Trellis or something for Cucumbers?

scbusf 4/9/2010, 11:39 pm

I'm growing Straight 8 and National Pickling Cucumbers. Do I need a trellis or some type of support for them? I'm going to use Ultomato cages for my tomatoes. Would that work for these guys, too?

Sherry

jenjehle 4/10/2010, 12:35 am

Hi Sherry!

I grew lots and lots of pickling cucs last year (my kids LOVE them!) They did great. They were up against the nylon grid type trellis ran on PVC pipe. My husband put it together for me. It works great for the pickling cucs. Very soft but supportive. The one thing I will change this year is to not put them so close together. Mine grew to be about 7 or 8 ft tall (I have pictures of mine posted in my profile). Because they were so close together, they entangled each other. But we still had an endless amount of cucs; even the neighbor kids would come over for an afternoon treat Smile

Can't tell you anything about the Straight 8's, I only do the small ones b/c I have small kids and these are great for them.

Good luck!
Jenny

ander217 4/10/2010, 7:44 am

I'm not familiar with that brand of cage. How tall are your cages and what are they made of?

I planted cukes in my row-style garden last year where I always let them roam on the ground. One particularly energetic vine reached one of my tomato cages and grew right up it, then all around the top, and eventually fell back down and made kind of a tangle of vines all around the cage. That cage obviously wasn't as tall as the cuke would have grown, but it gave it some support. However, when the 100+ degree days of summer came, those vines around the cage dried and withered, but the others did not. The only explanation I could think of was that the metal cage became hot enough to singe the vines.

elliephant 4/10/2010, 9:26 am

Oooooh, this is interesting to me. I have my cucumbers growing up a nylon trellis hung on PVC pipe, too. But there are peppers grown in metal cages in the front rows (2X8 boxes along a fence) and the cucumbers are grabbing for those. I'll have to keep an eye on them and see what happens when the summer heat hits full on. (We've already gotten into the 90s a few days here in south Texas).

When I had a small row garden in west Texas I grew my cucumbers up a metal chain link fence and they did "ok" but nothing in that garden really thrived because it was shady and we got a lot of hot winds.

ander217 4/10/2010, 12:04 pm

Elliephant, I've read about others on this board putting their peppers in cages. I've wondered why.
I've grown peppers here for years in my row-style garden, and they just grow into a bush and keep making peppers without any other support.
Are you growing a different variety? I grow bell, cayenne, jalapeno, and banana peppers.
This is my first year for SFG. Since the soil is so loose, do peppers have a tendency to fall over in Mel's Mix?

elliephant 4/10/2010, 12:37 pm

LOL...I really don't know why. This is really my first year with a SFG, too. I read that I should, so I did. I do anticipate some strong winds here.

I would really be interested to see what others say about peppers and cages. Think I'll start a spinoff topic!

**donnainzone5** 4/10/2010, 1:03 pm

I've tried the Ultomato cages, and they seem a bit flimsy to me. In fact, I have a couple of them in secluded areas of my yard, and I do not plan to use them again.

Retired Member 1 4/10/2010, 1:42 pm

I've grown straight 8 cukes before on the ground and they have long vigourous vines, so trellising is necessary in the SFG. I cage peppers -- my reply is in the "caging peppers" thread.

Amy in Idaho 4/10/2010, 11:06 pm

jenjehle wrote:Hi Sherry!

(I have pictures of mine posted in my profile).

I would really like to see how you supported your cucumbers. What do you mean you have pics on your profile? How do I see them? I plan on growing a lot this year and didn't realize I might need some serious trellising. In past years my vines haven't gotten that long.

jenjehle 4/10/2010, 11:24 pm

Sorry, I don't have pics in my profile, they're under "Gallery". But I can email a handful of pics to you if you like. If so, just give me your email.

Take care,
Jenny

titans01 4/10/2010, 11:32 pm

Amy in Idaho wrote:
jenjehle wrote:Hi Sherry!

(I have pictures of mine posted in my profile).

I would really like to see how you supported your cucumbers. What do you mean you have pics on your profile? How do I see them? I plan on growing a lot this year and didn't realize I might need some serious trellising. In past years my vines haven't gotten that long.

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/gallery/Personal-album-of-jenjehle-cat_u1132.htm

**timwardell** 4/10/2010, 11:42 pm

Jenny,
Checked out your pics in the gallery. Those were some impressive cuke vines! I'm hoping mine will do as well this year. (Squash vine borers killed them all last year.)

jenjehle 4/11/2010, 12:07 am

Tim,

Thanks for posting the link to my personal album. I couldn't figure out how to do that! Now I see how that can be done. I'm still learning my way around here Smile

For a support of my vining, climbing, reaching to the sky, pickling cucumbers, I used the SFG recommended trellis. With nylon netting and piping. My husband made it for me so I can't remember exactly what the nylon netting is attached to. But it sure works great! Only exection is that my cucs went higher than the top of the trellis, then I had to figure out a way to support them above the trellis! I wove some bamboo skates into the netting so they went above the top of the piping. And the cucs continued to climb up and up. I had to use a stool to reach the top to pick them all the way up there. Unfortunately, they were planted a little too close, not to mention I made the mistake of evening watering (bad, bad, bad... I know now!) and they came down with what looked like powdery mildew Sad

But still, we had plenty of cucs before that happened. I'm planning on making those cucs the "main attraction" in my gardens again this year!

Take care,
Jenny

Amy in Idaho 4/11/2010, 1:18 am

Wow! 7-8 feet, that is crazy awesome! I hope mine do as good, at least if mine get too tall I can drape them across my neighbors concrete fence top. Trellis or something for Cucumbers? Icon_razz

daisyhill 4/11/2010, 2:14 am

We grew cucumbers for the first time this year, and used a trellis. Even with a 5 foot high trellis, they sprawled everywhere, so I can only imagine how much space they would have taken up on the flat! We planted two telegraph cucumbers and one other type (can't remember the type now - it was squat and prickly, and I didn't care for it, but it only produced about five fruit anyway) and got a huge crop. They have slowed down now as it's autumn, but at one point we were picking six a day from the two plants. Some of them were enormous!

This whopper reached from my elbow to fingertips. That's the trellis and vines just behind, to the right in this photo.

Trellis or something for Cucumbers? 24544_334787311471_721366471_4172403_6671350_n

Trellis or something for Cucumbers? 24544_334787311471_721366471_4172403_6671350_n

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