Trellising vining cucumber with these tips help you grow straighter cuke , keep plant good for you , and have easier harvest home .
Carson Downing
Many gardener ask , " Do cucumbers want a treillage ? " While not required , if you desire to maximize your horticulture space and keep your cucumbers off the soil , maturate your cucumber planton a vertical sustenance . Whether you like picklers , slicers , or burplesstypes of cucumber vine , vining variety are useable that will quickly climb a trellis and make harvesting easier for you .
Credit:Carson Downing
Dr. Michael Mazourekis avegetable stock breeder andassociate professorat Cornell University ’s School of Integrative Plant Science , Plant Breeding & Genetics Section , Horticulture Section .
Do cucumbers need a trellis?
The type of cucumber vine you choose to plant determine whether a Cucumis sativus trellis is need . Vining cucumbers are born social climber , sogrowing them verticallyhelps maximize garden space .
“ Some bush types wo n’t trellis well , " says Dr. Michael Mazourek . “Their vines never make it more than waist heights . Other assortment , like Persian or Beit Alpha cucumbers , have thin pelt and are less prostrate to blemishes on a trellis . Long types of cucumbers grow straight when grown on a treillage , but they grow curled up if grown on the priming coat . ”
Marketmore 76 , Straight Eight , and Burpless 26 are prone to curling when grown on the undercoat , but are long and consecutive when originate upright .
Credit: Carson Downing
Reasons to Grow Cucumbers Vertically
When growing a vining smorgasbord of cucumber , growing it vertically on a treillage rather than let it ramble along the solid ground offers a bit of benefits :
Tips for Growing Cucumbers on a Trellis
utilise these tips to get the most out of trellising your cucumber vine .
1. Choose vining cucumber varieties
Even though there are plenty of good bush miscellanea of cucumbers , the right cucumber types for trellising are vining varieties . Your favorite slicing ( the thick - skinned ones used for unfermented feeding ) , pickle ( the little 1 with fragile skins that are used for fresh eating and pickling ) , and burpless varieties ( the unity that have lower grade of cucurbitacin thatmakes Cucumis sativus bitterand firmly to digest ) all are available as vining type .
Plant vining cucumber vine seeds now in the garden once the ground warms , or use plastic mulch androw coversto get a head start .
The varieties you take can also be strategically planted to avoid certain cuss and disease . “ Early in the season , I plant kind with non - acrimonious foliage toprotect them from cucumber beetles . ‘Silver Slicer ’ and older - fashioned pickle cucumber vine like the ‘ Boston Pickling ’ cucumber predilection not bad , do n’t need to be peeled , and the gash are the same size as my sandwich lolly , ” says Mazourek . " later on in the time of year , flossy mould wipe out cucumbers unless you are growing one of the uncommon tolerant ones like my DMR401 . In dry climate , stand off wanderer mites with sulphurous foliate case like ‘ Salt and Pepper ’ . "
2. Buy or make a DIY cucumber trellis
Do Cucumis sativus need a trellis to thrive ? If you opt for the support , choose from a range oftrellis optionsto bribe or make plans tomake one DIY . Either way , the height of a trellis should be as tall as you’re able to hit .
“ I like to make an archway with three secure mail and give ear cotton butcher ’s twine down to the ground for the cukes to climb up , ” says Mazourek . “ You cancompost the twineat the end of the season with the flora . you may also use a piece of wire fencing or wooden lattice . Just check that to design ahead for when the plants are openhanded . You want your treillage to declare the weight of your crop and remain upright during high malarky . ”
keystone the string so it does n’t blow around and get tangle before the Cucumis sativus start growing .
Mazourek says you should line up the trellis height based on your own altitude , shading on the rest of the garden , and your ability to make it structurally sound when loaded with plants that could be in the way of life of a storm .
3. Grow one cucumber plant per trellis
you’re able to direct source cucumbers in the garden orstart the seeds indoorsin pots about four weeks before transplanting them near a trellis . “ I spring up one flora per foot when it ’s really cheery but careen to one plant life every 18 inches when the days are inadequate , ” allege Mazourek . Each plant life make its own treillage . He also points out that cucumber produce a strong beginning scheme when seeds are at once sown in a garden so it may be good to go that path rather than transplantation .
4. Train plants early
The best way to trellis cucumbers is to set your treillage before flora are in the ground and starttraining plants to climb on a trellisearly before they start originate sideways . “ There is a degree called tipping where most stop reaching around in the tune and baksheesh over and maturate sideways , ” say Mazourek . “ When you stand them back up , the bending can go bad the base . Keep them well supervised to keep them grow up . Every twosome of days it ’s in effect to make certain they are grow in the commission you want them to and are fastening themselves to the trellis . I wind the tips around the bread and butter and sometimes add trellis clip that hold the flora loosely . ”
5. Prune cucumber plants to boost your harvest
Pruning encourages intelligent growth and increases flowering and fruiting . “ If you have the time and are produce multiple works , then I recommendpruning cucumber vine , ” tell Mazourek . “ Some Cucumis sativus varieties have been bred for greenhouse or high tunnel production . These run to position fruit on the main vine , and you could trim the lateral branches short , ” he excuse . Some field - type cucumber vine acquire yield on sidelong branches , so you may necessitate to train one or two secondary vines along the trellis for good take . This is squall a three - drawing card system . “ you could separate which flowers will make cucumbers because they have a diminutive cucumber at the base of the flower , ” says Mazourek .
If your cucumber vines are full of growth but only farm pollen - bearing male peak , they wo n’t cede yield . However , he caution , “ Do n’t start trim down until you have a clear pattern of where your fruits are set . ”
Pruningalso better aviation circulation around the plant . “ Taking the bottom understructure of leaves off the plants when they are waist richly is helpful , as is making sure the folio canopy is n’t too slow , ” says Mazourek .
