Can You Use a Tomato Cage For Cucumbers
Yes. Using a tomato cage to train cucumbers to grow vertically gives the plants plenty of room to breathe, helps form perfectly straight fruits, and helps prevent pests and soil diseases. When garden space is at a premium, vertical cultivation is ideal. You can also use the method of building a cucumber support frame.
To build a trellis for cucumber planting, some plant stakes and ties can be used as materials to build the trellis. There are many ways to build a grid, including tripods, herringbones, diamond nets, rope traction and grid construction. The most common is the X-shaped frame.
- Cucumber vines are hollow in the middle and are easily broken, so a trellis must be built as soon as possible after planting. First, prepare the materials for building the trellis. The best materials for building a trellis are plastic-coated steel plant stakes and bamboo plant stakes, with a height of about 6.5 feet and a diameter of 0.78-1.96 inches. Prepare the rope for binding and fixing
- The most common ways to build a grid are X-shaped frames and tripods, which are also the simplest and most practical ways. Choose a time after rain when the soil is moist and loose, and insert the bamboo plant stake about 8 inches into the soil about 1.2-2 inches away from the cucumbers. After the bamboo plant stakes are inserted, they can be tied two by two to each other to form an X-shaped frame, or three of them can be tied together to form a tripod. The X-shaped frame is more ventilated and the tripod is stronger, which can be selected according to planting conditions.
- After the X-shaped frame and tripod are set up, add horizontal bars on the top and reinforce the bottom with ropes. If you only plant a row of cucumbers, you can build a rhombus grid, or you can use tomato cages and lattice nets instead. Build a trellis.
- After the shelf is set up, the cucumber seedlings need to be tied up and put on the shelf in time. Because cucumbers have weak climbing attachment, they must be helped to get on the shelf. After setting up the shelf, you need to guide the vines onto the shelf and tie them up multiple times, otherwise the wind will blow away the cucumber vines.
- If there are insufficient plant stakes, plant stakes can be erected every other tree. The one without plant stakes is tied with a rope at one end and pulled to the upper crossbar. In this way, the rope can be often wrapped around the cucumber, which is called a hanger. This method is often used in greenhouses. It needs to be used in conjunction with building a grid in the open air.
Click to view related products: