Homegrown cucumbers are worth all the water. A happy plant will take up a lot of space with all its trailing vines, so it’s important to get the right trellising system to keep your vegetation sufficiently spaced out and watered. You don’t have to trellis your cucumbers, but the results are more favorable if you do, as trellised cukes have fewer pests and diseases, plus prettier fruit that don’t have field spots. If you need a money-saving technique for trellising, SydneyBackyardVeggies on TikTok shows an easy way to do it. Drive a couple of posts vertically into the ground, then connect them at the top and bottom with two posts horizontally. Tie twine from the top post to the bottom so that it hangs taut. As the cucumbers grow, wrap the vines around the twine, clipping them in place as needed.
There are many ways to trellis your cucumbers, but this one will help you save money and space since it doesn’t require many tools. Allowing the cucumbers to grow vertically will help free up some space in your garden, enabling you to grow cucumbers in smaller areas.
How to make this trellis for less
@sydneybackyardveggies
Trellising my last planting of cucumbers for the season. These plants were sprawling onto the lawn so it was the right time to lift them off the ground to prevent mildew spreading through the crop. #cucumber #trellis #diy #trellises #gardening #vegetables #growyourownfood #gardensoftiktok #backyardveggies #backyardvegetablegarden #mypatch
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This type of trellis can easily be made with materials you already have at home, or that will at least be inexpensive to buy. For the posts, use wood leftover from projects or repurpose actual trellises you no longer use. Twine may be harder to repurpose since it can become weaker over time, but Dollar Tree has Tool Bench Hardware Cotton Twine, which you can buy by the roll in the store or in bulk online. You can also try using yarn or rope, but do keep in mind that the plants will become heavier as they grow, so you’ll need to choose a sturdy material that won’t break. Harvesting cucumbers frequently will help keep some of the weight off of them.
You can get even more resourceful by cutting corners smartly. Rather than buying posts, use nearby fences to support the twine by stretching it across. Since you won’t have a bottom horizontal post, you can stake the twine into the ground or tie it to the cucumber plant once it’s sturdy enough to handle it. You can also tie twine between two chairs or the house and shed, as long as everything you connect it to will be sturdy enough to hold up your plants in high winds or heavy rains.
The benefits of this method
This trellis method is called a vertical cordon system and is a money saver by design. Growing upwards instead of out lets you plant more in less space, which means you won’t have to buy as much soil or amendments to cover the area. While the system is typically designed for single rows, you can make double rows to fit even more cucumbers into your garden. You can use this method for vining cucumber companion plants like peas to make the most of your space.
Keeping the vines and leaves off the ground will help reduce disease and pest pressures, and it will also make it easier for you to keep track of weeds. You’ll be able to plant more greenery beneath the cucumbers too, allowing you to fit more plants into your garden. Whatever you plant with your cucumbers will need to be happy with shade though, unless you plant them on the west side, as cucumbers can cast a lot of shade with their foliage.
