I planted cucumbers from seeds this year. This is our first real big garden (well big for us!). It has been so time consuming as many things came in at once and others needed lots of tending to that our little cucumber plants had fruit before I knew it. The vines are quite long (some up to 4 feet) and quite good at hidding lot of other growing cumumbers.
So today we built an A frame trellis and guided the vines up as best as we could. Now I'm second guessing my method. I know what to do for next year, but is there anything I could or should be doing?
No, except maybe if you have pickleworms you might want to bag the fruit after it is pollinated to lessen the damages.
It is better next year to put the trellises on the North side of the garden. You can use any design that works for you. I like to use CRW and my trellises are permanent. You should put the trellises in or plant near the permanent trellis anything that needs to climb, tomatoes, pole beans, snow peas, cucumbers, zucchini vines and squash vines. The trellis should be sturdy enough to carry the weight especially if you are going to support something heavy like gourds, squash, or melons. Tomato vines can easily get 8 ft tall and melons and squash can be up to 50 feet long. So make the trellis high enough and long enough to support the vines and but not so high that you cannot reach over the top. My CRW trellis and cages are 7 ft tall. A frames work as the vines can go up and over but they have a larger footprint and is alright if you have a lot of room to spare. Vertical trellises work better when space is limited.
It is better next year to put the trellises on the North side of the garden. You can use any design that works for you. I like to use CRW and my trellises are permanent. You should put the trellises in or plant near the permanent trellis anything that needs to climb, tomatoes, pole beans, snow peas, cucumbers, zucchini vines and squash vines. The trellis should be sturdy enough to carry the weight especially if you are going to support something heavy like gourds, squash, or melons. Tomato vines can easily get 8 ft tall and melons and squash can be up to 50 feet long. So make the trellis high enough and long enough to support the vines and but not so high that you cannot reach over the top. My CRW trellis and cages are 7 ft tall. A frames work as the vines can go up and over but they have a larger footprint and is alright if you have a lot of room to spare. Vertical trellises work better when space is limited.
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lexusnexus
- Green Thumb
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jal_ut
- Super Green Thumb
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- Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
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WillFour welcome to the forum. Yes, please put your location in your profile. Gardening problems vary a bunch depending on where you garden since weather and climate conditions vary so much around the world.
Cukes? I have never trellised them. I just give them some room and let them sprawl. To each his own?
Cukes? I have never trellised them. I just give them some room and let them sprawl. To each his own?
You could still rotate your trellis crops. tomatoes, beans, squash, peas in the cooler months, fava beans in the cooler months. Crop rotation is good for minimizing disease and pest problems. But, in a small yard it isn't always practical. Sometimes, you will have to move your plants, especially when it is your first garden to find the best places for each of the plants and good companions.
I put beans, squash, tomatoes, and jicama on the trellises in summer. In the cooler months I grow snow peas and fava beans and sometimes I will also keep growing tomatoes and cucumber year round. My yard is small so, if I have a particularly nasty pest or disease, then I have to rotate to a different crop until the pest and disease pressure has declined. I have let some of the wild tomatoes continue to spread on the ground rather than trellis. I have grown bush cucumber that does not need a trellis but takes up a 3ft circle of space and the fruit lose their crispness very quickly. Squash and melons can also be allowed to sprawl, but they take over my yard and then try to take over the neighbors yard too.
I put beans, squash, tomatoes, and jicama on the trellises in summer. In the cooler months I grow snow peas and fava beans and sometimes I will also keep growing tomatoes and cucumber year round. My yard is small so, if I have a particularly nasty pest or disease, then I have to rotate to a different crop until the pest and disease pressure has declined. I have let some of the wild tomatoes continue to spread on the ground rather than trellis. I have grown bush cucumber that does not need a trellis but takes up a 3ft circle of space and the fruit lose their crispness very quickly. Squash and melons can also be allowed to sprawl, but they take over my yard and then try to take over the neighbors yard too.