How to make a DIY vegetable arbor

This year I’m going to try vegetable gardening! I have always loved flower gardening, but Tony always tells me flowers aren’t as practical as vegetables. I agree, but my problem with vegetable gardening is that I can’t keep up with the weeds when we try a traditional vegetable garden. This year I decided to build raised garden boxes and a DIY vegetable arbor. The idea with a vertical vegetable garden is that it will take up less space, I will have much less weeding to do, and it will keep the vegetables off the ground. So here is how I made our DIY vegetable arbor!

*THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY THE HOME DEPOT CANADA. I received product in exchange for this post, but all opinions are my own*

Material List

• 2 of 2″ x 2″ x 8′ pressure treated lumber
• 11 of 5/4″ x 6″ x 10′ deck boards
• 6 of 4″ x 4″ x 8′ posts
• 6 of 2″ x 4″ x 10′ pressure treated lumber
• 2 of 2″ x 6″ x 8′ pressure treated lumber
• Garden trellis net
• Deck screws

Tools Needed

• Mitre saw
• Drill
• Level
• Tape measure
• Stapler
• Ladder

Building plans

You can follow these plans to build garden boxes that are 3 feet wide and ten feet long. The vegetable arbor is 10 feet long and 5 feet wide. You can adjust the plans depending on the space that you have.

Location for my vegetable arbor

A few years ago I tried to grow a wildflower meadow. My idea was that I would throw some seeds in the ground and have a field full of flowers with zero maintenance. That didn’t quite turn out how I wanted. There were too many weeds and I couldn’t keep up with it. So I made that wildflower meadow into more of a smaller perennial garden with a few wildflower wildflowers and low maintenance perennials. I think it should be easier to manage. This is also where I decided to build the vegetable garden arbor.

1. Build the raised garden boxes

I started by cutting the corner pieces of the garden boxes using 2″ x 2″ pieces of pressure treated lumber. I cut them to about 2 feet long, and cut one end into a spike using a mitre saw.

Next I screwed the ten foot long deck boards to the corner pieces using a cordless drill and deck screws. There are two deck boards are on each side to make the garden box about twelve inches tall.

I screwed the side boards to the corner pieces while it was upside down, then flipped the garden box right side up.

Next I hammered the spikes into the ground until the raised garden box was level. I made two garden boxes like this, and made sure they were level with each other and five feet apart.

2. Add the upright posts

Next I screwed the upright posts to the raised vegetable garden boxes. I screwed from the side of the box into the 4″ x 4″ x 8′ post. I added three posts on each garden box, making sure that they were level.

3. Frame the top of the vegetable arbor

Next you can work on framing the top of the vegetable arbor. I screwed a 2″ x 4″ by 10′ down into the 4″ x 4″ post, making sure it was level and adjusting the uprights as needed. Measure the exact distance you need at this point, rather than just using the full ten foot board.

I added another 2″ x 4″ along the front, back, and middle of the arbor, and then added a few extra pieces along the sides of the arbor to strengthen it up. The vegetable arbor was still a little wobbly at this point, but the next step made it much more solid.

4. Add cross bracing

The cross pieces I cut from a 2″ x 6″ x 10′. The pieces are 32″ along the longer side, and both ends are cut at a 45 degree angle. I screwed sideways into the upright pieces, and up into the top of the arbor.

5. Staple the mesh to the arbor

To install the net for the vegetables to grow up, I just used a stapler and attached the net to the uprights and along the cross pieces. I used three of these nets to complete it. I’m not sure if the net will last more than one season, but at around $5 each I can easily replace these every year.

6. Add soil to your vegetable garden arbor and plant some veggies

This project took me a few weekends to complete. We have had such a long winter and a nasty spring, that whenever we had a half decent sunny day I was just desperate to get outside. This project could easily be completed over a weekend, especially if you have some help.

I started some vegetables inside in March, so they were all ready for me to plant outside. This year I’m trying snap peas, pole beans, spaghetti squash, cucumber, and watermelon. These vegetables all grow on vines so should be perfect for climbing up this DIY vegetable arbor. Could you see yourself using an arbor like this?