Ok so I tried my best to search for cucumber and squas ph trellis ideas. I've never grown them on a trellis and it looks like a great way to avoid rotten spots. Since I bought 50' of galvanized wire fencing for my pole beans and I'll have 25' left over. In what ways can I use that to support the cucumber and squash and possibly my tomatoes? Thanks in advance.
Here is some inspiration.... https://duckduckgo.com/?q=cucumber+trellis+&t=ffhp&atb=v78-1_b&iax=images&ia=images
Thanks deepwoods, I've certainly googled it and I get what I always get. 1000 ways to do 1 thing. I suppose I I could make a cylinder out of a couple feet of fencing and place it over the plant so it can grow up the inside. I also read that sqaush don't like climbing metal. Any truth to that?
Zucchini and summer squash are usually more of a low bush. Cucumbers are more vining. You would need to encourage the vines onto your trellis and possibly use ties. I’ve used metal trellises (flat) for tomatoes and have had nasturtiums and lemon cucumbers find their way on to the trellis. Personally I prefer a flat trellis to a cage. They are easier to store and I can find the fruit/veggies easier. Just my preferences. Enjoy experimenting to find what works best for you and your situation.
I just put mulch (grass clippings or old hay) under the squash and cucumbers. We do use trellises for tomatoes--4' T-posts with what we call "hog wire" stretched between the posts. Hog wire is a sturdy wire with about 4" squares and is about 4' tall. There are vine squash varieties, and also bush types. If you have a vine type it will be hard to get them to climb a trellis. If you go with trellising, make sure your ties are soft and wide enough to not cut into the vines' stems. I think that is why old tee shirts were invented--cut into 1" strips an old tee shirt makes great trellis ties! Like Jewell, I find cages are more difficult. A strong plant will tip the cage; it is harder to reach in and harvest; and trying to stack and store the cages in the off-season is difficult.
Thank you both for your knowledge. I may just let them lay down. I am going to have a layer of mulch down so maybe i'm just sweating the details. Thanks again
I think everyone has covered what I would have said. Squash and Zucchini do not climb. But are a large bush type plant. Keep the stems sprayed for squash bugs. They can kill a plant rapidly. They enter a plant from the ground up the stem.
We grow our cucumbers on a trellis https://www.gardenstew.com/threads/cucumbers-on-a-trellis.40524/ As regards zucchini, I grow in a pot or sack. Squash, I've grown in an extra large pot with long bean canes on top and created trellis with garden string. It worked quite well. Another time I grew them in a pot trough and hubby just made an upright frame but we had to hook it to the garage wall for support due to weight. The pot option worked best.
https://www.gardenstew.com/threads/climbing-courgettes.11105/#post-104002 https://www.gardenstew.com/threads/keep-squash-or-cucumber-on-the-ground-or-off.15601/#post-143832 These two links to threads on this website will give you some inspiration I hope. Good luck.
https://www.google.com/search?q=squash+bugs&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b You have to spray as a preventative for squash bugs ! After they are there,, its already too late ! Read the first and when finished click on the "squash vine borer" link and read that ! The vine borer is the more harmful of the two ! Here in Texas we refer to both as squash bugs ! It is usually more of a southern problem than farther north ! But I go by the old saying "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" ! Much easier to prevent it than try and stop or corrrect it ! I use permethrin but pyrethrin would be an organic alternative !
Squash put out roots as they vine along the ground so if you go vertical you need to consider pots on the trellis for them to land upon regardless of the trellis material.
