Cucumbers are delicious and healthy to grow, saving you lots of money. But not everyone is blessed to have a massive yard for growing cucumbers. But there is a solution to grow cucumbers vertically on a trellis.
It is also an easy and productive way to enjoy fresh cucumbers in a limited space. Moreover, using a cucumber trellis has loads of advantages. Today’s article will show you how to grow cucumbers vertically on a frame.
Furthermore, we will provide you with some ideas to train cucumbers on a trellis to give them the support they need. Now you may wonder what the benefits of growing cucumbers on a trellis are. Let’s find out.
The Benefits of Growing Cucumbers Vertically on a Trellis
Growing cucumbers vertically is not only about saving space, as there are many benefits of growing your cucumber plants in this way. So, if you have the room available, you can leave your cucumbers to sprawl on the ground. But we are sure you will think differently after reading about these benefits.
You Can Water Your Cucumber Plants Easier
Yes, this is a huge benefit when you use a cucumber trellis, as you can water at the main stem. It helps to keep the leaves dry to keep fungal diseases away. As the vines are lifted from the ground.
Fruit Production and Harvesting are Better
When training cucumbers to vine along a trellis, you do not have unruly vines running around on the ground space. Hence, you have the cucumber vines at eye level making spotting the fruit easier.
There is better air circulation, and when harvesting the fruit, you are not scratched by the prickly stems. Plus, the fruit is cleaner as it does not lay in the dirt. So this is one of the hugest advantages in our books.
The Cucumbers Have a Uniform Color
When not using a cucumber trellis, your plants’ vines spread along the ground. Hence, it can end up with light spots where it rests. So, growing cucumbers vertically form a uniform color making the fruit look healthy. Another added benefit is the fruit grows straighter with fewer misshapen’s.
So, are you convinced yet? Yes, we thought you would be. The truth is growing cucumbers vertically is not too difficult. Still, you will need to do some things differently.
The best of all is you can use the same techniques for your other vining varieties when growing vegetables.
How Does The Cucumber Plant Grow Vertically?
Okay, so how do cucumber plants climb? What happens? Do they grow vines? Not all cucumber varieties vine, but some have vining tendrils that are side shoots growing from the main stem.
These tendrils reach out to grab and hold onto something.
So, before we learn how to grow cucumbers vertically, let’s look at some vine cucumbers. In the cumber plant variety, you get the bush and vining cucumbers. The vining type is your climbing plants, and as the term bush explains, they do not vine.
For this reason, when you buy cucumber seeds for growing with support, ensure you buy the climbing type. Still, how can you tell the difference? The best is to check the plant tag or seed packet.
Our favorite cucumbers to grow using a trellis are the Sumter, Lemon, Homemade Pickles, and Marketmore. So, now you know that not all cucumber plants need support to grow. But vining cucumbers need a trellis as it keeps the plant healthy and is easier to harvest.
What Type of Cucumber Trellis Works Best
When you plant cucumbers, you can use any trellis made of bamboo poles or chicken wire to a metal mesh one in raised beds in your vegetable garden. But you do need to keep the following in mind.
The A-Frame Trellises Height
Using a trellis gives you precious garden space for other vegetable plants. But the height is crucial as you will grow vertically, and the vines can get long. So the trellis needs to be tall to provide enough light and space and allow you to reach the fruit.
So consider one with a height of 4 to 6 feet tall.
The Strength of The Trellis is Important
As tall as the structure needs to be for the cucumber to climb, it must also be durable to hold the fruit’s weight. While the vines are lightweight, they can become heavy when the fruit matures.
Airflow is Important
As necessary as it is when deciding how much space your cucumbers need to grow, air circulation is crucial. Hence, choose a trellis to grow cucumbers vertically with plenty of airflow. You do not want your cucumber plant crammed up, making reaching the fruit difficult.
Above are just a few common trellis that works best for growing cucumbers. You may also check our article Best Trellis for Climbing Plants for additional options and guides.
Cucumber Trellis Ideas
While we mentioned the A-Frame Trellis, you can find different options for growing cucumbers vertically. So, you can get creative using any vertical support. Here are some options:
A Straight Trellis to Grow Cucumbers
If you prefer a traditional style, you can choose between a tall one and a straight one.
A Frame to Grow Cucumbers
When you grow cucumbers vertically, an A-Frame will make harvesting the fruit easier as the crops hang down.
A Lean-To For Planting Cucumbers On Trellis
With this trellis, you can plant other vegetables underneath, and it works well on a raised bed or smaller space.
Using an Arch For Growing Cucumbers
Another fun trellis is an arch to add space to the garden. You can easily make one yourself to place at the entrance of your veggie garden.
These are only a few ideas when deciding on growing vertically for your cucumbers to climb. The best part is using the same trellis for pole beans and other climbing varieties.
Another important note: if you use chicken or mesh wire with small holes, please watch your container plants. The baby cucumbers easily poke through the holes and become wedged or stuck as they get larger.
How to Train and Grow Cucumbers Vertically
No matter what trellis you decide to use to grow cucumbers vertically using garden twine with bamboo poles and more, your cucumbers need some help.
Gravity works against your cucumber on the trellis as it prefers to sprawl around. Unfortunately, they may also sprawl and climb on other plants.
Thus, you must regularly check your cucumbers on a trellis to train them when they become rogue.
Luckily the fruit will not need added support as they will not riff off from the vines. So, how do you train your cucumbers to climb a trellis?
Training Cucumbers on Trellis to Climb
The good news is that growing cucumbers vertically using a trellis is not tricky. All you need to do is straighten the vine to attach them to the support. While you need not tie them up with garden twine, you can gently wrap or weave the stems into the trellis.
If you use string, loosely tie the branches to prevent strangling them as they grow thicker.
Best Care Tips for Cucumbers Growing on a Trellis
Once you choose the best trellis for your cucumbers to climb, it is time to give them some tender, loving care. As you know, cucumbers grow in fertile soil and need water, but that is not all:
Ensure that the spot you choose to grow cucumbers on a trellis has at least five to six hours of sun exposure.
Provide your cucumber plants with loose soil that is rich in organic matter. The soil pH needs to be around 5.5 to 7.0. Composting in the ground will boost the growth, making the cucumbers climb.
Never take water for granted; it is crucial for a bountiful cucumber harvest. So, water your outdoor plants regularly and deeply but avoid wetting the cucumber leaves.
Lastly, add some mulch around your plants to help control moisture and protect the roots in dry spells. And water more often when needed.
Final Thoughts
Growing cucumbers on a trellis allow you to plant seeds closer. This means you have a larger harvest in a small area. On the other hand, growing cucumbers vertically takes up less space.
So, set up your trellis and start sowing those seeds or growing plants from the nursery to enjoy healthy fruit. Happy gardening!
