Growing Vertical

Cucumbers on my Trellis!

For the first time, I have cucumbers in my garden.

I’ve never been able to grow them because I haven’t had the space.

When I tore out my old flower beds and converted them to vegetable beds, I set aside a spot for some trellises.  It took me a while to get them finished.  I dug the post holes early in spring, but I wasn’t sure how to level them and attach the trellis.  My attention was diverted to other issues.

Then the universe sent me a sign to get on it, I found a roll of free rabbit fencing wide enough to span the posts.  It was a Scrounger’s Dream Come True and a sign… time to get serious about those trellises.

The cucumbers and squash had been in the ground for weeks, but they weren’t doing much.  Once I started training them up the trellis, they really started to take off.  Growing vertically enabled my plants to take full advantage of the morning sun and their growth is nearly visible to the naked eye.

I couldn’t have cucumbers and squash in this small space if I didn’t grow them vertically.  Many seed companies offer compact varieties that do well in containers.  One pot with a bushy variety of squash or cucumbers growing on the balcony could keep a condo dweller happy.

For more information on growing vertically in a small space, check out Square Foot Gardening: A New Way to Garden in Less Space with Less Work.