This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
Growing vegetable plants vertically increases your growing space, keeps plants healthy by improving ventilation, makes harvesting easier, and keeps fruits clean. Some plants use tendrils to climb, while others are twining plants that twine around their support. Vines lean on their support rather than clinging to it. So here are some great ideas for growing them successfully.
1. Peas
Whether you prefer snap peas, crunchy peas, snow peas or shelling peas, green, yellow or purple, there are climbing varieties for everyone. Their tendrils, small corkscrew-shaped organs, twist around thin posts (no more than 4 mm thick). Plastic netting, wire mesh (such as chicken wire) or rope supported between two posts will provide good support. Also consider the height of your crops to choose suitable equipment.
2. Cucumbers and zucchini
Climbing cucumbers and zucchini, like peas, use their tendrils to attach themselves to a support. That said, they are heavier. Be sure to use sturdy posts, such as fence posts, and secure your trellis to them with steel wire or heavy-duty cable ties.
3. Beans
Pole beans are twiners. They need to twine around a structure to climb. You can use simple poles, such as branches, or make a teepee. They can even be planted at the base of giant sunflowers or corn cobs, using the indigenous Three Sisters technique, to help them climb. There is a limit to how much they can twine, though. Make sure the poles of your supports are no more than 4 cm wide. Check the height that your chosen variety can reach and choose your supports accordingly.
4. Squash and melons
You may be used to seeing squash and melons growing on the ground, sometimes covering huge areas. However, you can also grow them tall, as they also have tendrils. Because of the weight of their fruit, you may need to help them anchor themselves to their support. The strength of the trellis is of utmost importance. Choose sturdy materials, such as galvanized steel reinforcing mesh. How about an arbor? They are very sturdy, and they add interest to your garden and make picking easier. To support larger fruits, you can make slings using reclaimed fabrics, such as nylon stockings.
5. Tomatoes
Commercial tomato cages are sometimes too short and lacking in strength to support the weight of a mature tomato plant. You can make your own sturdy cage using a sheet of galvanized steel mesh with a mesh size of 15cm x 15cm (enough to fit your hands through!) rolled into a cylinder and secured to the ground with posts. Little pruning is required with this system: you only need to replace the branches in the cage when they overhang. Tomatoes are vining plants, which means they don’t climb but rather rely on a structure, whether it’s something you already have, such as a fence or trellis support. You’ll need to secure them to their support using rope, scrap fabric, twist ties, or reusable Velcro plant ties.
This content was produced by the Special Publications Team of Dutyrelevant to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part in it.