Repurpose An Old Dog Crate To Build A Nice-Looking Trellis For Your Grow Bags

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Grow bags — nylon or cloth bags filled with soil for plants — have become an increasingly popular way to keep a container garden. They offer excellent drainage and aeration, and you can move your plants around a yard to take advantage of sunlight or shade. But they also don't require yard space: As long as you have a porch or patio, you can use grow bags to plant vegetables, herbs, and flowers. You can even use them to cultivate climbing plants. But for that you need a trellis. With store-bought trellises running from $50 into the hundreds, it's nice if you can reuse something around the house and save a few bucks. If you have leftover rolled wire fencing you can create a perfect DIY trellis for cucumber plants. Or, if you have an unused large wire dog cage, it can be reworked into an attractive, sturdy climbing trellis.

There are plenty of reasons to use trellises in your garden. They keep your vines and vegetables off the ground, avoiding rot. Trellises also allow for better airflow throughout the plant and improved access to sunlight. Growing your plants vertically allows you to maximize the space in your garden. On top of all that, they can be visually pleasing, adding height, layers, and design themes to a garden space.

The only type of dog crate that will work for this project is a wire crate you can disassemble. You are also going to need zip ties to secure the panels and twine or twist ties your plants. The weight of the grow bags helps stabilize the trellis, since it doesn't have spikes or a base. But this concept is great for urban living, where you may only have a concrete patio that doesn't allow you for staking your tall or climbing plants.

The first step is to disassemble your dog crate. Tiktoker chicknbeauty was able to get four tall wire grid panels off their old dog cage, but it will depend on the design. Essentially you're using the long walls, ceiling, and floor of the cage. A collapsible travel cage will be easiest to dismantle, but as long as the panels aren't welded together most cages should come apart easily by cutting or prying apart the metal rings holding everything together.

Clean all panels thoroughly: You may want to add a fresh coat of an outdoor-rated paint, like Rust-Oleum Stops Rust spray paint. Lay the panels on the floor alongside one another and attach them using zip ties, then stand the trellis in a W pattern for stability. Once you've erected the trellis, place your bags along one side. Your plants should easily be able to climb the trellis as they grow, but they might need some added support, especially if your plants produce heavy vegetables. Simply attach the vines to the trellis using twine or twist ties. Tie the twine loosely so it doesn't cut off the nutrients from traveling throughout the plant. This trellis should last you many years, though you may want to refresh the paint from time to time.

If you have never planted grow bags, the process is quite simple. All you need is a bag, potting soil, mulch, and, of course, your plants. Treat the soil and plants in your grow bag exactly as you would treat your garden, because they are part of your garden. Like this dog crate trellis, you can DIY grow bags from Dollar Tree laundry items.