How to Grow Cucumbers Vertically in Gardens with Small Spaces
Cucumbers are a popular summer vegetable to add to salads and other dishes. They are also incredibly easy to grow in your garden if you have enough space. Being a vine plant, cucumbers grow horizontally along the ground instead of vertically like most other vegetables. For this reason, it is often difficult for people with small gardens or potted gardens to grow cucumbers. But if you stake the cucumbers, you can get them to grow vertically which saves space and allows you to grow them virtually anywhere, even on patios. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Plant the small cucumber plants in the ground. You do not need to stake them until they start to grow along the ground in a vine like fashion. You will know when it's time to stake because the cucumber plant will shoot out smaller vines that will grab onto anything around it, including other plants.
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Once your plants begin to grow into vines, approximately 6 inches or so, It is time to stake them. You can use anything that is tall and straight to stake the plants. Trellises, tomato stakes, yard sicks, bamboo shoots all work well. You probably have something around the house that will work.
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Stick the stake deep into the ground approximately four inches away from the plant.
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Hold the plant up vertically along the stake and tie it to loosely the stake with string, garden tape, or twist ties. Do not tie it tightly, you only want the plant to be in a vertical position, it does not need to be close to the stake or even completely straight up and down. It is ok if the plant is still leaning slightly.
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If the plant has already begun to produce the small shooter vines, gently wrap them around the stake.
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Once the shooter vines develop, they will wrap themselves around the stake and you can remove the string, garden tape or twist tie.
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Tips & Warnings
This technique works well for people who have patio gardens or those in apartments.
As the plant grows you may need to remove an reapply the string, garden tape or twist tie. Don't let the ties strangle the plant or get caught on branches.
