cucumbers, trellis & spacing

[scot29]

I am trellising my cukes for the first time this year. Right now I have a 14' row with 18 cucumber plants spaced about 9" apart. They're still small, about 2 leaves. I have a growing guide that says to space cukes 6" apart if growing on the ground, but 18" apart if growing on a trellis. Why would this be? Is it because you only have so much space on a trellis? Does it have to do with weight? My trellis is very solid & runs the whole 14', and it's 6' high.
What should I do? Go with all 18, or cut it back to 9 or 12? General advice on cukes & trellises is also welcomed. Tks.

[jal_ut]

I would let them all grow.

[engineeredgarden]

I trellis everything possible, and cucumbers can engulf a trellis pretty quick. The reason is because one vine will send out several runners. I would leave the plants as is, because it won't be a problem at all. For reference, here's a pic of 12 cucumbers growing in a 34 gallon tote bin.

[img]https://i46.tinypic.com/20teyya.jpg[/img]

[garden5]

The plants will be fine, you'll just have a heavily loaded trellis, but if it's sturdy enough, you shouldn't have a problem.

[gixxerific]

If they do become overwhelming they can be trimmed without injury. I had 4 plants on a trellis last year and it was hard to find the fruit it got so crazy bushy. I trimmed the heck out of it several times only to have it go crazy again.

The trellis to the left of my tomatoes was 4 plants last year after I cut out another 4 than trimmed the reaming 4 back about by 1/2.

[img]https://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj185/gixxerific/DSC02696.jpg[/img]

I have a bigger trellis this year.

[VeggieGrower]

I have a 30 ft long piece of 5 ft tall hog fence tied to 4 T stakes that I have used for the past several years as a cucumber trellis. I always just plant a row of seeds about 3 inches apart along the fence and let nature take its course. The only problem I've ever had was getting rid of all the cukes

[jmoore]

I have a 30 ft long piece of 5 ft tall hog fence tied to 4 T stakes that I have used for the past several years as a cucumber trellis. I always just plant a row of seeds about 3 inches apart along the fence and let nature take its course. The only problem I've ever had was getting rid of all the cukes

I do basically the same thing. I cut a panel in half so mine is 8' long mounted to 2x4's on my 7' tall fence. The bottom of the panel is about 8" off the ground, so the cukes should easily make it over the top of the fence. I've got plants every 4-6". Too many cukes would be a nice problem to have.

[lakngulf]

Here's my setup for cukes. There are four plants that are running on this wire which is about five feet long.

[img]https://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab104/lakngulf/G2010June/Garden_June036.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab104/lakngulf/G2010May/G2010038.jpg[/img]