Know which the best varieties for trellising vegetables are and what their trellising requirements are

Trellising, in spite of being a relatively new training method, has become very popular when to save time, money and materials is about.

is usuall prefer by gardeners and agronomist to plant tomatoes, but can also be use for trellising vegetables, and it offers the same pros:

• Requires very little space, since plants grow up and not around. Also because they can be plant closer than with other methods (from around 12 inches onwards between each other, and depending on the type of plant). You can take even more advantage of space by plating veggies in zigzag formation, with the trellis wall in the middle.
• Trellising vegetables does not require much prune or tying, since you can weave their stems trough the grid while they are still tender, and mainly need to be attach when initially planting and training.
• Trellises can be reuse and are more long-lasting since, unlike other systems, they can last from season to season. Another plus is that, depending on the supporting structure you choose for the trellis, it can be permanent, or moved from a place to another.
• Plants will have less diseases, because plastic is not a hiding place for pests. It keeps the crops off the ground, and thus, away from most bugs and infections.
• Crops can ripen 1 or 2 weeks earlier.
• Harvesting is quite easier, because you can see crops and do not have to be looking for them with your hands without seeing anything (like when using cages).

As you can see, there are a lot of advantages. Now, not all vegetables can be trellis, because they need to be not so heavy. Also, those types that have tendrils will be much easier to train, but this is not a must at all. Here are some of the plants you can trellis:

• Pole beans: Trellising works for any kind of beans, since they are climbing plants par excellence. What you have to ensure is that the support structure sturdy and resistant enough, since when completely grown, these plants are very heavy. You should also know which type of beans you are going to grow before installing your trellis, since they may grow from 6 to 8 feet (1, 82 to 2, 43 m). In a single trellis wall, you can plant them very close to each other, but they should be at least 3 inches (7 cm) away of the base of the trellis, or 6 inches (15 cm) if you are going to use a wall as support.
• Indeterminate tomatoes: Trellising works amazingly with these kinds of tomatoes, because they can reach lengths from 8 to 10 feet (2, 43 to 3 m) and just stop growing when temperatures get really low. All types of indeterminate tomatoes work well when trained with trellises, but “Stupice” and “Brandywine” are especially adequate for this method. Here is a very useful tip: You should dispose them running north and south so both sides of the trellis receive sun light.

• Cucumbers: Vertical growing is very attractive when talking about cucumbers. These plants take a lot of space and usually are difficult to train because of that reason, but trellising vegetables is the solution. Cucumber types that are easier to be trellised are “National Picking” and “Burpless”. You have to keep in mind that, when trellising cucumbers, you have to stay away from wire, since it tends to overheat the plant and damages crops.

Squash: Small-sized squashes, like “Zucchini” and “Pattypan”, are the best types to be tutored with trellis. A-frames work especially well with them.

A very used support structure consists of two frames leaning on each other. It provides this heavy plant of great support and makes picking really easy. If you want to, you can even use the free space below the A-frame to plant lettuces and onions.

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