Cucumbers are considered one of the most beloved and popular vegetables throughout the year among people. Naturally, absolutely any modern summer resident or gardener dreams of collecting as much of a healthy harvest of crispy green cucumbers from his plot as possible.

To do this, they carefully select and prepare the seeds of this vegetable for the planting process, and also spare no effort in feeding the cucumbers during their growth with the most effective fertilizers.

Due to the fact that this vegetable crop is a vine, this plant necessarily needs support along which it will climb throughout its growth.

That is why in the area where it is planned to plant cucumbers, a special structure called a trellis should be made and installed. You can do it yourself. Cucumbers that climb along a trellis require a minimum amount of space in the beds.

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Thanks to this design, the maximum amount of light can reach the plant - as a result, the cucumbers will grow well and will definitely bring a good harvest. In addition, under such growth conditions, the fruits of this plant will have a uniform color. Using this kind of support when growing this vegetable will provide an opportunity to significantly save time, which is necessary for sufficient watering and feeding the plant, and planting them will not be a problem. The stem of the cucumber will not break or become soggy, and its fruits will not be stained by the soil, because they will both grow and ripen above it.

Owners of summer cottages and garden plots, having tried this method of growing cucumbers at least once, will also be able to appreciate not only the ease of caring for the plant, but also the maximum convenience at the stage of harvesting from trellises. In addition, such a design with lush green plants will be able to decorate every garden, summer cottage or personal plot with its appearance much more than just using a grid. How to make supports for cucumbers with your own hands? There are several options for making your own structure in order to grow cucumbers on a trellis.

First, before you start making a trellis with your own hands, you should decide what appearance it should have. Nowadays, you can create structures that will look like a tent, a stand, or have a rectangular, square, or mesh shape. You should also initially decide on the choice of materials from which you plan to create a trellis with your own hands. It can be made using natural wood, mesh or tubes made of metal.

Trellis options

Metal

When creating such a support for cucumbers as a metal trellis, it will be impossible to do without certain tools and materials, namely:

• two metal tubes or pillars, the length of which is about 200 centimeters;
• one metal tube that will be used as a crossbar (its length should be equal to the length of the beds in open ground);
• metal pegs (their number depends on the length of the bed);
• construction tape;
• skein of twine/string;
• knife;
• electric welding;
• electrodes;
• hammer;
• shovels;
• wire, which is made of steel.

First of all, you need to dig two columns into the ground from the two edges of the bed with cucumber plants. The depth to which the posts should be buried should be approximately 40 centimeters - this will ensure maximum reliability and stability of the supports. Experts recommend that after the post is placed in the ground hole, drive it into the ground using a hammer. Then you should fill the hole and carefully compact the earth around it. After this, a horizontal crossbar must be secured over the columns - this is best done using electric welding.

The next step is the process of installing pegs, which must be placed close to each other (approximately at a distance of 15 to 20 centimeters) on both sides of the bed. After this, you can pull the twine/rope - it is along them that the cucumber vines will begin to curl during growth and ripening. Technologically, the process of stringing string/twine (as well as using a mesh) is quite simple. You just need to tie the end of a coil of rope to the 1st peg from the edge. From the peg, twine or twine must be pulled vertically up to the crossbar, wrapped around it, and then lowered vertically down and tied to the peg on the other side of the bed. In the future, this procedure is repeated as many times as paired pegs were installed on the bed.

In the end, a trellis should be formed, which has an L-shape.

With this method, experts advise using steel wire if there is no twine/string - it must be secured to the pegs and crossbar in the same way. After the cucumber shoots are entwined, the support will externally take on the appearance of a green tent or hut.

If we talk about the disadvantages of metal supports that are made by hand, then the main one is rust. In this regard, experts recommend initially treating the tube or column over the entire surface as thoroughly as possible (and preferably in several layers) using a high-quality primer or other anti-corrosion agent. In addition, a rather important disadvantage of this kind of trellis is that this design is one-piece. Due to the fact that this vegetable crop needs to be planted in the ground in some other place next season, you will have to do difficult work associated with the process of digging out metal pipes, after which you will need to move the support to another area and re-dig the support pipes or columns into the surface of the earth. To simplify the process of vegetable growing, experts and experienced gardeners recommend doing the following: next season, you can plant climbing crops such as peas and beans near a metal trellis, and when growing cucumbers, use another trellis, for example, one made of wood. Creating a wooden structure is considered simpler and is perfect even for those gardeners who decided to grow cucumbers in the ground or in a greenhouse for the first time in their lives.

Creation process, tools and materials

When growing a crop such as cucumbers, you can make your own structure from natural wood.

When creating and installing such a trellis on a garden bed, you cannot do without:

• bars, having a length of about 270 centimeters, in the amount of three pieces;
• a spacer bar with a length of 500 centimeters;
• steel wire;
• wooden crossbars, the length of which is 80 centimeters, in the amount of three pieces;
• twine;
• hammer;
• nails;
• shovels.

The process of creating such a trellis for growing cucumber crops begins with preparatory work - it is necessary to prepare the place in which wooden supports will be installed.

For this purpose, you should dig three holes in the garden bed at a distance of about 250 centimeters in relation to each other, the depth of which will be 80 centimeters. Wooden blocks should be inserted into these dug holes, after which they must be buried as carefully as possible, while compacting the soil. Then, a wooden crossbar must be nailed to the top of each block so that the structural support begins to resemble the letter “T”. Initially, you need to make three such letters “T”, which will be located on the bed one after another on the plot or in the greenhouse.

Once this is done, all three T-shaped structures need to be connected to each other in the middle - this requires the use of nails and a long spacer bar. Then you need to hammer nails into the crossbars on both sides of the structure at a distance of 25 centimeters from the central wooden plank. After this, parallel to it, you need to pull a strong steel wire onto the nails. That's it, the structure of the wooden trellis frame for growing cucumbers is almost finished! All that remains is after planting the seedlings of this vegetable plant in the ground, take the twine (synthetic rope) and cut it into equal sections, which will be approximately 250 centimeters in length. After this, the ropes should be tied at one end to the cucumber stems, and securely tied to the wire at the other end.

Cucumber trellis made from bicycle wheel rims

Another trellis that is quite simple in design is the one created using bicycle wheel rims. This design is most suitable for use in a small garden, greenhouse or summer cottage, because it requires little space.

In the process of creating this trellis for growing cucumber crops, you cannot do without:

• two bicycle wheel rims;
• cord;
• strong steel wire;
• scissors/knife;
• reinforcing rod, the length of which is 220 centimeters;
• medium sized stones;
• hammer;
• shovels.

Before you begin the process of creating such a trellis for growing cucumbers, you should get rid of the spokes in the bicycle rims. Then, on the plot of land where you plan to install the support, you need to create a not very large bed, the diameter of which will be approximately 15–20 centimeters larger than the diameter of the wheel rim. In the very center of the bed you need to dig a hole, the depth of which will be 30 centimeters, and install a reinforcing rod in it. After this, the rod must be driven into the ground with a hammer to a depth of 30 centimeters. Then you should fill the hole with soil and compact it as thoroughly as possible. To give greater stability, medium-sized stones should be placed around the rod and pressed well into the ground.

After this is done, you need to thread the first rim from the wheel through the reinforcing rod, placing it on the ground. Then you need to take the rim from the 2nd wheel and, using thick, strong wire, secure it to the reinforcement as securely as possible. For this purpose, it is necessary to pass the wire from 4 sides of the rim into the holes left by the unscrewed knitting needles, and wrap it as tightly as possible around the upper part of the reinforcement. The result is a structure that has a pin in the center, and rims from bicycle wheels on top and bottom.

At the next stage, you can attach the cord. To do this, cut the rope into pieces that are twice as long as the height of the reinforcement. At one end, a piece of cord should be passed through the hole for the knitting needle, which has a lower rim, and tied tightly in a knot. Then you need to pull the rope to the upper structure, and then thread it through the hole from the spoke in the upper bicycle rim, which is located strictly above the lower one, and then pull it to the lower rim, tying it with a knot.

This procedure must be repeated approximately 30 times. This is exactly the number of pieces of string (synthetic rope, etc.) that will have to be pulled from the 1st rim to the 2nd rim in this way. When the structure is completely ready, you can begin the process of planting cucumber seedlings in the ground.

A trellis is a gardening device made of wooden pegs or metal rods installed vertically. A metal wire, fishing line or plastic mesh is stretched between them. It serves to form shoots of climbing crops. A trellis for cucumbers, which is easy to make with your own hands, will increase the yield and ensure uniform exposure of all plants to sunlight. This is due to the fact that the crop in question will branch upward, closer to the sun. The structure can be installed both in open ground and in a greenhouse.

The trellis allows the cucumbers to reach towards the sun

Advantages of growing plants using a trellis method

The main advantage of trellis growing cucumber crops is the correct formation of shoots and increased yield. It also increases the length of the growing season and makes the most efficient use of the planting area. Growing cucumbers in a trellis way ensures optimal air and light flow in the greenhouse and on the ground. By following cultivation technology, you can get from 10 sq.m to 150 kg of healthy and beautiful fruits.

With this method of planting, only a small amount of condensation appears on the leaves below, the influence of changes in daily temperature conditions on the plant is reduced, and the soil surface between the rows remains free throughout the growing season. It greatly simplifies the care of fruits, which do not fall or spread on the ground, remain clean, and do not rot. Cucumbers remain constantly visible, which allows you to determine their ripening in time.

In addition to accelerating the formation of plants and their maturation, the trellis method makes harvesting easier. With tied plants, the risk of injury and stem breaking is minimized. Trellis can be installed on any vertical surface using stretched fishing line and twine. In a greenhouse it will be practical and convenient, and in the open ground it will play an additional decorative function.

The trellis makes caring for bushes and harvesting easier

Design features

The trellis structure can have various types, in the form of a square, trapezoid, triangle. The main materials for its manufacture are metal reinforcement, wooden stakes, concrete pillars or other improvised means similar to them. An elementary device is to build a trellis with your own hands from twine or PVC mesh.

Mount two posts along the edges of the beds, about 1500 mm high. Another beam is installed on top of them. It will act as a support for the twine thread or mesh.

This will prevent the structure from sagging during fruiting. On both sides of the bed, stakes are driven in, onto which the mesh, previously wrapped around the main posts, is fixed.

Trellis for cucumbers in the form of a triangle

Wooden trellis

To make a wooden trellis structure with your own hands, it will take 2-3 hours. They erect it before the first seedlings appear. You must first decide on the shape of the device. It must be remembered that the outer pillars are placed stronger than additional stakes, since they will take on the main load. For example, for a trellis building 3 m high, you should select bars for the outer supports with a cross-section of at least 50 mm, and for safety bars - at least 35 mm.

If the construction is planned for several years, it is better to take durable types of wood (oak, chestnut, ash). Soft and rotting trees are not suitable. To increase the service life of wooden parts, it is advisable to treat the lower parts in contact with the ground with an antiseptic.

Step-by-step instruction:

• Installation of supports. The posts are driven into the ground along the edge of the proposed bed at a distance of 1.7-2 meters. The depth of digging of pillars should be at least half a meter.
• Giving the desired angle. The outermost anchor posts are installed obliquely, maintaining a slope of about 70 degrees. The structure should be securely fixed using guy wires, attaching them to durable metal or other elements.
• Frame. The horizontal beam is attached to the vertical posts using nails. A sheathing of thinner bars will be fixed on it.
• Lathing. Slats 30-40 mm wide are attached to the supporting frame with self-tapping screws or nails. The fastening scheme is reduced to ensuring that the cucumbers in the trellis have cells measuring 150 mm.

If the structure is mounted in a greenhouse, its height and further possibility of movement for planting and crop control should be taken into account. The mesh for the trellis is attached to brackets; they are simply made from bent nails. Then all that remains is to simply pull the main rope and threads vertically. To obtain a mesh, they are first intertwined with a transverse bandage, the remaining edges are tied to stakes driven into the ground.

Trellis for cucumbers made of wood can have a variety of shapes

Making a metal trellis with your own hands

It is possible to make a trellis structure from metal reinforcement in open ground and greenhouses. The following equipment will be required:

• Reinforcing rods 2 m long, cross-section from 8 to 14 mm.
• A thin tube that will serve as a crossbar.
• Metal stakes, welding.
• Drill, hammer, steel wire.

On both sides of the site, two tubes are dug into the ground to a depth of about 400 mm. After installing the rods in the hole, they are additionally driven in with a hammer to enhance the strength of the structure. Using welding, fix the horizontal tube. The formation of the entire trellis is carried out according to the principle of a wooden structure.

A metal trellis must be primed or painted to avoid corrosion processes.

Metal rods can be installed in the form of arches

Alternative option

The trellis can be made from tractor tires and available tools. The original design is suitable for any variety of cucumbers, as well as for planting them in open ground or in a greenhouse. To create a device with your own hands, you will need a tire from a large vehicle, a bicycle rim, burlap, twine or wire.

The tire is cut one way and placed on the intended landing site. In its inner part, a pair of rods is inserted crosswise to form an arc convex outward. Soil is poured into the tire, covered with burlap, the edges of which are tucked under the bottom of the tire. For cucumbers, holes are made in the trellis by cutting them out of burlap.

After planting the selected variety of seedlings, the trellis is covered with polyethylene or other similar material (not necessary in a greenhouse). During loosening or irrigation, the film is raised.

After the seedlings reach a height of 300 mm, the top covering and burlap are removed. A post is installed in the center of the tire, on which the bicycle rim is mounted horizontally. By pulling the garter thread towards it from the bottom, the final version of the trellis is formed. In principle, it is not difficult to make such a design with your own hands.

Trellis for cucumbers made from tires

Preparing seeds and soil

In a greenhouse and in open ground, soil preparation for planting cucumbers should be carried out in the fall. Phosphate, potassium, and nitrogen fertilizers are added to it in the proportions recommended in the instructions for use. The land is fertilized with organic components in the form of compost or manure.

The soil is dug up, not covered for the winter, and channels are prepared to collect and retain moisture. With the onset of spring, the surface is loosened. Then the area is divided into squares for the installation of trellises. Having installed the main pillars, the soil is loosened again. Before planting the selected variety of cucumbers, stretch several rows of wire or twine. The bottom row should be approximately 150-200 mm from the ground, and the top row should be at the height of the trellis posts (1,800-2,000 mm). Next, prepare furrows 100-130 mm deep.

As a rule, when growing climbing varieties of cucumbers in a greenhouse and in open ground using a trellis method, the seedless method is used. Before planting, the seeds are calibrated in a saline (3%) solution for several minutes. This allows you to screen out hollow and undeveloped samples. The seeds are washed and treated in a boron-manganese solution for 12-15 hours. This stimulates disease resistance, development and formation of healthy fruits.

Next, the planting material is dried under natural conditions. Seeds are sown in early May. Ready seedlings are planted at the end of the last spring month, when the soil temperature does not drop below 8 degrees, even at night. Before planting, the hole must be well watered. The density between plants is allowed about 4-5 pieces per 1 square meter.

To reduce the risk of disease, it is preferable to water cucumbers along the furrows rather than irrigate from above. After the formation of a couple of mature leaves, a twine or thread is pulled near each plant, slightly twisting the shoots around it to ensure the correct formation of the bush and give direction to growth.

It is worth noting that growing cucumbers on a trellis has many advantages. Firstly, they do not get dirty or wet. Secondly, they are convenient to process and assemble. Finally, the fruits receive even daylight and create an aesthetically pleasing structure.

Building a trellis with your own hands is absolutely not difficult. All you need to do is stock up on some simple materials, find a couple of hours of time, and you will get a structure that will make it easier to grow cucumbers, ensuring high yields. The construction of a trellis structure is quite possible and without any costs from scrap materials.

Cucumbers, like any climbing plants, try to be caressed by the sun's rays, wrapping their thin stems around supports along the way and strive upward. In the wild, these supports are nearby trees. When growing cucumbers as cultivated plants, trellises are built to facilitate their care and obtain a rich harvest. Let’s take a closer look at how to make a trellis for cucumbers with a minimum of effort and expense, while creating a reliable and durable structure.

Growing cucumbers on a trellis is much more productive than on a spread. This is due to the fact that when placed vertically, the crop can get rid of last year’s “deposits” of infection spores in the soil. And even if pathogenic spores get into contact with water on the lower leaves of the plant, they do not spread further, quickly drying out along with dew drops.

Trellis - a structure consisting of a support and a stand along which a wire or cord is stretched for entwining the graceful stems of climbing plants

Ready-made vertical surfaces are often used for arranging supporting structures, constructing trellises using stretched wire near walls, pillars and fences.

The trellis can be used when growing cucumbers both in open ground and in greenhouses. This installation has a lot of undeniable advantages, the main ones being:

1. Saving land area. A bed equipped with cucumber trellises takes up minimal space, but can accommodate twice as many plants.
2. Reducing the risk of crop diseases. By excluding contact of the stem and leaves of the vine with the ground, the easiest way to prevent damage to the crop by peronospora and powdery mildew.
3. Acceleration of the growing season. In well-ventilated crops, the daily temperature difference is not so noticeable. Thanks to vertical growing, the plant receives more light and heat, which has a positive effect on its development.
4. Increase in harvest volumes. As the experience of gardeners who use trellises when growing cucumbers shows, with proper care, up to 80 kg of healthy greens can be harvested from a plot of only 5 square meters. Vegetables hanging from the vines are not deformed and have a uniform, rich color.
5. Facilitation of crop care. By entwining the rods, the vine is evenly distributed over the support. This greatly simplifies the treatment of plant stems and leaves from pests, as well as fertilizing and watering.
6. Harvesting a clean harvest. Due to the vertical placement of the crop, the ripened fruits do not touch the wet soil, which prevents them from getting dirty.

And harvesting from a trellis takes a minimum of time and effort. It is convenient to move between vertically located supports. By evenly distributing the plant along the support when removing fruits, it is easiest to prevent creases and damage to the graceful stems.

When growing a crop vertically, there is no need to rummage through all the foliage in search of fruit, given that the fast-growing stem can reach three meters per season

This growing method is also convenient because when picking ripe fruits, the skin of the hands is less injured from the thinnest needles of small thorns, which are often present on cucumber stems.

Classic trellis design

Support trellises for cucumber vines can have a wide variety of designs in the form of:

• rectangle;
• square;
• cabinets;
• tent

The function of supporting pillars of the structure can be performed by metal tubes, wooden beams or cement pillars. The mesh can be made of interwoven ropes of hemp twine, metal wire or special plastic.

Often, gardeners, trying to minimize the cost of manufacturing the structure, build a trellis from metal stakes driven into the ground, between which a PVC mesh is stretched

The finished PVC mesh, which is sold in gardening centers by the meter, is fixed along the upper edge with wire to the posts. The lower edge of the mesh is buried in the ground, pressing it with hooks made of stiff wire.

Such a trellis with its canopy can shade shade-loving garden crops that are vulnerable to sunlight: beans, rhubarb, chard, arugula, mustard greens

A beautifully designed cucumber trellis will be a worthy decoration of the site, acting as an original decorative design element.

Methods for making supports with your own hands

There are many ways to build a trellis for cucumbers with your own hands. It all depends on the size of the area allocated for their arrangement and the chosen material of manufacture.

Option #1 – wooden trellis

It will only take a couple of hours to erect a wooden trellis. It is constructed when the seeds have already been planted in the ground, but the first seedlings have not yet appeared.

Before you start making a trellis for cucumbers, you should decide what kind of design the structure will be.

A trellis on wooden posts can look like an elegant staircase with rigid rungs or a translucent vertical screen made of thin slats

In any case, it should be taken into account that the outer trellis posts must be stronger than the intermediate ones, since they will take the load of the entire row. So, when making a trellis 2.7 m high, you should choose beams with a cross-section of 50 mm for the outer support posts, and 35 mm for the intermediate ones.

To make a trellis that will last for more than one season, it is better to choose hardwood, for example: chestnut, oak, mulberry, ash. Poplar, maple or birch wood is not suitable for this purpose, since they are most susceptible to rotting. To extend the service life of wooden elements, before burying them in the ground, cover the bars in 1-2 layers with drying oil or an antiseptic composition.

The trellis looks no less presentable, in the construction of the cells of which wooden slats replace strong strands stretched between the frame beams

The work is carried out in several stages:

1. Installation of support pillars. Support posts are driven into the edges of the future bed, placing them at a distance of 1.5-2 m. To obtain a firmly standing structure that can withstand its own load along with the harvest, posts under the trellis are dug to a depth of 60 mm.
2. Securing the supports. To give the structure a slightly inclined position, the edge anchor supports are installed at an angle of 70° relative to the ground surface. It is necessary to anchor the inclined supports using guy wires, the free edges of which are tied to metal corners buried in the ground at an angle of 90°.
3. Frame construction. A horizontal cross member is nailed to the upper edges of the vertical posts. It will act as a frame, behind which a sheathing of thinner slats will be attached.
4. Performing lathing. Thin slats 30 mm thick are screwed to the frame with self-tapping screws in such a way as to obtain cells measuring 15 cm in size. The joints can be additionally glued with waterproof glue.

Do you want the trellis to carry not only a functional load, but also act as a decoration for the garden? Then equip it with an original arched structure, which can be easily cut out using a template from leftover wood. The arches and segments of the structure can be easily connected by “seating” them with glue and staples, and the arch itself can be attached to the support using a bolted connection.

The cells can be given the shape of a rhombus or a square; if desired, the sheathing can be easily “drowned” into the frame by trimming the edges of the planks

When making a trellis mesh, it is convenient to use staples to secure it to the frame, which can be made from ordinary nails. To do this, several nails are nailed onto the slats, placing them at a distance of 40-60 cm. If desired, the heads of the nails can be slightly bent, giving them the shape of hooks. All that remains is to tie a thick rope to each bracket and pull it parallel to the ground, with the free end tied to a support pole standing nearby.

Vertical threads are tensioned using the same principle. To create a mesh with cells, vertical threads are first intertwined with cross wire, and then the free ends are screwed to pegs driven into the ground.

Option #2 – metal structure

To build such a structure, more effort will be required, but it will definitely last for decades.

Racks made of metal rods can be placed at a distance of 2-4 meters, but if the materials allow, then the supports should still be placed more densely

To work you will need:

• reinforcement rods 180-200 cm long;
• thin pipe for the crossbar;
• metal pegs;
• electric welding machine;
• garden auger and hammer;
• steel wire.

In the places where the support posts are installed, holes 35-45 cm deep are made using a garden drill. Pre-cut metal rods are inserted into them. The pillars installed in the holes are “driven” into the ground using a hammer. The remaining voids between the rods and the walls of the pits are filled with earth and compacted tightly.

The vertical supports are connected to each other by laying a horizontal crossbar along the upper edge between them; the metal elements are connected by electric welding

To protect the structure from rust, all elements should be cleaned and coated with an anti-corrosion compound or oil-based paint.

Having built the frame of the structure, they proceed to arranging the fabric for braiding. To do this, you can use steel wire, which is simply pulled between the crossbar and metal pegs driven into the ground. They are placed at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other on both sides of the bed.

To create the most durable structure, you should use wire with a thickness of at least 2 mm. To create a mesh fabric, the wire is placed in several rows, stretched between supports starting from a height of 15-20 cm and every half meter. It is advisable to make the top row from thicker wire (d=3.5 mm), since it will bear the main load.

The metal trellis is a rather heavy structure, which is problematic to move around the site every season in order to organize crop rotation of the land. To simplify your work at the site where it is installed next season, you can plant climbing beans or peas.

Option #3 – support from tire and wheel rim

To construct a cost-effective trellis option, you will need a used tire. It will be the “heart” of the structure. The best tire for this purpose is a tire from a large vehicle: a tractor, combine harvester or truck. The role of supporting the upper part of the structure will be performed by a bicycle rim, from which all the spokes must first be unscrewed.

Thanks to its presentable appearance, a trellis made from a bicycle rim can rightfully become an original element of vertical gardening and an elegant decoration of the site

First of all, use a grinder to cut the tire lengthwise. The cut part is placed in the place of the future bed. 2 metal rods 1.5-2 m high are inserted into the center of the circle, placing them in such a way that the structure has the shape of a hut.

Then fertile soil is poured into the center of the circle, located inside the hut, and into the cavity of the cut tire.

The space remaining above the wheel must be “hidden” by covering it with pieces of old burlap. The edges of the cuts are tucked under the tire laid on the ground, thereby giving the bed a more neat appearance.

In the lined burlap, several holes are cut at equidistant distances for planting seedlings. To protect tender seedlings from temperature fluctuations, agrofibre is stretched around the perimeter of the improvised bed, lifting it only for the time of loosening and watering. Remove the covering material along with the burlap after the mature sprouts reach a height of 15-20 cm and the ambient temperature has finally stabilized.

To create a vertical surface, a pole is installed in the center of the round bed, onto which a bicycle wheel is secured with a wire. The easiest way to do this is to thread the wire through the spoke holes on the opposite four sides of the rim one at a time, and then wrap it tightly around the top of the rod.

To make the ribs, all that remains is to stretch the wire through the spoke holes in several places, connecting the edges of the rim and the base of the tire.

When the cucumber vines and leaves wrap around the stretched wire, the trellis will look like a green tent.

Growing cucumbers is a must-do activity for any gardener. It’s impossible to imagine summer at the dacha without this vegetable. But the season for fresh cucumbers in our latitudes is very short, so you need to try to get the maximum harvest in the minimum time. It's not easy, but there are ways to make the job much easier. Today we will talk about how to grow cucumbers on a trellis in open ground.

Advantages of growing cucumbers on a trellis

We are used to planting cucumbers in open ground using the “spread” method. As a rule, the area of ​​​​the garden allows you to create beds of the required size without compromising other garden crops. But at the same time, gardeners often complain about low yields and damage to plantings, even diseases. What is this connected with?

The main enemy of cucumber crops is powdery mildew. It is this disease that causes the greatest damage to plants. It should be noted that in recent years there has been a tendency towards the active spread and development of powdery mildew. But there are practically no reliable and harmless ways to combat it, as well as varieties resistant to it. The disease spreads easily in conditions of high humidity, making its way from the soil to leaves, flowers and fruits. Cucumbers grown spread out in an open garden bed are at risk.

Trellis cultivation was previously used mainly in greenhouses and greenhouses, where strict space saving is a prerequisite for growing vegetable crops. But the time has come to apply this method on open ground. And there is nothing new about this. The cucumber, by its nature, was initially accustomed to reaching for the sun with its grassy vine, using its antennae to cling to any support. In his homeland, in the tropical forests of India, he has done this for centuries, crawling out into the light along tree trunks.

Well, in our conditions, we must help the stem and leaves of the cucumber “break away” from the ground, which is simply teeming with pathogenic bacteria and pests, and stretch out to their full height towards the sun. This is the main condition for the plant to receive the required amount of light and oxygen saturation. The trellis is the best assistant in this matter.

Trellis for cucumbers made of wooden posts, wire and twine

The design is very simple to manufacture. Most often, the trellis looks like a frame with mesh of wire or strong threads stretched inside it, along which the cucumber vine will curl. Among other things, the trellis greatly simplifies harvesting: all the fruits are in sight, you don’t have to spend a lot of time bent over, looking for cucumbers in the thickets. And as experience shows, the yield with this method of cultivation increases significantly.

But this method also has its own characteristics that must be taken into account if you want to achieve growing efficiency. We will talk about them below.

Preparatory stage

The biological characteristics of cucumbers determine the principle of growing this crop in open ground. There are many criteria that can either help you get a decent harvest, or ruin the whole idea. Therefore, prepare well before starting the lesson.

Conditions for growing crops in open ground

Cucumber belongs to the pumpkin family, which means it is very picky about air temperature. The optimal indicator for good development and growth of the vegetable is 22–27 °C during the day and from 18 °C at night. If the temperature drops sharply to 10 °C, cucumbers stop growing, and if the temperature is maintained at this level for a long time, the plant may die.

Try to protect cucumber seedlings from rain and cold

When you choose a planting date, make sure that during the emergence of seedlings the temperature will be constantly maintained at the desired level, eliminating the occurrence of return frosts. In our latitudes, planting cucumbers in open ground is carried out in late April-early May, when the soil is well warmed up. At the end of the month, you will have strong shoots, and temperature changes will no longer be scary for them.

Note! Drafts are the enemies of the cucumber vine. When choosing a place for a garden bed, choose an area protected from winds and well lit by the sun.

Predecessors of cucumber

It is highly not recommended to grow cucumbers in the same area every year: the soil quickly releases all the substances useful to this particular plant. Therefore, the land must be given rest for at least 2 years. The cucumber will feel great in the place where it grew last season:

• roots;
• cabbage;
• tomatoes;
• eggplant;
• garlic;
• potato;
• greenery;
• legumes.

But the soil where melons grew - pumpkins, zucchini, watermelons, squash and melons - is not the most suitable place for growing cucumbers.

Rules for fertilizing and preparing soil

Growing cucumbers in open ground, including on a trellis, requires preliminary preparation of the soil. You will have to start work in the fall. Before frequent rains and frosts set in, carefully dig up the soil in the selected bed so that it is saturated with oxygen. If the soil is heavy, add sawdust, peat or sand to make it easier to loosen.

The beds for planting cucumbers must be prepared in advance, from the previous autumn

In addition, you will need to add organic fertilizers. 6 kilograms of manure per 1 square meter of bed is enough. You can add 1 tablespoon of superphosphate, a glass of ash or dolomite flour.

In the spring, disinfect the soil by watering it with a hot, strong solution of potassium permanganate. Immediately before planting the seeds, apply a small amount of manure or chicken droppings locally into the holes, covering them with soil. When decomposed, organic matter will release the heat necessary for the seedlings and serve as feeding for them during the period of growth and development.

Preparing seeds for sowing

Cucumber seeds have a stable germination rate that can last up to 8 years. But the best yield comes from those that are no more than 3 years old. Seeds stored from the previous harvest usually produce too high a percentage of empty flowers, so let them sit undisturbed for at least another year.

Correct selection of seeds is the key to a cucumber harvest

If you are breeding seeds yourself or purchasing them at the market, then prepare them in advance. Soak them for 12 hours in a solution of the following microelements per 1 liter of water:

• 0.2 g boric acid;
• 0.5 g potassium permanganate;
• 0.4 g of ammonium molybdic acid;
• 0.01 g of copper sulfate.

A solution of 10 ml of liquid humate per 0.5 liter of water is well suited for soaking. You can also buy a ready-made mixture at a hardware store.

After soaking, dry the seeds until they flow or leave them to germinate as seedlings in peat cups: this will help you achieve earlier harvests.

Making a trellis

As we said above, making trellises is quite simple. Thick, strong branches (preferably straight), pine round timber, and even metal or reinforced concrete posts of the required length can serve as supports.

Wooden trellises are easier to make and will also cost less, or even be free. If you prefer this design, consider the following rules. The length of the outer support pillars should be about 2.8 meters, the diameter of the upper cut should be 50 mm or more. Since it is on them that the main load of the entire row on the trellis will fall, the outer pillars should be much stronger than the intermediate ones.

Wooden trellises are simple and inexpensive to make and are great for small spaces

Auxiliary (intermediate) supports can be up to 2.4 meters in length, cut diameter - from 35 to 40 mm. The need to install them is determined by the length of the cucumber bed. For example, with a length of up to 2 meters, additional supports may not be needed.

We will consider options for the simplest and at the same time reliable trellis designs, which you can easily make yourself from available materials.

The simplest wooden trellis

To build such a trellis, install support posts on the bed at a distance of 2.5 meters from each other. On top of each post, nail a crossbar 70–80 cm long (this can be a board or beam). Connect the entire structure with a spacer bar the size of the bed.

Scheme for installing trellises and planting cucumbers

Drive nails into the top of the crossbars every 50 cm - the wire will be attached to them. At this point, the creation of the trellis structure is generally completed. All that remains is to cut the twine into 2.5 meter pieces. One end of such a segment is tied to the cucumber stem, the other needs to be thrown over the wire, slightly pulled and secured.

Trellis made from improvised materials

In a small bed, a trellis can be made from two wooden posts and a mesh stretched between them. There is a slight difficulty: when the cucumbers ripen, the mesh begins to sag under their weight and can not only tear, but also collapse the entire structure. To prevent this from happening, it is not enough just to stretch the mesh between the posts, you also need to tighten it from above.

To do this, securely fasten a horizontal jumper to the posts so that a U-shaped structure with a mesh inside is formed. This way the trellis will be stronger and more stable, it will not be damaged by the weight of the cucumbers.

A well-reinforced U-shaped trellis will support a large number of cucumbers

In addition, a trellis for cucumbers can even be made from an old bed frame with a net. It can be buried 60 cm into the ground in a vertical position. If necessary, secure the structure by tying it with ropes to any support nearby - a tree, a fence.

Hut structures

For stability, secure the stakes with boards or slate

For such a trellis you will need several strong, even branches of any tree.

Insert the branches into the bed, making sure they are deep enough. For additional fixation, you can use boards or pieces of slate, as in the picture.

Tie the tops of the cuttings at the same level on top and place another peg. The result will be a structure similar to a wigwam. When the cucumbers grow, they will climb up without any problems, clinging to the supports with their antennae. Over time, the vines can be tied with twine.

Video: making a trellis for cucumbers

Planting methods and options for forming cucumbers

So, all the preparatory measures have been taken, the weather is warm outside, the earth has warmed up and you have armed yourself with everything you need. It's time to get down to business.

Distribution of land, preparation of rows

If you decide to grow different varieties of cucumbers on a trellis, then prepare the rows for planting right away. There are three planting methods.

1. A ridge bed is a familiar and common option. In such a bed it is easy to loosen the soil, weed and apply fertilizers. But there are two serious disadvantages: when watering, the water will drain, and during rain, splashes of dirt fall on the lower leaves, which significantly increases the risk of disease for cucumbers.

   Planting cucumbers using the bed-ridge method

2. Growing using the tunnel method. The beds are sunk below the path and then brought to the desired level by mulching. Watering such an area is easy; the soil requires minimal care and treatment. In addition, you can install a film covering on such a bed to speed up the growth of cucumbers and protect them from possible return frosts. But the preparatory work is quite complex: you will need a trench and preliminary soil treatment to a great depth. This method is not suitable for areas with high groundwater levels and clay soil.

   Planting cucumbers using the tunnel method

3. A very convenient method that has been gaining popularity lately is raised beds. The peculiarity of the method using a trellis is that the height of the sides of the bed is 10–20 cm above the soil level.

   Growing cucumbers in “high beds” with trellises

When using any method, cucumbers in the form of seeds or seedlings are planted in one row. Maintain a distance of 1.5 m between rows, and up to 25 cm between plants in each row. You need to bury the seed into the soil by 2–3 cm, then mulch the bed about 3 centimeters with sawdust, peat or straw. After this, cover the bed with film.

Approximate diagram of planting cucumbers on a trellis in open ground

Option for installing a single-plane trellis

You can install trellises before planting cucumbers or later, when the sprouts are well established in the soil. In the second case, it will be more convenient for you to see where it is easier to attach the supports.

Scheme of a single-plane inclined trellis

Take the prepared stakes and drive them into the soil, keeping a distance of 2–2.5 meters between them. Stretch a mesh between them, securing it with nails. Instead of a mesh, you can stretch wire or synthetic twine in several rows. Tie the grown-up sprouts to a mesh or wire to set the direction of growth. Over time, the cucumber vine will independently master the trellis.

Another simple inclined trellis for growing cucumbers in open ground

Video: installation of the structure

Further care for cucumbers

After planting in open ground on a trellis, cucumbers require normal care. Regular varieties of this vegetable will require the formation of a bush, since their female flower stalks are formed on the side shoots. When the bush grows, pinch it above the 6th leaf. In this way, you stimulate the formation of side shoots, and on them, in turn, the main part of the crop will be formed.

In hybrid varieties, female flowers are formed on the main stem. You need to limit the growth of the plant's side shoots, otherwise they will waste nutrients. Pinch them after the first or second leaf so that the main stem grows more intensively.

Don't forget that cucumbers love moisture, so they need regular watering. The earthen clod must not be allowed to dry out, especially during the period of active growth! This leads to a slowdown in development, and ripened fruits that have not received enough moisture will become bitter.

Water and fertilize cucumbers in a timely manner during the growth period to achieve good results.

Water your cucumber bed every 2-3 days, depending on the weather. This must be done carefully, at the root, avoiding any drops getting on the leaves. Use settled, sun-warmed water for irrigation.

Mulch using fallen leaves or grass clippings. This way you can protect the soil from drying out, and weeding and loosening will not be necessary.

In addition, regular fertilizing with organic and mineral fertilizers will be required. Do them every 10–15 days, alternating with each other, applying solutions at the root and not allowing them to get on the leaves. Spraying with a urea solution has a good effect on cucumbers, but the procedure must be carried out in the evening to avoid the formation of burns on the greens.

Harvest and end of season work

Cucumbers begin to bear fruit approximately 40 days or a little later after seedlings appear. The harvest is harvested in this way:

• greens (8–12-day-old ovaries) up to 14 cm long for fresh consumption;
• pickles (2-3-day-old ovaries) 3 to 5 cm long for canning;
• gherkins (4-5 day old ovaries) 5 to 9 cm long for canning.

Collect ripe cucumbers every 2 days, pickles and gherkins - daily. At the same time, immediately discard and remove damaged, rotten, diseased fruits and overgrowths so that they do not deplete the bush and do not interfere with the formation of new ovaries. Morning and evening are the best times to collect fruits.

Pick cucumbers in a timely manner so that they do not become overripe.

When the cucumbers stop bearing fruit and the crop is completely harvested, remove all stems and leaves of the plants from the trellis. They can be put into a compost pile or burned if you notice signs of disease on the surface. Remove the mesh from the pegs, making sure there are no plant debris on it. The same goes for wire or twine if you used them to support and grow the vine.

Remove the pegs from the soil, wipe and dry in an open space. After this, put them in the shed until next year, covered with thick cloth.

Dig up the area where the cucumbers grew, fluff the soil with a rake and remove the roots. At the same time, prepare the bed for next spring as we advised above: dig up, mulch and fertilize with manure.

We hope our tips will help you significantly reduce gardening chores and get a large harvest of cucumbers on the ground using such a convenient structure as a trellis. If you have such experience in growing vegetables, tell us about it in the comments, or ask questions. Good luck!

In a greenhouse or in open ground, this is a rather complex task - many factors that influence growth and development must be taken into account. For a good harvest, it is necessary to provide appropriate conditions in the garden. Indeed, in natural conditions, climbing stems entwine trees and, using them as a support, reach for the sun. But in the garden it is necessary to provide the plants with this support. The best solution is to install trellises.

The benefits of the trellis method of growing cucumbers

Gardeners are sometimes inclined to grow cucumbers in the spread. And in this case, they have to deal with a problem that is very difficult to eliminate. We are talking about peronosporosis and. Infectious spores constantly accumulate in the soil. When these spores fall along with water onto the lower surface of a leaf, they not only harm it, but also begin to spread further throughout the plant. Moving with splashes of water, the infection kills almost all young leaves. The trellis method eliminates such active damage to the plant. It does not spread along the ground, but grows upward. Therefore, spores are less likely to land on leaves. But even if such an ingress occurs, the spread is limited - the infection spores dry out along with drops of water.

Trellis - a structure consisting of a support and a stand along which a wire or cord is stretched for entwining the graceful stems of climbing plants

The easiest way to create a support for a cucumber is to use existing structures that have a vertical direction of placement. To do this, wire is stretched near walls, fences or poles. In a greenhouse, this task is implemented in a similar way. The advantages of the trellis type of cultivation are as follows:

1. Saving space and the ability to plant more seedlings, since the beds themselves do not require extensive space in the garden.
2. The ability to control the spread of infection throughout the plant by limiting contact of the back of the leaf with the ground in which pathogenic spores are located.
3. Vegetative acceleration. Growing cucumbers vertically gives them more light and warmth, and daily temperature fluctuations do not harm the plant as much as when grown in a spread. In addition, with this growing method, unnecessary moisture evaporates faster.
4. Increased productivity, since proper care of the bed gives a harvest of greens of 70-80 kg per 5 sq. m of sown area. Without contact with the ground, vegetables do not become deformed and acquire a uniform color.
5. Possibility of better plant care. The liana entwines the support, spreading along its entire length. As a result, the gardener can easily move around the garden bed, effectively treat stems and leaves with protective agents, fertilize and water the plant. The plant itself is not injured mechanically or from natural factors.
6. Obtaining a clean harvest - vegetables do not come into contact with the ground, soil does not fall on them.

The gardener receives not only a healthy and abundant harvest, but also the opportunity to easily care for his garden bed.

Trellis design

The main task of the gardener is to ensure the growth of the vine without contact with the ground. Therefore, to solve this problem, trellises of different designs are common:

• rectangle;
• square;
• cabinet;
• tent.

The design has two main elements - support posts and mesh. Racks can be made of metal pipes, wooden blocks, cement posts. But to form a mesh weave, you can use rope, hemp twine or wire. Experienced gardeners sometimes use special plastic.

Trellis for cucumbers made of metal stakes driven into the ground, between which a PVC mesh is stretched

PVC mesh is becoming a popular material for arranging trellises, since it does not require much effort for its installation. It is enough to buy it in a store and secure it with wire along the top part on the poles. The lower edge of the mesh goes deep into the ground and is secured using special wire hooks.

This method is quite fast and aesthetically attractive. However, a gardener can solve the problem by making trellis structures himself.

Making wooden trellises

The installation of the trellis is carried out immediately after planting the seeds in the ground, when the seedlings have not yet sprouted. You should also decide on the shape of the structure and prepare the site.

Features of a wooden trellis for cucumbers

The design may be different, but it is necessary to take into account the load-bearing load of the outer pillars. Therefore they must be reliable. But the intermediate supports will not experience such increased load. This feature directly affects the cross-sectional size of the beams. For example, a trellis with a height of 2.5-2.7 m requires wooden blocks with a cross-section of about 50 mm for the outer supports and 35 mm for the internal supports.

A trellis on wooden posts can look like an elegant staircase with rigid rungs or a translucent vertical screen made of thin slats

If cucumbers will be grown on a regular basis, then it is advisable to take care of the durability of the structure. In this case, you need to choose bars made of oak, chestnut, ash and other hard woods as the material. It is not recommended to use supports made of maple, poplar or birch - such a structure will not last long and will quickly rot.

But even hard wood will not be able to protect the supports from high humidity and the action of microorganisms or insects in the ground. Therefore, before burying the racks in the ground, the bars must be treated in several layers with an antiseptic solution or drying oil.

How to install

Installation of a wooden structure does not require much effort. The whole process includes several stages:

1. Formation of structure support. At the extreme points of the planned bed, support posts are driven in. The distance between them can be about 2 m, and the columns are deepened up to 60 mm into the ground.
2. The supports must be secured. However, the end posts should not be placed exactly perpendicular to the ground. The optimal angle will be 70. In order to fix this slope, it is necessary to bury metal corners into the ground perpendicular to the ground. Then, using wire, you should form an anchor fastening - the edges of the wire are attached to the corners, and the middle is fixed on the support.
3. The frame of the structure is created by attaching the cross members to the upper ends of the supports. It can be nailed in place. The sheathing will subsequently be attached to this cross member.
4. Fastening the sheathing from thin slats 30-35 mm thick. The task is to screw the slats to the frame with self-tapping screws and form cells measuring 15 cm. For structural strength, you can use waterproof glue. They process the joints.

The trellis looks no less presentable, in the construction of the cells of which wooden slats replace strong strands stretched between the frame beams

You can secure the mesh using staples made from nails. Nails are nailed to the slats at a distance of about 50 cm from each other. To secure the mesh more firmly, bend the ends of the nails. A rope is wound to the hook and then pulled parallel to the ground.

The other end is tied to a nearby support. When stretching vertical threads, it is necessary to create cells. To do this, the threads intertwined with transverse wire are fixed with their free ends on pegs, which are pre-fixed in the ground.

The durability of this design is ensured by the use of reinforcing bars 180-200 cm in length, thinner pipes for the crossbar, metal pegs and strong steel wire for the manufacture.

Metal rods are pre-cut to the required length. To install them securely, you will need to use a garden drill. The holes are made up to 45 cm deep. Then supports are inserted into them and fixed in the ground with a hammer. Particular attention should be paid to monitoring the absence of voids so that the reinforcement does not move in the spaces between the walls of the pits. Therefore, all gaps are filled with earth.

Racks made of metal rods can be placed at a distance of 2-4 meters, but if the materials allow, then the supports should still be placed more densely

The upper edges of the supports are connected by welding with a crossbar. It should be remembered that all metal elements must be cleaned and coated with protective compounds or painted.

Metal wire is stretched for the mesh fabric. The diameter should be chosen at 3.5 mm, this is especially important for bearing tension. The wire is attached between the supports. The minimum mounting height is 20 cm. The arrangement should be in several rows. The approximate tension distance is every 0.5 m.

An original approach with a tire

To arrange the trellises, you should prepare a tire from a tractor or truck, as well as a bicycle gadfly without spokes, which will be used to support the upper part of the trellis.

Work on creating a trellis includes the following steps:

1. The tire is cut longitudinally. Part is laid on the bed.
2. Two metal rods 1.7-2 m high are placed in the center of the circle. Thanks to these rods, the shape of a hut is created.
3. Soil is added to the site where the bed is to be arranged.
4. The wheel is covered with burlap, in which holes are made at equal distances for planting seeds.
5. Stability of the temperature regime in the soil can be achieved if the perimeter of the bed is covered with agrofibre until the seedlings reach 15 cm in height.

Thanks to its presentable appearance, a trellis made from a bicycle rim can rightfully become an original element of vertical gardening and an elegant decoration of the site

A vertical trellis structure can be created using a post that is dug into the center of the bed perpendicular to the surface. A bicycle rim is attached to the top of the post using wire. For fixation, it is advisable to use the holes from the knitting needles in it. The wire threaded through them is attached to the pole. And in order to create support for cucumber vines to grow, metal wire or hemp twine is passed through the holes in the rim. It is stretched vertically and attached to a tire fixed in the ground.

Trellis growing cucumbers will allow gardeners to get rid of many problems, facilitate the process of caring for plants and ensure a rich harvest. It is easy to make such a design at home. And the effect will be impressive.

Video: DIY cucumber trellis

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