*Cucumbers Grown on a Circular Trellis*
By: TennFSAR
14 Februaury 2012

I like growing my cucumbers on a circular trellis because it gets them off the ground and produces a lot of them in a small garden spot.

Here in the south we get lots of rain and high humidity, so cukes lying on the ground under their big leaves are an invitation to slugs, rot, and mildew. Also, when they are up in the air, I can keep an eye out for those dreaded Cucumber beetles.

Spotted..........Striped

I garden organically, so being able to see the bugs and pick them off ASAP is vital to a good crop.

I use the following: One plastic 5 gallon bucket with 3/8 holes drilled in the lower half, spaced all the way around, approx. 24 total.

A Concrete reinforcing wire, 6-foot tall by 9-foot length, bent and connected end to end to form a 3-foot circle.

After picking the spot where I want them, I bury the 5 gallon plastic bucket, leaving about 6 inches of the top showing. I add some 2"-3" sized rocks to it until halfway full. Position the trellis over the bucket, centered, pushing down until about 6" into the soil.

Plant the cukes around the inner side of the trellis about one foot apart. I alternate tall marigolds and tall nasturtiums between each cuke planting for companion planting. The marigolds are a great bug repellant and the nasturtuiums enhance the cukes while growing.

The inner space between the cage and the bucket is not wasted. It can be planted with radishes and a few short growing marigolds.

While growing, I weave the cukes in and out of the wire squares and when they get to the top, I pinch off the end blossom to stop upward growth.

Into the bucket I put various organic fertilizers and I water the cukes only in the bucket. That way it goes directly to the root system, saving water and putting it where they need it most.

As I write this, it's the end of January. This will be the first garden at our new house in Alabama, so I have no pictures of the finished, growing result.

I'll try to update it in early May. That's about the time the first cukes are ready to pick!

TennFSAR



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