Outdoor cucumbers - how do you grow yours?

General tips / questions on seeding & planting

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Pawty
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Hi,

So germination of cucumbers was successful, they been re potted on and are looking healthy (fingers crossed / nothing guaranteed at the moment). I don't have a greenhouse so have to grow outdoor varieties. This year I have diva and jogger.

One thing I've not mastered is the best structure to grow them up. As I understand it, if you leave them to their own devises they will creep along the ground. But I want them to grow up due to slugs and space. I was thinking of putting maybe 5 canes together in a circle, tie at the top, place netting around this and then plant the cumbers on the outside to trail up. But, do I need the netting? Would they be able to just cling on to the canes?

Would love to know how everyone else deals with this.

Thanks

Pawty
tigerburnie
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I only ever grew ridge cucumbers a long time ago, seem to recall I just left them to it and pickled the little ones for gherkins
Been gardening for over 65 years and still learning.
PLUMPUDDING
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I just let outdoor ones trail but never got much off them so I always grow a couple in the greenhouse up canes made into a rough trellis with four upright and three or so across. They cling and climb readily and you can always tie stray ones in.
Westi
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I tried it once up canes, but you do have to tie them in, they aren't natural climbers. I saw some item on the net that had them on a sloped frame of wire & they seemed to be going up that OK. The pic wasn't about them but under cropping them with lettuces. If you could lay & secure the canes on a fence, compost bin or something & tie the netting to them maybe they would naturally go up a slight slope rather then a steep hill? I'm jealous though, only got one cucumber left out of 4 plants so sowed some seed direct & hope for success. My greenhouse one surviver will go straight up some wire tied between 2 canes tied in as necessary, if the outside ones germinate they are on a similar wire journey but on a slope - only because the bit of wire was smaller though! ;)
Westi
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Primrose
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I normally grow a couple of the Mini. Munch type cucumbers in an outdoor border and previously have either let them trail in the ground (a nuisance because of slug and they smother other nearby plants) or up a couple of sticks which means having to tie them in. This year's ai,vet treated myself to a couple of the Gardman low 139 cm low metal obelisks which I hope will provide a more practical solution. My plan is to just place them over the plants and gently train them up around the metal spiral as they do produce a few twisty tentacles which hopefully will keep them in place.
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