Level Up Trellis Gardening With An Item You Can Get At Dollar Tree

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

The beauty of vertical gardening is that even with limited real estate, you can always take your plants upward, whether you're attempting to grow fruits and vegetables on a vine or even flowers. Trellises have long been used to assist gardeners to keep their vining crops — like squash, melons, beans, and peas — tidy, off the ground, and thriving. Gardening support systems like trellises, lattices, and cages provide a foundation for the plants to climb, but the gardener still has to figure out how to secure the plant to the structure. This is typically done by weaving vines through the chosen structure or attaching them with twine, twist ties, tomato clips, or hook and loop plant ties. 

While these options are affordable and do the trick, weaving the plant through the trellis can sometimes result in snapped vines, as gentle as we try to be. Also, the tools that are traditionally used to attach the vines can be a bit cumbersome, especially if you need to retrain your plant as it grows. This might require you to untie or cut your original bindings. Next time you're working with a trellis, head to Dollar Tree first and pick up a pack of 24-count Crafter's Square Wooden Clothespins, and use this laundry accessory to pin up your vines. They keep a loose grip on your tender plants while still holding them in place and can easily be removed if you need to rearrange your crops.

Before you can use clothespins, you must first set up a trellis to support your plants. You can make a string trellis, put down stakes, or buy one from a nursery or home improvement store that can be inserted into the soil without any setup on your part. It can be a simple bamboo structure, like this Mininfa Natural Bamboo Trellis, or a more extensive A-frame construction, like this Lalahoni Garden Trellis. Regardless, you need a foundation to support your plants.

Some plants, like pole beans and peas, naturally work their way up poles without much coaxing, but could use some help if they get too leggy. However, squash, melons, and other similar plants — especially those with heavier fruit — largely benefit from guidance up a trellis. Your plants will thank you since growing them vertically gives them access to more sunlight and promotes air circulation, which lowers the chance of rot and disease. 

This is where the clothespins come in handy. Start at the bottom of each vine and use several clothespins to attach it to the trellis or stake, carefully keeping each stem separate from its neighbors. Doing this early on in the growth process will help you avoid the precarious task of untangling fragile vines from each other. Clip multiple clothespins around a fruit to provide extra support. You can also write the names of the crop on each clothespin to help you remember what you're growing. If you're successful using the clothespins to arrange your fruits and vegetables, incorporate them when growing climbing hydrangea or other vining flowers on a trellis.