How to support cucumber plants is a process that only needs support when grown in gardens with limited space. Even if they are cultivated in spacey gardens, setting up a trellis for them remains one of the most important steps that need to be taken to motivate their productivity.
Read this article, to know the best ways or different approaches to providing support.
Contents
How To Support Cucumber Plants In Effective Ways?
To support cucumber plants in effective ways, you must place a wooden lattice trellis, or an arch trellis; also, an A-frame or a lean-to trellis. Additionally, you also have the choice to place a DIY bamboo trellis, a string one, or even a chain link fence, or a plant cage.
The reason why you should opt to do so is that cucumbers that are grown on trellis tend to produce higher yields compared to those that are left on the ground. When these plants are elevated, they stop growing outward and start developing upward, which helps them to produce even more fruit per square foot.
– Wooden Lattice Trellis
A wooden lattice can be made using two wooden poles and a piece of fence. You just have to dig large and deep holes to hold the wooden poles, and then you can place one pole in each hole and make sure that they stand firmly upright.
You can go ahead and attach a piece of chicken wire between the poles, with each end well-supported so that it will not give in to the weight of the plant together with its fruits.
Lattices are ideal for square-foot gardening, where you can easily manage your plants and fruit production. You can also install this system along exterior walls to give a suitable climbing surface for your vines if you wish to give it proper support.
Besides providing adequate growing space, lattices also help curb soil-borne diseases affecting fruit production and development. Bear in mind that this support system is most suitable for the vining cucumbers.
– Arch Trellis
An arch trellis allows you to maximize or fully utilize the available garden space; it can also be installed between two planters or in the ground. One beautiful way of using this cucumber support system is by creating a large arch trellis that creates a gorgeous vegetable garden entrance; alternatively, you can install an arch trellis above a planter.
This vine support method is quite expensive, although it is durable and has the strength and qualities to support heavier vines, including squash and melons. Remember, growing cucumbers vertically is the best option that you can choose when looking for a decorative and high-yielding way of cultivating them.
This type of cucumber support structure is suitable for plants that are grown on a raised bed or flat ground. However, plants that are grown on raised beds usually grow faster and need to be supported before they get affected by pests and diseases from the soil of these cucumber varieties.
– Rustic Obelisk Trellis
This type of trellis is made by joining together pieces of wood or bamboo in an upright form. Pre-made wooden or metal obelisks are also available in different sizes for purchase, and this would be very simple to install and very easy to assemble.
Cucumber trellise can be found in different sizes, with smaller ones being suitable for growing cucumber plants in pots. Larger obelisk trellises are much more suitable for landscape vegetable and vine growing, where they provide a beautiful decorative view.
When using this type of trellis, you should ensure that the space between your cucumber plants is at least 12 inches. In addition, you should not overload a trellis as it can give in and collapse, especially if the fruit production is high, because it shouldn’t bear too much of a heavy load.
Overcrowding plants can reduce their productivity due to limited air circulation, which results from bundling up the vines. Diseases and pests also take advantage of this situation to hibernate and reproduce within the foliage, which puts the plants at risk of collapsing.
Additionally, cucumber fruits tend to taste bitter when they are under stress or when they are not growing comfortably. This is caused by a compound called cucurbitacin found in the plant’s roots, stems, and leaves. This compound spreads to the fruits when the plant stresses out, and then it would be quite challenging to reverse it, so be mindful of the matter.
– Placing an A-Frame
An A-Frame trellis comes in the form of a ladder, and it gives your plants two surfaces for growth and their ultimate cucumber vine support. This cucumber support method is much cheaper and easier to use as you can even use old ladders as trellis.
However, creating an A-frame trellis from the old ladder, thick branches or bamboo canes is more decorative. You can use a string, net, or cattle panel besides using the same material for the cross supports.
A-frame trellises give your cucumber plants enough space to grow and produce fruit. This increases productivity as the vines can extend freely and grow longer. Now, for this, you must note that it is important that you create trellises and position them in such a way that their growing surfaces will be facing east and west. If they face north or south, sunlight exposure for both sides will be minimized.
– Lean-to Trellis
A lean-to trellis is similar to the A-frame trellis, but the difference is that it has a much lower angle as well as a single vine-growing surface. This cucumber support style is more suitable for windy environments as its low angle gives the train cucumber plants much-needed stability.
Wooden and metal lean-to trellises are available for sale from gardening companies, even though you can also design your own lean-to-style trellis using scrap wood.
If you are in a region that has a warmer environment, where the space that is beneath the trellis’ end provides shade for heat-sensitive vines, then, you should orient the lean-to trellis’ high end to face the east. Doing so is helpful and keen so that the crops planted beneath the structure receive morning sunlight and afternoon shade.
– DIY Bamboo Trellis
You should remember that bamboo is a lightweight but sturdy material used for construction when you wish to have different stable cucumber trellis ideas. These features make it suitable for making a trellis setup even if the plants’ fruit production is high.
You should dig holes and ensure that the bamboo poles’ ends are well-supported. When growing cucumbers in containers, you can create a simple teepee-shaped trellis by inserting three poles and tying them together at the top end.
Teepee-shaped trellises are also suitable for large gardens. You can lay smaller bamboo sticks along the sides of this structure and tie them up using string. This gives all sizes of vegetation to be adequate in its qualities and to support their vining form, to have the most simple DIY cucumber trellis.
– String Trellis
String trellises are some of the simplest support systems you can give your cucumbers. Remember, these supports should not be expensive and complicated, which is why string trellises can be made out of twine or jute that are strung between posts. You can also use two t-posts and lay the strings in between them.
You can also include any other materials you can find to make the trellis more decorative. You should know that the strings may wear out or stretch over time, so you need to replace them yearly. You should consider this method, especially when you grow your cucumbers in a raised garden.
– Chain Link Fence
A chain link fence looks simple but is very effective in supporting the development and productivity of cucumbers. Such fences are very durable and cannot break easily, allowing them to last for many years, which is why you can opt to using them knowing that they will not disappoint.
Although you must remember how some trellises break when you start removing last season’s cucumber vines, this is different with the chain link fence support method. Alternatively, you can use metal fencing scraps or cattle panels that are suspended in-between wooden posts or T-posts.
– Plant Cages
Plant cages are not only used for tomato cultivation, which is why they are also on the list of the best cucumber trellises you should consider. You should get the taller types of these cages and dig a ridge that fits the bottom.
To begin with, you must place the cage into the ridge and make sure that the bottom part is well sunk in the soil to support the cage. You should get the sturdiest and most durable cage that fits your budget from the market.
Tomato cages allow the cucumber plants to extend their vining foliage along their surfaces. Cucumbers that grow vertically do not come into direct contact with the ground, thereby paving the way to successful fruit production. Also, this setup makes it simple to harvest cucumbers when ready, as they can be easily removed without disturbing the parent plant.
Conclusion
Here is a recap of this guide on how to support cucumber plants for successful cultivation.
- Cucumber plants grow and reach six to eight feet long, but this can only be achieved when well-supported.
- When these plants are elevated, they stop growing outward and start developing upward, which helps them to produce even more fruit per square foot.
- A wooden Lattice can be made using two wooden poles and a piece of fence.
- Growing cucumbers vertically makes sure that no part of the plant gets into direct contact with the ground, thereby paving the way to a successful fruit production.
Before you plant cucumber plants, a proper trellis to support them should be put in place. Get the right support system for your vines and enjoy the bumper yields!
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