Should We Talk, Cukes?

[Lavender2]

I've often read recommendations to trellis cukes, @Jared77 , on several sites where I purchase seed. I was going to trellis a few this year but they got away from me.

One type I grew this year is a semi-bush variety, or suppose to be. Today I found a vine that had snuck through the catnip bush, past the oregano and on into the asparagus. That's where I found a 13" cuke! I guess it was part bush, the other part as long as a semi.

Next year I will really try to trellis some.

 

[Smart Red]

For the past several years I have planted my munchers at the bottom of fencing. Much easier to find and they do well on the trellis.

 

[Hal]

I prefer to trellis cucumbers, well maybe not the apple types so much but anything with some length is good trellised because it leads to more even fruit formation.
The longer the cucumber the more prone it will be to uneven development leading to one end wide and one narrow, trellising will also lead to straight fruit as well.
A lot of the commercial growers I've visited grew them up strings in poly tunnels and it made harvesting and fruit quality much better.

 

[digitS']

@Hal , what held the string? Cukes are the heaviest things I carry out out of the garden. A cooler of cukes must be like 7/8th water and weigh about 70 pounds.

I have seen a garden trellis very much like the ones my garden neighbor made. He took a cattle fence panel and bent it down its length at 90°. It just sat over the plants like a roof and they grew through it and over it.

Of course, he had to crawl to see through the foliage as the cucumbers hung inside this "roof."

Steve

 

[Hal]

@Hal , what held the string? Cukes are the heaviest things I carry out out of the garden. A cooler of cukes must be like 7/8th water and weigh about 70 pounds.

I have seen a garden trellis very much like the ones my garden neighbor made. He took a cattle fence panel and bent it down its length at 90°. It just sat over the plants like a roof and they grew through it and over it.

Of course, he had to crawl to see through the foliage as the cucumbers hung inside this "roof."

Steve

Usually they had a sturdy support that ran along the length of the poly tunnel and they secured it to that like when you see a sturdy frame for peas done in metal or timber with the twine ect secured to that.

There are cultivars suited to tunnel/glass house cultivation and they are often trained and trimmed as needed.

 

[Lavender2]

I notice a lot of people use a tilted trellis, like not a straight up vertical fence.
Is that better or does it really make a difference?

I like the idea of string or twine, easier clean up when removing the vines. I clean pea and bean vines off a fence and that's a job I don't look forward to. But the fence is there, I may as well grow something on it.

 

[digitS']

Thanks Hal.

I bet jute string would break ...

altho', plastic film may protect it from the UV light and it could maintain its strength.

Steve

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

@Hal , what held the string? Cukes are the heaviest things I carry out out of the garden. A cooler of cukes must be like 7/8th water and weigh about 70 pounds.

I have seen a garden trellis very much like the ones my garden neighbor made. He took a cattle fence panel and bent it down its length at 90°. It just sat over the plants like a roof and they grew through it and over it.

Of course, he had to crawl to see through the foliage as the cucumbers hung inside this "roof."

Steve

I weirdly had a pretty severe reaction to a cucumber 'thorn' that somehow got me in the middle of the chest, so I'm a little apprehensive of the idea of army crawling through a tube of cukes for the current future :/

I notice a lot of people use a tilted trellis, like not a straight up vertical fence.
Is that better or does it really make a difference?

I like the idea of string or twine, easier clean up when removing the vines. I clean pea and bean vines off a fence and that's a job I don't look forward to. But the fence is there, I may as well grow something on it.

I grow my cukes on a trellis fence that borders my porch, so i get to pick them from either side. That works out quite awesome

 

[Jared77]

I was only going to grow them on the 1 side. Like an easel I guess so I wouldn't have to crawl under anything. Nothing crazy just enough to get them under control.

For those who trellis how tall do you make yours?

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

I notice a lot of people use a tilted trellis, like not a straight up vertical fence.
Is that better or does it really make a difference?

I like the idea of string or twine, easier clean up when removing the vines. I clean pea and bean vines off a fence and that's a job I don't look forward to. But the fence is there, I may as well grow something on it.

I was only going to grow them on the 1 side. Like an easel I guess so I wouldn't have to crawl under anything. Nothing crazy just enough to get them under control.

For those who trellis how tall do you make yours?

I saw a local garden with a setup you could actually walk under. It was at least 6.5' tall and 5' wide