Step 1 - Raised Beds
The Best Raised Beds with a Trellis
Growing upward is how a small bed produces like a big one. The trellis has to be anchored to the bed, though, not stuck in the soil.
Janet H. - the hands-on owner behind Janet Media Group.
Published - last updated
This page contains affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a commission at no cost to you, and it never decides what we recommend. How this site is funded.
A trellis roughly doubles what a bed produces per square foot, because climbing crops occupy vertical space instead of sprawling. Pole beans, cucumbers, peas, indeterminate tomatoes and small squash all grow up given something to hold.
Quick picks
| # | Product | Best for | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Top pickQuictent Galvanized Raised Bed with CoverMetal bed with hooped mesh and cover | Pest and frost protection | 8.0 | Check price on Amazon |
| 2 |  Vego Garden 17" Modular Metal Raised Bed17 in deep, modular Aluzinc steel panels | Most first gardens | 9.2 | Check price on Amazon |
| 3 |  Anleolife 8 x 4 ft Metal Raised Garden BedUp to 24 in deep, 22-gauge corrugated steel | Deep beds for root crops | 8.8 | Check price on Amazon |
#ad We may earn a commission - prices are shown by Amazon, not by us
Scores are our own editorial judgment, formed from published specifications and independent sources. They are not aggregated customer ratings, and they are not the result of hands-on testing, which we do not currently do. See how we choose.
The trellis must be anchored to the bed
This is the part cheap solutions get wrong. A mature cucumber vine in full leaf catches a lot of wind, and a trellis pushed into loose bed soil will lean and then fall, usually taking the crop with it. The frame needs to bolt to the bed sides or be set in the ground below the bed.
Metal bed kits that offer a matching trellis solve this properly, because the frame bolts through the panel. Anything freestanding needs to be driven well below the bed base.
What grows up, and how high
| Crop | Height needed | Support type |
|---|---|---|
| Pole beans | 6 to 8 ft | Netting, string or mesh -- they twine |
| Cucumbers | 5 to 6 ft | Mesh or netting; tendrils need something thin to grip |
| Peas | 3 to 6 ft depending on variety | Fine mesh or twiggy sticks |
| Indeterminate tomatoes | 6 ft | Stakes or string -- they do not climb, they are tied |
| Small winter squash | 6 ft, and strong | Heavy mesh, plus slings for the fruit |
Note the difference between crops that climb and crops that are tied. Beans and cucumbers attach themselves; tomatoes do not and must be secured every couple of weeks.
Watch the shade you create
A 6-foot trellis casts a real shadow. Put it on the north side of the bed in the northern hemisphere so the climbing crop does not shade everything behind it -- or use that shade deliberately for lettuce and spinach, which bolt in full summer sun and appreciate shelter.
That is one of the genuinely useful tricks in a small garden: a bean trellis on the sunny side, salad crops in its shadow, two crops from one footprint.
If tomatoes are the main reason you want support, the best raised beds for tomatoes covers spacing and staking in more detail.
The picks in full
Top pick
Quictent Galvanized Raised Bed with Cover
Quictent
#ad We may earn a commission - prices are shown by Amazon, not by us
A bed and a crop cover in one box, which is the cheapest way to stop cabbage moths, birds and a light frost at the same time.
The cover is the product here. Cabbage white caterpillars can strip a row of kale in days, birds will take strawberries the moment they blush, and a late frost can end a first tomato planting. A hooped mesh over the bed handles all three.
Fitting the hoops to the bed from the start avoids the usual improvised arrangement of sticks and clothes pegs, and they fold back rather than having to come off entirely.
Remember to open or remove the cover once fruiting crops flower. Netting that keeps moths out also keeps pollinators out, and an unpollinated squash plant is a lot of leaf for no dinner.
What works
- Cover keeps cabbage moths and birds off brassicas and greens
- The clear cover buys a few weeks at each end of the season
- Hoops fold back for access
- Cheaper than buying a bed and a cover separately
What does not
- The bed itself is ordinary galvanized steel
- Covers need removing when crops flower and need pollinating
- Mesh is a wearing part in a windy yard
Skip it if: you already own a bed. A separate hoop-and-net kit over what you have costs far less than buying the whole thing again.
| Material | Galvanized steel bed with steel hoops |
|---|---|
| Cover | Mesh net plus a clear cover on most versions |
| Depth | Commonly 12 in |
| Assembly | Bolt-together bed, push-fit hoops |
| Soil needed | About 32 cu ft for 8 x 4 ft at 12 in |
Most first gardens
Vego Garden 17" Modular Metal Raised Bed
Vego Garden
#ad We may earn a commission - prices are shown by Amazon, not by us
The modular panel system is the reason to pay the premium: you can reshape the same bed into a different footprint next season without buying a second kit.
Vego is the brand most people meet first, and the modular panel system is the actual reason for that rather than the marketing. The kit arrives as flat corrugated panels plus corner pieces; you bolt them into whichever of the listed footprints suits your yard. If the 4 x 8 rectangle turns out to be wrong for your space, the same panels rebuild into a narrower or L-shaped bed next spring.
The steel matters more than the shape. Aluzinc is a zinc-aluminum-magnesium coating rather than plain galvanizing, and it is the finish you want on something that will sit in wet soil for years. That is the part of the price that buys durability rather than convenience.
Depth is the other thing to weigh. At 17 inches you can grow anything a beginner is likely to want, including carrots and potatoes, without hitting the bottom. The 32-inch version exists mainly so you can garden standing up, which is worth the extra soil cost if bending is the problem you are solving.
What works
- Panels unbolt and rebuild into a different shape
- Aluzinc coating is the better of the two steel finishes in this category
- 17 in is deep enough for carrots, potatoes and tomato roots
- Rolled safety edge along the top rail
What does not
- The most expensive metal bed of the ones we looked at
- Modularity is wasted if you build it once and leave it
- Steel warms fast in full afternoon sun in hot climates
Skip it if: you already know the exact shape you want and will never move it. You are paying for flexibility you would not use, and Vegega gives you the same steel for less.
| Material | Aluzinc-coated steel (zinc-aluminum-magnesium) |
|---|---|
| Depth | 17 in (a 32 in extra-tall version is also sold) |
| Shape | Modular panels, reconfigurable into several footprints |
| Assembly | Bolt-together panels, no cutting |
| Soil needed | About 32 cu ft for a 4 x 8 ft bed at 12 in of fill |
Deep beds for root crops
Anleolife 8 x 4 ft Metal Raised Garden Bed
Anleolife
#ad We may earn a commission - prices are shown by Amazon, not by us
Thicker gauge steel and a deeper box than most kits, which is what stops a long bed bowing outward once it is full of wet soil.
Gauge is the specification nobody reads and everybody should. Steel gauge runs backwards -- a lower number is thicker metal -- and Anleolife's 22-gauge panels are noticeably more rigid than the thin budget beds that bulge in the middle after the first heavy watering.
That rigidity matters most on an 8-foot run, where soil pressure has the most leverage. The center brace on the long sizes is not decoration; leave it out and the sides will slowly bow.
Be realistic about the depth. A 24-inch bed at 8 x 4 ft holds around 64 cubic feet of fill. You do not have to buy 64 cubic feet of bagged mix -- the bottom third can be coarse organic material, which is what the hugelkultur and cheap-fill guides are for -- but you do have to plan it.
What works
- Heavier 22-gauge steel resists bowing on long runs
- 24 in depth suits potatoes, parsnips and long carrots
- Large growing area in one kit
- Center brace included on the long sizes
What does not
- Deep beds need a lot of fill, and fill is the real cost
- Galvanized rather than Aluzinc coating
- Long panels are awkward to handle solo
Skip it if: your budget is tight. The extra depth is real, but it also means roughly twice the soil of a 12-inch bed, and soil is the bigger bill.
| Material | 22-gauge corrugated galvanized steel |
|---|---|
| Depth | Sold in several heights, including 24 in |
| Footprint | 8 x 4 ft and other sizes |
| Assembly | Bolt-together panels with center support |
| Soil needed | About 64 cu ft for 8 x 4 ft at 24 in of fill |
Common questions
What vegetables can you grow on a raised bed trellis?
Pole beans, cucumbers, peas, indeterminate tomatoes and small-fruited squash all grow vertically. Beans and cucumbers attach themselves; tomatoes have to be tied on as they grow. Large winter squash can be grown on a trellis, but the fruit needs slings to support its weight.
How tall should a garden trellis be?
Six to eight feet for pole beans, five to six for cucumbers, and three to six for peas depending on variety. Build to the crop rather than the bed -- an undersized trellis just means the plant reaches the top in July and then sprawls back down over itself.
Which side of a raised bed should a trellis go on?
The north side in the northern hemisphere, so the climbing crop does not shade the rest of the bed. Alternatively, put it where the shade is useful and plant lettuce or spinach behind it -- they bolt in full summer sun and welcome the shelter.
Can you add a trellis to an existing raised bed?
Yes, but anchor it to the bed structure or drive it into the ground below the bed base. A trellis pushed into loose bed soil will lean once a cucumber vine is in full leaf and catching wind, and it usually takes the crop down with it.
Sources
Factual claims on this page are backed by the published sources below, and product specifications are the manufacturers’ own. Where a figure is not published, we say so rather than estimating it.