trellising cucumbers question

My husband and I put up a trellis for the cucumbers since they were threatening to swamp the cherry tomato and bell peppers. Next year they get a bed all to themselves and can run amok!
Does anyone else trellis cucumbers, and if so, do you tie them up with soft ties, or just let the tendrils attach to something and climb?

 

You just let them cling to the trellis and they climb by themselves.

 

Hiya Jane, you may have seen my recent posting where I showed a trellis that I built for our augurk. ( Taking AdvantageOf The Good Weather )
It is a seedling, so it is only tall enough to barely reach the lower beginning rung. The first tendril has latched on, like Odif was talking about. I did tie that seedling to a small stick to keep it upright until it could attach itself to the trellis.

If necessary, I will tie it in here and there; however, I am not at all sure that will be necessary.

You on the other hand, are beginning with a plant that has already developed some length (if I understand your words correctly). This will have to be tied up until the tendrils grasp the supporting structure. I do not know how long that vine is, but I can well imagine that it is a bit heavy. Because of this weight, you could better use wide strips of cloth for this job.

Show us your trellis, Jane...show us yer trellis !

 

Odif, I will use your advice to good advantage next season. However, the vines are long and getting heavy, so I'm not sure they will be supported by tendrils.
Sojerd, the vines are long, and I think your advice to tie them up is very applicable in our situation right now.
I thank you both for your input, and will use it in future. I love getting good advice from good gardeners!

 

I use an old tomato cage and stick in the ground beside the vines,, then I stick some dead branches from our trees in the middle of the tomato cage ! The tendrils will wrap around the tree branches easily ! Usually if the tendrils touch something that makes them grab hold of it ,, they just need to touch it !

 

@marlingardener I use sections of cattle panel. They climb vertically very well and the panels carry weight very well. I make a horizontal roof and they get up there and hang the cucumbers down underneath it. I cut the panel so it has tines to stick down into the earth and it is amazingly stable given how short they are but then there are quite a few tines.

 

You would be surprised at how strong those tendrils are given that there are several of them ! I have never had a problem with the weight of the cucumbers breaking them !

 

I trellis my tomatoes on cattle panel and it works so well. We are the only folks around here with several cattle panels and no cattle!

 

I hope to create the square 2'x2' tomato cages made of CP that are in 2 parts so that they are stackable for storage. That is a lot of cutting, but the panels are very durable and keep their structure. All the wire ones I have had were prone to get malformed, rust away, and general take up a lot of space for storage in a big gnarly pile of rusty wire.

 

I just let mine sprawl,, no rust,, no problems !

 

Mart, in previous seasons I let our cucumbers sprawl, but this year they were going to climb the cherry tomato plants and the bell pepper plants--talk about invasive! Perhaps it is all the rain we've had, but we've never had such big, long vines before. We planted the same variety we have had for years. At the rate they are blossoming, I'm going to have to hunt up people who want cucumbers!

 

Here it depends on the type cucumber, bush or climber. Last year we grew the long, skinny Suyo cukes in the corners of a patch surrounded by chickenwire fencing, no trellising needed. The bush cucumbers need no fencing, (I hope). If they do, it will be the wire cages we use for tomatoes.

 

Am I impressed? YES! Not a weed in sight! I could weed every day and still see weeds.

Sjoerd, what is augurk?

 

GP an augurk is a smallish,rough sort of cucumber. It is the type that folks here grow outside. The smooth-skinned cucumber we grow in a greenhouse.
Is augurk not an english term then? Sorry for the confusion.