TikTok Reuses Old Mattress Springs As A Genius Garden Growing Tool

There are oh-so-many benefits to upcycling potential trash. You'll save money over buying a brand new item, free up space in a landfill, and even conserve the energy used to recycle the material into something new. DIY trellis ideas abound, and using old mattress springs or box springs is a low-effort and quirky way to support your plants. Tiktoker @ashs.backyardgarden shows us how the framework of coiled springs can become a sturdy, ready-to-use trellis that you can install vertically.

The bare interior of a mattress or box spring could be a new favorite addition to your garden. It provides an abundance of wiry surfaces for vines to grip onto, and even a twin-sized frame has the potential to hold loads of plants. From vining vegetables like peas to climbing flowers like clematis, there are plenty of plants perfect for using with a trellis. Increase the potential by providing more room to grow and protecting your future harvest.

Depending on its quality and the kind of use you put it through, mattresses typically wear out after as few as seven years. That is a pretty frequent replacement for an item that can cost more than a thousand dollars. Mattress recycling is not always easy to find, donating them isn't as simple as it seems, and letting them languish in a dump is poor form.

Make lemonade from the lemons if you have a mattress you need to get rid of. Strip it down to its metal skeleton, and in no time you'll have a ready-made trellis to give your plants support. If you have a few more good years to get out of your current bed, Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace offer golden opportunities to take unwanted mattresses off of others' hands for a low price or even for free. Once you've removed the fabric, foam cushioning, and any other soft material from the mattress springs, your new trellis will be ready to mount!

Depending on your needs, your mattress spring trellis installation technique may vary. If you can stomach the idea of drilling into your siding, you can attach the trellis to an exterior wall of your home. You can pull off the same look without a drill by sinking two to four metal fencing posts (depending on the size of your mattress) into the earth next to your home's foundation. Secure the mattress springs vertically to the fencing posts with durable metal zip ties like these stainless steel fence ties from Amazon.

For growing lightweight vegetables like peas and pole beans, you can follow the same instructions above for setting up the trellis in your vegetable patch. If you want it to support heavier produce like winter squash, you may need to build a wooden frame to surround the springs. Affix the metal fence posts to the ends of the wooden frame instead of to the mattress springs itself. If your frame needs extra support, you can attach more deeply-set fencing posts along the bottom edge of the trellis.

Your DIY trellis is ideal for keeping vegetables off of the ground. It's a no-brainer for vining veg like cucumbers. Tomatoes won't miss their cages when they're tied loosely to the springs. Also try growing squash or melons vertically to give them more space, keep them cleaner, allow them to grow into better shapes, and to lift them away from soil-dwelling pests.