Five reasons why you should grow cucumbers on a trellis no matter how big your garden is – and how to grow them vertically for your best crop yet!
Do you grow cucumbers on a trellis or let them sprawl on the ground? I’ve always grown them on a trellis because I didn’t want them taking up too much room. But over the years I’ve discovered that there are a lot of other benefits to growing cucumbers vertically even if you do have lots of room in your garden and are not trying to “Square Foot Garden” or save space.
I think you’ll agree with me, so after I share why to grow cucumbers up instead of out, I’m also explaining exactly how to do it, since you’ll need to do a few things differently. It’s worth learning a few new techniques – I promise.
Five Reasons to Grow Cucumbers on A Trellis
- The plants are easier to water at the main stem, which keeps the plant leaves drier (this is recommended to help keep fungal diseases at bay).
- The fruit is easier to harvest. They are hanging nearer to eye level and are easier to spot, plus the prickly stems and leaves are neatly confined so the risk of getting all scratched up is minimized (this is the biggest benefit in my book!).
- The fruit is cleaner when it doesn’t touch the dirt.
- The fruit is a uniform color (no light spots where they rested on the ground).
- The fruit is straighter, with less misshapen ones.
All this is in addition to the smaller footprint needed to grow a large number of cucumbers!
Are you convinced? I thought so. While cucumbers are easy to grow vertically, there are just three things you’ll need to do differently to grow cucumbers up instead of out.
How to Grow Cucumbers Vertically
1. Prepare a trellis.
MY LATEST VIDEOSI’ve found that an A-Frame trellis made out of 1″ x 2″ boards (like the one pictured above that Brian made for me this year- it folds down for easy storage!) or bamboo poles work the best.
They can be grown up a single trellis (meaning a trellis between two posts vs. the A-frame), but it will need to be secured more than normal to be ready for the full-sized plants loaded with fruit.
Update: My wood trellis lasted about 4 seasons before the legs rotted out. I have since found 10-ft U-shaped rebar that we fashioned an a-frame trellis from so they won’t rot at the legs.
2. Train the plants up the string (or fencing, or whatever you use) during the growing season.
This is not difficult- it takes about five minutes as you’re working or harvesting in the garden. Just wind the plants around the string one or two times and they will take it from there.
Oh, and don’t you love the watch? It’s my super stylish dollar-store watch that helps keep me on task in the garden. I’m known for losing track of time. I’ll go out to do a few things at 11:00 am and before I know it, it’s 2:00 pm, and I’m thinking: “No wonder my stomach was growling…” Which, come to think of it, is much better than Brian coming out to ask me, “Didn’t you have a dentist appointment?” Ugh. Definitely. Need. The. Watch.
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3. Water from the bottom.
While trellising and training are really the only things you have to do, I think using a soaker hose is a really smart idea (but I think that for a an entire easy care garden, too). It waters right where you need it, doesn’t get water on the leaves (wet leaves contribute to diseases like mildew), and waters deeply.
I turn the hose on for about 2-1/2 hours once a week (every 5 days if it’s really hot) and the plants are growing great. If you live in a hotter climate, you can add some type of mulch to the soil to help keep the moisture in.
4. Easily harvest the fruit.
The very first cucumbers grown on a trellis will appear at the bottom (like the photo in #3 above), and may be a bit dirty, but once the plants have grown up the trellis a bit more, you will just be able pick just by reaching in, push the leaves aside and grab a perfect, mostly straight fully colored cucumber!
And as they grow taller (the photo above is two weeks later than the picture at the beginning of the post) you might not even have to stoop to pick the fruit!
You will be able to plant the cucumber seeds closer together (I plant about 2 inches apart and then thin to 5-6 inches apart) because you are training the vines up. This of course means you will have a much larger harvest in a smaller space than letting them sprawl on the ground. But that probably goes without saying, because that’s why we like to grow vegetables vertically. And even though it’s not a part of the “official” 5 reasons to grow cucumbers on a trellis, it’s a pretty good one still, right?
Can you tell I really like growing cucumbers this way?
Do you grow cucumbers on a trellis? Why or why not?
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Hi Jami. This is my first year growing any thing. Instead of a trellis i squared off the top, so i built a box if you will. Then i ran string from the bottom to the top making this type of thing #### so the cucumber plant grew between the holes all the way up and it supports the cucumbers weight. Is this bad or good in your oppion
If it’s working for you and keeping the fruit off the ground and easy to harvest, that sounds good to me!
Is it ok to have two cucumbers growing together out of the same spot. Should i cut one off
If there’s about 6 inches between the plants, that should be okay.
So I didnt trellis(first year gardener), i have cucumber popping up all over. The viens are flowing into my peas, beans and Peppers. They are overwhelming this part of my garden. Do you think it is too late to try to trellis and train my vines up, or should I try to pull a plant or 2 out to clear some space for some to grow?
I would try to prop them up on something this year, Alex. If that still doesn’t work, then pull a few – but that should be a last resort. 🙂
Great write up! We just started our cucumbers, zucchinis & squash this year and I plan to build trellises very soon to take them vertical. I was thinking of plasti-dipping the ends of the wood to prevent rot. Did you guys try anything like this before going to metal?
I don’t really know how to do that, but it sounds like an option. We get so much rain here that the upper parts of the wood disintegrated after 3-4 years, too, so there’s that. 🙂
nice one dear
Thanks so much for it will help me in my project work
Good info. I’ve been overwhelmed by all the different types of trellises available. Got some old wire fence and leaned it at an angle against my fence. I put a few vines thru it, but the rest aren’t long enough. I now have confidence my cukes will stay off the ground. I think I’ll try it with my mini pumpkins!
I love using what you have, Anne – this sounds like a perfect solution!
Thanks for the post. How far apart are the legs of the trellis when it’s fully opened? (width, not length)
About 3 feet, though that’s not exact. I would just set it far enough apart that it seemed secure. 🙂
Did you use instructions to make the trellis or did you improvise? Would love to know specifics on construction.
My husband made it and just improvised. He made the side frames from 2x2s and hinged them at the top with old cupboard hinges. 1x2s were used across the top and bottom – these are what I strung the twine around, up and down.
We just used what we had and unfortunately it only lasted about 4 years before the ends that were in the ground rotted. I guess that’s not bad for using what we already had, but we’ve since found large u-shaped rebar that we’ve adapted to make the cucumber trellis. Hope this helps some!
We’ve grown out cukes vertically for years. But a few years ago repositioned the trellis we use, and I noticed less of a harvest. I’m wondering if having the trellis in a east west placement is the cause of this? Plants are on the north and south sides. It seemed like we got 2-3 times the harvest when the trellis was north south placement. Plants were on the east and west sides. Has anyone else noticed this?
Hmm, I haven’t noticed it, though I’ve always grown them with the plants on the east and west sides (the ends being N-S).
Thanks! I’ll let the DH know “we” need to rotate the trellis, casually over his favorite dinner (with cucumber salad) and a beer. 🙂
Hi Jami, How tall is your trellis and how far apart at the bottom? Did you make it wide enough to go under the “A” frame to collect Cucumbers?
thank you.
Dinyar Dalal
The trellis is about 6 feet tall and then when I spread it out it’s about 5-1/2 so I can easily reach the top (I’m 5’5″). No, I can’t go under the frame to collect, but it’s easy enough to reach around.
Love this trellis idea! Your blog is so upbeat, positive, informational. Thank you!!
Thank you, sweet Andi! I won’t grow cukes any other way now – harvesting is SO easy.
My vines are doing so well this year. They are growing beyond the end of my trellis. I started weaving them back through. If I cut the vines back will it help or harm them?
Good to hear! I just let them fall back around the top, Tammi, since the cucumbers will keep producing up the vines, closer to the ends. I’m afraid if you cut them, you would lose harvest.
Hi Jami,
I will be growing Cucs for the first time this year (2017) and I need all the help I can get. I was looking for an idea to build my own trellis. I liked yours the most bc by building an “A” frame you are Not waisting the other side. A few qs. Jami-
1. Do you plant on both sides (outside & inside) of each frame?
2. Do you recommend pinching them as they grow?
The twine idea makes a lot of sense to me.
Thank you for sharing your ideas– I just love it.
Dinyar Dalal
Thanks, Dinyar! I plant one row at the base of each side of the frame, with seeds 1 inch apart and thinning to 2-3 inches apart when the seedlings are about 3 inches tall. I do not pinch cucumbers – I’m not looking for bushiness, since I want them to grow as a vine.
I wish you success in your cucumber growing endeavor – I love growing them up and will never go back to on the ground!
Do you plant your cucumbers on the inside or outside of an A frame trellis?
I plant them right along the bottom, Lauren, on the outside and then twining them up as the grow.
Your site is wonderful and so glad i discovered it! Thanks!
I want to plant seedless cucumbers in the spring, but i would like it to be organic. Last year i had a hard time finding anything at my local suppliers. Do i have to order them? Any suggestions?
I love the trellis! Last year mine grew starting up the side of my house onto a cable cord and window screens. I will build a real trellis this time…
Thank you, Barbara! Any time I want special seeds, I order them – my favorite catalog/sites to order from are Pinetree Garden Seeds, Territorial, and Seed Savers Exchange. Looking through the catalogs and dreaming is one of my favorite winter time activities. 🙂
I would try your local farm for some organic plants. (look for places that sell vegetables at your local farmers market or places that host a fall festival, they usually have very nice plants)
Bought these Pickling Cucumber Seeds the other day. Planted some in germinating pots, and they’re popping up already. Now I was expecting to mosey a bit, looking up at the sky, picking a weed here and there, etc., etc. Now I find that I Hafto Do Some Actual Work !. Oh, love the watch. I don’t wear one, cuz I don’t remeber why.
Now I was looking for a quick fix as I have chicken wire and a big window window-less frame.
Came across this site, quite amusing and informative in a fashion to those who reads the comics qite fundamentally.
I like your trellis. I also like it because someone else designed and built it.
I grow a lot of my plants in buckets, holes drilled in them. I get many from Dunkin Donuts. The pickle buckets from a Wendy’s are better. And I take photos and post everything to Google+ and Facebook.
Til Next Time …
I didn’t get to my trellising and am wondering if anyone has tried training them late in the game after they are crawling on the ground a good bit? I run a very large foodbank garden and sometimes chores get away from me!!
You can certainly try, Hallie! maybe just a lower trellis that you could set the vines on or something?
I have been using trellises for years and enjoy the cleaner pickings. I build mine straight up and space cucumbers 6-8″ apart. Wait for seedlings to appear and then tie twine. About 4′ tall to a wood horizontal nailed to stakes every 8-10′. Easier to water roots and to keep weeds out. Happy gardening.
Hey, I have a few cucumber plants, and this morning the baby fruit off the flower is brown with white spots. The other plants seem unaffected. It is the largest plant that is exhibiting this trait.
It lives right next to my tomato plant, and gets daily soaker hose watering due to our super hot Florida.
Any ideas for me? Is my plant OK? The leafs at the top are super green and the size of a DVD. The leafs at the bottom are green and some yellow, and smaller in size.
Sometimes there are a few fruits that don’t make it for some reason or another, James – I’d remove the affected fruit and if the rest of the plant is healthy, just wait for more to form, keeping an eye on it. Oh, and even in hot climates, I’d make sure your plants really need water every day by testing the soil down to an inch – if it’s moist at an inch, cut back to every other day (too much moisture can cause flavorless fruit).
Does the trellis have to be angled like that, or could it go straight up the wall of our house?
I’m sure you can grow straight up, Shannon, I just made a trellis that worked for our garden. 🙂
Cucumber vines usually grow a mile long… so what do you do with the vines when they reach the top?!?!?
I just let them grow back down. 🙂
Like the trellis!! Did you plant a few hills of cucumbers or spread the plants out across the length of the trellis? Just trying to determine if I want to plant typical hills or space them out across the bottom of the trellis. Planting straight eights!!
I plant the seeds in a row at the bottom of each side, Gary. Nice and easy. 🙂
Is there any other plants that would grow on a trellis like this?
Sure! Beans, of course, and lots of people grow melons or small pumpkins on trellises – when they get big they create a “sling” for them out of old nylons or such. I would think a cherry tomato would do well on a trellis like this. Basically, anything that grows on a vine.
I LOVE THIS. I have been growing mine close to the ground and last year was a total bust. I can’t wait to try this. Thanks for the wonderful information!
Athena- Well, I can already tell you a few things: the “Agnes” cuke replaced “Cool Breeze” in the Territorial catalog and I had grown and loved Cool Breeze for years. Honestly, I can’t tell the difference- but they liked it better, so maybe it produces more? The really are different looking that a regular pickler- more spines, but smaller and clear; a darker green; and you can use them at a very small stage.
Brian loves cucumbers and eats these without peeling- he says they are sweet with no bitterness, even with the skin (which smooths out with washing- and of course like reg. pickling cukes, are smooth after pickling…).
I always grow one row of this cucumber, and one row of regular- hedging my bets, sorta! -and the Cool Breeze/Agnes always starts producing sooner and usually produces more.
Hope that helps!
This is a fantastic trellising system–I may have to give this style a try next year! And I’d love to hear your thoughts about the Agnes cuke at the end of the season–if they taste good and produce well. If they will grow in colder summers, I will definitely have to give them a try, especially if they taste great.
Lauren S- I’ve always read that long, deep soaking encourages the roots to grow deep into the soil where it’s cooler and more moist. Frequent, light watering encourages a lot of roots at the soil level that produces a weaker plant dependent on frequent watering. These plants stress easily when a day is missed, etc.
Since it’s certainly easier for me to water less frequently, I find it easy to follow this advice. 🙂
I might just try that next year.
I’ve never tried cukes on a trellis – but you have convinced me that I need to try it. Yours looks like a magazine picture!
Gina
Do you find benefit in watering for so long once a week? We run our soakers for I think 25 min every day (it’s really dry here in CO).
Tami- I’m so happy you found the blog, too. 🙂
I didn’t measure when I was putting the twine up (and yes, it’s compostable twine that I can cut down in the winter and just toss into the compost with the vines), just wrapped it around the top and bottom wood pieces evenly. I’d guess maybe 4 to 5 inches?
I am so happy to have found this blog. I have several jars of baby garlic dills in the fridge now. I am going to ask hubby to make me a fold up trellis like this. I am just wondering how far apart the twine ( is it twine?) is spaced? Thanks for all the great info!! Tami….in White Salmon WA.
I’ve been doing this for years….. great minds think alike 🙂
Great idea. And great ideas from the previous commenters too! I’m going to keep all the ideas in mind for when we move next year and I can actually have a garden again!
Thanks for all the gardening posts. I love em.
I started this year growing them up our stockade privacy fence after I’d attached some mesh w/chicken wire sized openings on it. It’s working out great! I’ll never grow “bush” cukes again.
Mine grow right up the chain link fencing. Makes that fence much prettier in my book!
I wonder if the metal gets too hot and fries the leaves? I picked beans into a metal bowl the other day and it got toasty quick in the sun.
Love your cucumber trellis, Jami.
Also, I do picasa on my mac… they have a version just for people like us:)
I always grow mine up on something. This year, I have them on a metal trellis. They were just getting some babies coming when all of a sudden the plants started wilting. And now the leaves are turning brown and crispy. And I’m pretty sure all my babies will perish. I have NO idea what happened. :o(
Sometimes the metal can heat up too much in the sun and burn the plants. I try to avoid metal for trellises if I can. This year for trellises I am using poles that I cut from a friend’s wood lot and jute twine.
Since I didn’t use metal, that shouldn’t be a problem! 🙂
The metal warning is timely. I was considering using a thick wire, but now I will stick to string.
I haven’t used a trellis in home garden as an adult; when I was a child I do remember my family garden using this. The cucumbers were always grown on a trellis of rope up against the back of the garage. Space saving and the fruit was uniform and easy to pick.
I am hardening off my cucumbers and squash for transplant now. I am excited for my first cucumber crop.
-Thanks
Wonderful, Mark! Another reason I like twine is I can just cut it all down at the end of the season and compost it all – no trying to disentangle dead vince from metal. 🙂
Very true. Jami, I did not see any twine in Horizontal direction. Do you think that will help the grab the twine better?
It seems that you have either nails or hooks at the top and bottom to wrap the twine around- am I right?
Thanks again,
Dinyar Dalal
I’ve never used horizontal twine, Dinyar, just the vertical – and the twine is simply looped around the top and bottom horizontal boards, no nails or hooks needed. I’m not sure using horizontal twine would help, since you’d always need to help them grow up, though maybe it would give you more places to attach them. You’d want to be careful, though, not to bend the tender growing tips, which is why I like to just twist them around the vertical twine without having to deal with horizontal lines.
Very smart!!!
I like this Idea, this is nice. I was thinking to make some kind of trellis, I just bought some sticks the other day at the garden center. Maybe I can make a smaller version. I don’t have but a few cucumber plants. Are bad weather hasn’t done them any good.,…thanks for sharing. Have a lovely day.