Vertical Frames for Growing Vegetables

Even cucumbers and melons can be trellised.

Pole beans, peas and tomatoes have traditionally been grown vertically, but you can also grow cucumbers and melons using a trellis or frame. As the trellised crops grow, they'll shade tender plants, such as lettuce, from the harsh sun.

Types

Tomatoes are traditionally grown using metal cages, bamboo stakes or V-shaped wood frames. Other crops, such as peas and pole beans, are trellised using metal or wood frames with wire or string running between them. Cucumbers and small melons are also grown this way. Bamboo stakes can be placed in a tepee configuration and secured at the top with twine. Beans and melons will twine around the stakes.

Benefits

Pole beans and peas flop unproductively on the ground without some support. Tomatoes, especially indeterminate types, benefit from caging or staking. They produce higher yields of good quality fruit and have fewer diseases. Cucumbers and melons grown on a trellis are easier to harvest and care for. In all cases, vegetables grown vertically take up less space, allowing for high yields in a small garden.

Considerations

Staked tomatoes may suffer from sunscald, especially if you prune a lot of the foliage. They can be caged instead and only the suckers that grow in between main stems and leaf clusters should be removed. Melons may become heavy and drop from the trellised plant. Strips of fabric may be tied to the trellis to sling the melons.

References

• Iowa State University Extension: Tomatoes
• University of Minnesota Extension: Trellises and Cages to Support Garden Vegetables

Resources

• Washington State University Clark County Extension: Vertical Gardening