Cucumbers are one of the easiest plants to grow for beginners. But the thing about cucumbers, does it require a trellis as it develops?
As a general rule, yes! Cucumbers do need a trellis to grow better. It benefits their growth by preventing pests & soil-borne diseases, allowing accessible watering and harvesting, and saving space in the garden. This is particularly important for vining varieties that grow up to 6-8 feet long.
But where to start? Keep reading to find the perfect cucumber variety for you to grow with DIY trellis ideas to support their growth.
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Table of contents
What are the 2 Different Types of Cucumbers?
- Bush variety.
- What are they? These cucumber types typically grow up to 2-3 feet long. Their compact growth makes them suitable for container gardening, like hanging pots or a raised garden table. They also don’t necessarily need a trellis. But most gardeners add stakes or small trellis to manage their growth to be safe. The downside, though, is they don’t produce as much yield as their vine-growing relatives.
- Important tip: Ensure to lay down mulch, such as straw, on the ground around the plant. Since the fruits will be growing on the ground, this adds a layer of protection from pests that may run amok on the plant.
- What cucumber varieties should I get, and how long until they mature?
- For slicing cucumbers:
- Salad Bush Hybrid (57 days)
- Fanfare (63 days)
- Bush Crop (55 days)
- Poinsett 76 (70 days).
- For pickling cucumbers:
- Bush Pickle (48 days).
- For slicing cucumbers:
- Vine variety
- What are they? These cucumber types often grow up to 6-8 feet long, which is a bit of a nightmare if you leave them sprawling on the ground. But the number of cucumbers you can get out of them is arguably almost worth the trouble!
- Important tip: Use a trellis to encourage vertical growth. Vining cucumbers take up A LOT of space when left to grow on the ground.
- What cucumber varieties should I get, and how long until they mature?
- For slicing cucumbers:
- Burpless Hybrid (62 days)
- Straight 8 (58 days)
- Sweet Success (54 days)
- Sweet Slice (63 days)
- Diva (58 days)
- Marketmore 76 (68 days).
- For pickling cucumbers:
- Carolina (49 days).
- For slicing cucumbers:
Given the trellis needs between these two growing varieties: do cucumbers really need something to climb on during their growth? As a whole, only vining cucumber varieties need a trellis, stake, cage, or other vertical structures to better support their growth. The vines will wrap tendrils around the structures, climbing their way up as it grows. Bush varieties can opt for a trellis as well, but it is often unnecessary.
What are the Benefits of Using a Trellis to Grow Cucumber Plants?
There are several reasons why one should use a trellis when growing cucumbers:
- Maximize the available garden space. Vertical planting/growth is a handy method for limited spaces in the garden. The cucumber’s growing habit itself tends to take up a lot of room for the typical vining variety. This is one of the ways to accommodate for that.
- Less pest and disease problems. With your cucumbers growing to infinity and beyond, the chances of pests attacking your plant decreases because it doesn’t grow on the ground. With no pests to pass around their nasty diseases, it’s an instant win-win situation!
- Efficient watering at the soil level. This ultimately helps you avoid wetting the leaves. Soaked foliage is a prime spot for fungal spores to latch onto the plant and cultivate diseases.
- Easier harvesting. When the cucumbers are at eye level or upwards, you can spot them clearly and harvest them. When it is left to grow on the ground, you risk stepping on the fruits. Cucumber plants have extensively large leaves to shade the fruits from excessive heat. This is good, up until you hear the unmistakable squish of a damaged cucumber crumbling beneath your boots, hidden amongst the foliage.
- Dirt-free fruits and a tidy garden. Because the cucumbers do not grow on the ground, it is relatively clean. I’d wager you can even take a bite out of a cuke straight from the vines! Provided you don’t use any insecticides or foliar fertilizers on the plant, that is. And because the trellis does the job of keeping the plant’s heavy and messy growth maintained, your garden will look immaculate and organized.
But what happens if you don’t trellis cucumbers? Cucumbers are likely to grow over other vegetable patches in the garden with their extensive growth. They also have a higher chance of having pest and disease problems since they are left to grow on the ground. Unless you are an experienced gardener or farmer who has been growing cucumbers for years, it’s advisable for beginners to always use a trellis when they first plant cucumbers.
How to DIY a Trellis for Cucumber Plants?
It’s relatively easy to make your own trellis for cucumber plants. You can just get a couple pieces of bamboo, arrange them into an A-frame or teepee structure, attach trellis netting around the bamboo, and BAM(boo)! You now have a trellis. Read more on how to make one easily in this article.
Here are other DIY trellis ideas you can try doing instead:
- Use a 16-foot cattle panel and bend it into a U-shape like an arbor.
- Use two lumber posts with trellis netting (Amazon link) attached on either end with zip ties and lean it against a wall or fence.
- Use tomato cages (Amazon link).
- Repurpose everyday items you aren’t using anymore, like a clothesline, a wire rack, or even a broken patio umbrella structure.
Whichever trellis you decide to make, ensure at the very least the following is met:
- The top post of the structure is sturdy enough to support the weight of the cucumber plant as it grows.
- The trellis netting or wires are secured tightly onto the structure.
How to Grow Cucumbers Using a Trellis?
Ok, so now you have your trellis – when should you put the trellis on your cucumbers? As a general rule, always place the trellis over the spot where the cucumber seeds will be planted before planting. Placing it after the cucumbers have been planted is too risky. There’s a high chance the plant’s roots will suffer damages from the sudden insertion into the soil.
Once you’ve placed the trellis placed over the ground, here’s how you should plant and tend to your cucumber plants:
- Plant 4-5 seeds in one spot, spaced 12 inches apart from other cucumber plants. If you’re planting in rows, ensure they are spaced about 2.5 feet apart.
- Once the seeds have sprouted to 5 inches, keep 1-2 of the vigorous-looking sprouts to grow and trim the rest at soil level. Ensure that each seedling is 12 inches apart from the other neighboring sprouts.
- Apply mulch around the ground to retain moisture for the plant. This will also help prevent weeds from growing and stealing nutrients from the seedlings.
- As the tender shoots grow, gently thread them through the trellis. Do this every day, training them to climb upwards. If there are any unruly vines not growing upwards, try weaving them into the trellis. If it still doesn’t want to, trim them back.
- As the plants start to flower and fruit, you can leave them to do their thing. But take care to check that the fruits don’t get stuck in between the netting. This isn’t usually a concern if the gaps are large enough to grow through.
- As soon as the fruit looks big enough to harvest, use a sharp scissor or pruners to cut it from its vines.
And that’s all there is to it! Before you know it, you’ll have fresh cucumbers ready for your salad needs. Happy planting 😀
https://extension.unh.edu/sites/default/files/migrated_unmanaged_files/Resource007521_Rep10906.pdf
https://web.extension.illinois.edu/veggies/cucumber.cfm
http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/homegardening/scenef65b.html
https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/gardening/cucumbers/
https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/2002/4-5-2002/cucumbers.html
https://lee.ces.ncsu.edu/2019/05/climbing-cucumbers/
https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/cucumber/
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/techniques/grow-your-own-cucumbers
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