trellis cucumbers

Does anyone space their trellised cucumbers closer together than sprawling on ground? If you do, how close do you space yours? DM

I am trying to get some info on this same thing. It seems that the distance s/b 18 inches apart for trellis grown cucumbers. The trellis s/b be 6' high and as long as you want as long as it is strong and has support every 15'. I am going to try the trellis as I have been growing them as vines on the ground and I used black plastic to plant them on. Last year I had a terrible crop so am looking for something that will be a little easier on me. I have "Straight 8" and "Long Green" seeds to plant. I make relish out of most of my cucumbers. I plant enough so that my friends can have some to use also.
Hope you get some more info as I haven't planted them yet.
marionr

I am growing my cucumber on a trellis this year. I have looked for the correct spacing and have come up with a range of 4-12 inches from a variety of sources, including the seed company. Perhaps someone with several years of trellised cucumbers under their belt will chime in here.
You can space them closer because they are going up, not out, but how close you space them will depend upon the care you are able to spend on them, i.e., fertilizer, disease and bug monitoring, etc.
So, think about the environment you are putting them in, and space them accordingly. If you can't feed them regularly, space them farther apart. Plants that are in close proximity need more care. Max space would be every 12 inches. Good luck and I hope you get to eat lots of cucumber sandwiches. Cyndie

I think spacing depends on the humidity of the area being planted. Here in the desert we plant things much closer trying to create humidity. If you are planting in an area that is plagued with humidity I would think you should create space between plants to avoid causing extra humidity which brings its own set of problems. I have trellised my cucumbers for years. I also trellis cantaloupe and winter squash. Basically I trellis anything that runs in order to save space and create a little humidity.

After I sent the question, I kept googling to find the answer. I found a couple places that suggested 8-12 inches apart. DM

Boy i'm glad to know I can plant them closer than 18 inches. I will have lots more plants than I thought. Thanks for the info. I will be planting them at 8-10inches. Thanks everyone
marionr

I plant seeds and I don't worry abou t planting too many I pull the extras if I need to. but their very very close together LOL I grow them on a trellis too.

bad weather has caused ours to flower already at 3 inches tall, so we planted them again a few days ago. hope to do better this time around. too much rain and then extreme heat caused alot of our veggies tobolt too soon, and alot of flowering whenthey shouldn't be any yet at all.

This is one of the questions I was looking for. I planted my cukes 9 inches apart, with a pole bean every two cukes and beans at each end. I don't have many, but I'm hoping by going up, I'll get more for my tight space. I thought I'd plant a couple more in a week or two (planted the first 6-7-08) where there looks to be extra space.

I've trellissed, luffa, and spaghetti squash - it's fun. This year I'll do eggplant, baby watermelon, and cantaloupe.

Eggplant? I've never thought of trellising eggplant but I think I may start. After a heavy storm this afternoon all of my eggplant were laying on the ground. I had to stake and tie every one of them.

A neat trellis idea to ponder that I got from my stepdad. He has a tunnel made from wire fencing (or use cattle panels). I made one this year and really like it so far. Just plants your vining veggies at the base of it and walk under it to harvest. (if everyone already thought of this... please just act like I'm a genius)

You're a genius!
lol
but that's a good reminder. Thank you.

*giggle* It was for the new people!

There you go - or those with cobwebs upstairs, like me. :-) Made me want to run right out and do it, but...not this year. :-)

i dont think about it. i planted a fence in my raised bed. Then I throw some vining seeds at it and tie em as they grow.beans,cukes,maters,peas eggplant,whatever will grow up. Better cukes by far this way,less bugs and mildews too.
:-)
A.
edited to say
Brilliant chicken wire idea! I never saw that...realllY!

This message was edited Jun 27, 2008 7:27 AM