Cucumbers on a Trellis

Will cucumbers climb a trellis ok?

I have limited space and I thought maybe I'd put a trellis up and guild the cucumber up the trellis. The only thing is though, a cucumber plant has a lot of stems coming from the main stem. It might be hard to get it all up the trellis after a while.

Any thoughts or idea's would be appreciated.

Darrell

mine don't have a trellis but they have climbed my bird netting just fine so they should like a trellis even better. Seen several of the guys on here making things for cukes..Who was it that had the EB's and made the trellis with the string and poles. Lives up North....auugh I'm going senile!

Hi Darrell!

I think the cukes will do fine on a trellis. I'm using one with my EB (first time) and the cukes are just beginning to send out tendrils so I'll have to get them started by leaning a stick or string to the trellis for them to catch on to. After that I think they will care of themselves.

Here's a pic of my cuke wagon that my husband built.

Like that wagon..Did the DH make that? I wonder if I could do something like that even if I am tool challanged.

Saint

araness,
I should have said, a "Net". Although I haven't made the net yet, (not sure if a trellis/net would be a good idea) Maybe I should take some pictures of this when it's done. ;)

Now I've seen it all, toni. Why on wheels? Clever, I'll have to admit. ;)

cause that EB is heavy as heck!

Why on wheels you ask? Because a full EB is pretty heavy and my back is pretty weak! This also gives me the option to move the EB wherever and whenever I like. If it's blazing hot outside and my plants are frying I can move them into some shade. If it's pouring buckets or hailing or gusting 40 mile winds I can quickly roll them to some shelter. That's why.

Toni

Thanks araness!

I think it's a clever idea. Now I know the reason behind it. I thought it might be to roll it into a sheltered place to pick the cucumbers or for some other reason.

I've heard good things about earth boxes. All good, too. I just don't have the money for them. I think I've heard they're expensive and so people only buy one or two each year.

This message was edited Jun 7, 2005 7:02 PM

here's my chinese cucumbers, We usually have our cucumbers on a trellis or I should say fence, that we put up for the whole row, and we usually have to coax the cucumbers up the fence, by tying them up in the beginning, but they catch on fast.

Hey Darrell...I treated myself (birthday present) to the EB's after reading about them in a post titled Earth Boxes. I live in the city and my yard is small so I'm limited on space when it comes to veggies. I'll take a chance and admit it...I save the best spots in my garden for flowers! The EB's give me extra planting space and I don't have to worry about lousy soil or unfavorable locations. Yeah they're pricey for a plastic container but I have to tell you I was impressed with the quality of the product. Very sturdy and no bowing on the sides after you fill it with soil. I also understand that they last a long time and you can reuse the soil for at least 3 years. There's alot of people who have successfully made their own version of an EB using Rubbermaid tubs or 5 gallon buckets. I believe there's some posts in the tomato forum if your interested.

Toni

Thanks Kathy Ann, I'm glad it works. I was a little worried for a while.

I think I'm going to have to buy at least one EB, Toni. I'll figure out how it works and build my own from there. Or at least give it a shot. But I need to see one first. What I mean by that is, I need to see the inside before it's put to use. I have a vauge idea from posts made, but to do it right, or to make a good stab at it, I'd need to see it up close and personal. ;)

Thanks everybody for your help. I appreciate you sharing with me.

cukes will run up any fence type thing just like peas will........just give them something to cling to and up they will go....... -

Hello Darrell, as you have discovered by now cucumbers climb without any problems. I grew them once before and after harvesting a few, the plants developed fungus. The same for my attempt at growing melons and other vegetable vine plants. I was told it's my soil. Anyway, I am trying again this year but spraying it with fungicide as a preventative measure. Here is a simple trellis design; once you plant something in a pot or in the ground, place bamboo stakes around them in a circle, depending on the plant, sometimes a circle within a circle. No angling is necessary, just place them straight up. I then grab the tops of the bamboo stakes and tie them together, making a tepee. I use wire plant ties. Recently I saw this done with large tree branches. It was very cool. I made this micro-garden on June 25, 2005. http://davesgarden.com/forums/fp.php?pid=1575130 The right trellis is for my cucumbers.

Tonni, I have never heard of EBs until I found Darrell's thread. Other DG members are discussing it here http://davesgarden.com/gwd/c/1754/ You may find it interesting.

I don't have a space issue, just fungus :( This photo was taken yesterday.

This message was edited Jul 21, 2005 10:30 AM

Beautiful garden, Donovan!

By the timing of the problem, I wonder if your cukes could have had bacterial wilt or cucumber mosaic virus rather than a fungus? I don't know a lot about either, other than that I can prevent them in my garden by covering plants with row cover to keep out insect vectors.... once plants are blooming, remove the row cover so pollination can occur, by which time the window for transmission seems to be over.

I planted cukes in a row along the back of my garden, thinking they would happily scramble up the chicken wire, but they just want to run along the bottom of the fence or poke through and run along the ground behind the garden. I've coaxed a few of them upwards, but they're just not much into climbing. Strange.

I like what I see there, Donovan.

Did you plant one cucumber for each bamboo pole?

My cucumbers are just now beginning to climb the netting I made, using binder twine.

Here's a picture of them. (they're the short ones in the center of this photo, to the left are the tomatoes, and on the right is the summer squash.) The rest of my garden is posted in the Canadian Gardening Forum under a thread I started, "My Garden is Now Under Way"

My cukes are trellis climbing fools!!! And when they just kind of hang there, I just gently put them back through the trellis and by the next morning, they've attached their little tentacles and climb a little higher.

Thanks for the compliment and advice critterologist. I honestly don't know what was growing on the leaves but I hope I don't see it again. As for their growth path, yes, I have to keep up the coaxing too.

Darrell, I purchased a packet of four little plants and just made the trellis without any real practical analysis, just based on aesthetics and leaving enough room in-between the poles depending on the anticipated size of the leafs. As for your garden, I've never seen anything like it, so organized and efficient, very impressive. I can see the engineering in your design. It's funny how we all have a balance in mind. A balance of form vs. function, with varying degrees of each, depending on the result we desire. For me, function is first, followed by form.

noobiegardener, you are just having too much fun with your garden, so do I, every evening, I am un-braiding and readjusting my cukes, morning glory, passion flowers and moonflower vines. My god, I just realize, I love vines :)

Hi Folks...
I grow my cucumbers in EB's letting them climb on a trellis made from 6 ft. hammer in fence posts ($2.49 ea. last time I bought them), and a roll of 2" x 4" opening fencing cut to size as needed. It's all reusable and works like a charm. The fence posts even have tabs that the fencing slips into making for easy construction. You can't see the trellises in this pic but it does show how nicely they climb it.

Rich

Rich, nice happy looking cucumbers and basil.

Looks good, Rich.

I like both the fence and bamboo idea. I'm growing bamboo and will be able to use some next year.