Growing Vining Vegetables

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?THWRE 25 June 2010 Vining Vegetables

Vining vegetable vegetation spreads widely, and can smother other plants in a main garden. My method of growing is to plant these types in a bed of their own on the normal lawn area. The grass obviously grows high, but returns to normal condition when cut in the Fall, when the vines are removed. When cutting the lawn, the area is enlarges as required. The central root system is hand weeded and heavily mulched. The vines are not moved and allowed to grow freely.

Cucumbers are in the main garden and grown on a trellis. This method has two distinct advantages. The plant is contained, and the fruit does not lay on the ground, so the part that normally rests on the ground does not turn yellow. The fruit is a pristine green all around.

[Ratsny]

I used a lot of space growing pumpkins and butternut squash this year and have just found out i could have grown them in a smaller area by training the vines up a trellis and onto the shed roof. The fruit that aren't supported by the roof can be netted and tied to the trellis for support. Cool eh?

[Odsox]

You can also get butternut squashes that grow as a bush and not wander everywhere. It's the type I grow just because of that, which means I can get 5 plants in a 8 x 4 greenhouse and still get in the door.
You don't get quite so many squashes per plant ... about 5 or 6, but 25 butternuts from an 8' x 4' area aint bad.