Kevin wrote last week and shared some pictures of the yam trellis system a friend uses on the island of Dominica:

“My good friend in Dominica grows alot of yams and only uses a trellis system. It looks like a good clothes line. One #9 wire. A post about every 16ft. Short stake 5 ft from end post. To tie off wire to. The yams climb up plastic bailing twine, or banana cord. So called there. To keep the tree that is heavy with bunch from falling.”

I would love to visit Dominica some day – it’s supposed to be a wonderfully beautiful place with unique topography, vegetation and wildlife.

My current yam trellis system isn’t much of a system – it’s just sticks stuck into the ground for the yams to climb. I’ve had to cut a lot of sticks.

I’m probably going to do something like Kevin’s friend did. I am tired of cutting sticks and I still have a lot more yams to stake.

Yams are very easy to grow but they really need some decent support or they’ll sprawl all over the ground and fail to set good roots.

Fencing is good for them, if you have it.

This is my friend Mart’s yam trellis system:

Those are cattle panels.

I’ve done that too and they’re really good.

Cattle panels are really useful all around.

I used to buy them in 16′ lengths, then cut them in half and use them in an “A” shape for yams, cucumbers, beans and other climbers. The thick wire is quite strong.

Those are mostly yard-long beans, but note the yam in the foreground.

I grew a lotta alata on those.

Simple and cheap is the way to go, in my opinion. I’ve seen some serious long-term trellises made from pressure treated wood with cemented posts… but I rarely do anything all that serious.

Heck, I move every few years anyhow. Might as well use stakes and twine.