around the twine going crossways to make a more secure mesh. (See pictures of the U-post and Twine Mesh Trellis for clarification)
Place the twine just above knobs from cut off branches when using sticks. This will help secure the twine and keep it from sliding down when your plants get heavy.
Wrap the twine twice around the sticks to create a stronger anchor.
Use the holes or hooks on U posts or T posts as anchors for the twine.
Get creative! Use creative wrapping techniques like the “God’s eye” pattern, or different, decorative knots to create a unique design for your garden.

Twine looped twice around a stick with the ends pulled tight at about a 60° angle

This image shows the twine wrapped twice around the stick above a knob from a cut off branch to anchor it in place.

Sticks and Twine Mesh Trellis

Simple trellis made from 4 sticks buried in the ground, with a large mesh made from twine with small pea plants at the base

I am using this small trellis for peas. Using larger sticks would make this an option for beans or possibly cucumbers as well!

How to Make a Trellis out of Sticks and Twine Mesh

Bury sticks at least 4 inches in the ground 12-18 inches apart.
Secure twine at the base of one of the end sticks. I tied a knot, then wrapped the twine around it a few times, then made another knot (just to be safe.)
Tightly stretch your twine to the next stick, then wrap it around the base of that stick twice. Continue this process until you reach the final stick of your trellis.
- TIP: Wrap your twine just knobs on the sticks (like where branches were removed) to keep the twine in place as it starts to get weighed down by your growing plants.
Wrap the twine up around the end stick. At 4- 6 inches above the lower row, double wrap the twine (just above a knob).
Repeat steps 3-4 until you reach the top of your sticks, or the desired height for your trellis.
Move the twine over 4-6 inches, wrapping the twine around the cross string, and pulling it through to somewhat tie it off.
Weave the twine through the cross strings, wrapping the twine all the way around each cross string before going to the next level, until you reach the bottom.
- Keep the twine as tight as possible without pulling all of your cross strings together
- I also alternated going over and under on the alternating levels.
Repeat steps 6-7 until you reach the end of your trellis.
Tie off the end.

U-posts and Twine Mesh Trellis

Simple trellis made of 2 U posts with a large mesh made from twine at the end of a 3 foot wide garden bed.

I am hoping to train cucumbers up this trellis. We will see if it is strong enough. This would definitely work for peas though!

This is similar to the trellis made with sticks, but uses U- or T-posts. The posts I used have holes in them between the hooks, so I used the holes as anchors for the twine. Using the outside hooks as anchors would probably work as well.

Twine wrapped and tied off at the top of a U Post

How To Make a Trellis out of U-posts and Twine

Bury U-posts in the ground 2-3 feet apart.
Secure twine at the top of one of the posts. I fed the twine through an eye-hole, wrapped it around the post, tied a knot, then wrapped the twine around it a few times, then made another knot (just to be safe.)
Tightly stretch your twine to the next post, then feed it through an eye hole.
- To keep twine as unobtrusive as possible on the post, I fed it from the outside (bottom of the “U”) to the inside.
Stretch twine down to the next eye-hole and feed it back through.
Repeat steps 3-4 until you reach the base of the posts.
Move the twine over 4-6 inches, wrapping the twine around the cross string, and pulling it through to somewhat tie it off.
Weave the twine through the cross strings, wrapping the twine all the way around each cross string before going to the next level, until you reach the bottom.
- Keep the twine as tight as possible without pulling all of your cross strings together
- I also alternated going over and under on the alternating levels.
Repeat steps 6-7 until you reach the end of your trellis.
Tie off the end.

Twine weaved back and forth through the holes in a U post

Natural Branches Joined by Twine

Large branch with 2 main branches and smaller branches coming off of those in a grow bag leaning against a back yard fence. The smaller branches are joined together by twine "God's eye" knots.

This is a very unique kind of trellis. I am using it more like a bean pole in a grow bag, and have it leaning against a fence for support. In an attempt to be more artistic, I tried to do a “God’s eye” design with the twine where I joined the branches together, but at a distance, I don’t think the effect came across.

How To Make a Trellis from a Large Branch and Twine

Select a branch with 2 main limbs and smaller offshoots from those.
Select one lower offshoot from each of the two main limbs.
Bind the two offshoots together, keeping them as tight as possible without breaking, or pulling too hard.
- I used a “God’s eye” pattern weave to bind the branches. Wrapping the twine in an “x” around the intersection should be sufficient.
Repeat steps 2-3 to the top of the branch.
Weave and bind the ends of the offshoots to one another, or to the main branches if desired.

Large branch with smaller sticks still in place, leaning against a grey-blue wall.

This is how the branch looked before I tied everything together.

Sticks and Twine Tomato Cage

Basic tomato cage trellis made from three long sticks forming a teepee and levels of twine wrapping around the teepee. A small tomato plant is in the bottom with lettuce and salvia in the background

Is a tomato cage considered a trellis? It keeps a vine-like plant up off the ground, so I think it should be. Anyway, I am calling it a trellis. You can fight with me about it later.

This particular trellis would also work well with pole beans. In fact, it looks very similar to a bean teepee!

Close up of twine wrapped and knotted around a stick

How To Make a Stick and Twine Tomato Cage

Bury at least 3 sticks about 6 inches deep in the ground, 10-18 inches apart in a circular pattern
Secure the tops of the sticks together using twine.
Wrap and secure the twine around the base of one stick, about 4 inches above the ground.
Tightly stretch the twine to the next stick and wrap it twice above a notch (to keep it in place).
Repeat step 4 up and around all of the sticks until you reach the top where the sticks were joined.
Tie off.

Base of stick and twine tomato cage with small tomato plant in the middle

Now it is time to get your hands dirty. Happy gardening, Friends!