Cucumbers need a trellis if you’d like to have straighter cukes, healthier plants, and easier harvests.
This guide contains expert tips on how to grow cucumbers on a trellis successfully.
Do Cucumbers Need a Trellis?
Credit:Carson Downing
Not all cucumbers need a trellis.
The throw in of cucumber you choose to plant determines whether a cucumber trellis is needed.
Vining cucumbers are natural climbers, so trellising them helps you usevertical garden spacemore effectively.
Credit: Carson Downing
Choose vining cucumber varieties.
The varieties you select can also be strategically planted to avoid certain pests and diseases.
In dry climates, fend off spider mites with bitter foliate types like Salt and Pepper."
Buy or make a DIY cucumber trellis.
You cancompost the twineat the end of the season with the plant.
you could also use a piece of wire fence or wooden lattice.
Just check that to plan ahead for when the plants are big.
You want your trellis to hold the weight of your crop and remain upright during high winds.
Grow one cucumber plant per trellis.
Each plant gets its own trellis.
When you stand them back up, the bending can break the stem.
Keep them well supervised to keep them growing upward.
I weave the tips around the support and sometimes add trellis clips that hold the plant loosely.
Prune cucumber plants to boost your harvest.
Pruning encourages healthy growth and increases flowering and fruiting.
If you have the time and are growing multiple plants, then I recommendpruning cucumbers, says Mazourek.
Some cucumber varieties have been bred for greenhouses or high tunnel production.
This is called a three-leader system.
Pruning also improves air circulation around the plants.
