How to Build Wooden Towers for Vining Plants

Lay two 6-foot-long wooden beams flat on the ground, parallel to one another. Intersect the top ends of the beams by making a small crisscross “X,” and cut about 2 feet of twine. Wrap the twine over the middle of the X and around the sides in an over-under pattern. Once done, the pattern of wrapped twine will resemble a “+” sign. This method secures the ends together and will aid in making the tower more resistant to wind.

Stand the beams erect over the vine plant or the mound where you’ll be planting the vine plant. Space their bottoms 3 feet apart to allow you room to water the growing plant.

Hold the beams still, and have another person lean the final 6-foot beam onto one side of the tied beams. Space the bottom of the final beam 3 feet away, and tie its top end to the other two beam tops using about a foot of twine. Use the same over-under pattern to tie as you did in Step 1.

Cut 18 more pieces of twine that measure 8 inches long.

Place one of the 3-foot wooden beams near the bottom of the teepee-shaped tower, on the outside perimeter, parallel to and about 4 inches from the soil. Tie the ends of the beam in place using twine – an X pattern works best.

Tie a 2-foot beam a few feet higher than the first beam and a 1-foot beam about a foot down from the apex of the tower. When completed, the newly tied beams should resemble ladder rungs.

Repeat Steps 5 and 6 to add “rungs” to the two remaining sides of the tower. This not only creates a bracing system that adds stability to the tower but also gives the plant’s vines more areas to climb. This also gives you room to harvest the fruit or veggies from the plant.

Follow the steps again to create as many towers as you need.