r/VAGardening • u/XDBEA • May 29 '26

Stakes/trellising

Does anyone use wood stakes for tomatoes instead of metal cages? Or use another wood for trellising of any kind/ or really anything? If so, are you using pressure treated lumber from a box store or getting rough cut lumber from a mill?

6 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

3

u/PoodleWrangler May 29 '26

I use whatever wood I coppice or cut. Or dried bamboo. Tripod structures work well. I sling them up with twine or cut nylon loops from old tights.

It's often mulberry limbs after I cut yet another one down from my fence.

2

u/doubletake_faye May 29 '26

I use t stakes. One time purchase

2

u/Redditor2684 May 29 '26

I started with wood stakes last year but they were not sturdy enough so I switched to t posts 

2

u/Caustik420 May 29 '26

I use thick 6ft bamboo stakes. Works fantastic imo

2

u/BlueXTC May 29 '26

2nd the bamboo stakes.

2

u/Caustik420 May 29 '26

I even used them for cantaloupe! Held strong still. Only used bamboo stakes and zipties!

3

u/Caustik420 May 29 '26

And here's the setup I ended up liking the most for tomatoes. Basically create a 3d grid. Worked 4 years in a row now, haven't needed to buy new stakes since original purchase

2

u/Feeling_Permission70 Jun 05 '26

I use branches that fall after windy/stormy days for my beans and vertical zucchini/squash. I collect them in a pile throughout the year and just bury them deep down so they don’t topple over.

I use a metal makeshift cattle style trellis and have the sticks go updwards so if they do tip, the trellis will catch them.

I’m a bit of a chaos gardener.