wow - that's some set up!

Can you explain everything......is that aluminum foil?

And whats under the foil?

Yes, it is Metallic Silver Mulch (4' x 50' - $17.95) [Johnny,s Seeds].

I used Anchoring Pins Fabric Staples - Pkg. of 12 ($2.15) [Johnny,s Seeds].

Under the foil is Pro Art 15-Inch by 100-feet Smooth Newsprint Paper Roll ($10.65) [Amazon]

t-bird, what else would you like to know?

By the way, you might also want to check the trellis for my tomatoes.

You must really LOVE cucumbers! :)

Dave

Fun. How's that spacing working out nowadays?

Dan

I also used Deacero "Range Master" Welded Wire 2"X4"X72" - 50' Roll - 14 Gauge ($65.99) [Ace Hardware]

By the way, check out the trellis for my tomatoes, and tell me what you think.

I hope you can reach the middle from the sides! I grow mine up a vertical trellis, similar to your tomato trellis (cattle panels on T-posts).

I'm a bit confused. It looks like a nice, well built trellis system, but I've not seen them trellised horizontally, and how in the tarnation would you pick the cukes hanging down in the middle? It looks like you would have to shimmy underneath the trellis.

Joe

I've seen photos of gourds and cukes trellised on a high horizontal trellis -- high enough to be walked under -- with the idea that the fruit would hang down below the trellis for easy picking. Beans too. I've also seen cukes grown on a slanted trellis, and up the sides of an arched cattle panel.

I've never grown cukes and small gourds except on a trellis, whether cattle panels or string net.

It looks like the vines grow across the top and you reach underneath to pick the cukes?

Aside from the crowding, I think you can prop yourself up on one arm and reach under and pick the cukes if you can see them thru the foliage; a petite person/kid might be able to crawl across the top and lay down to pick. In that current arrangement, going to be problematic to locate 10-12 cukes at a time when they are all big and going strong. But it looks fun.

Dan

To answer your questions:

I have VERY limited space to grow vegetables. The place for growing cucumbers was chosen to be on the FRONT of my house. Obviously I thought about VERTICAL trellis - see the trellis for my tomatoes that I have made - but I was sure that the village will not like the idea of VISIBLE vegetables on the front of my house, so I did not do it. That is why I choose the trellis HORIZONTALLY. As you can see in the pictures above, the Azalees hide the 1 ft. high horizontal trellis. I made the trellis, because cucumbers easily rot if they sit on soil, especially wet soil.

The cucumbers can either HANG or SIT on the screen (see pictures bellow.)

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I can reach MOST of the areas from under, so some of the cukes, will do have to SIT on the screen. The screen is 2 x 4 in. so when the cukes are big enough, they will sit on the screen. Actually, on a small piece of plywood, that will sit on the screen.

@ digdirt >You must really LOVE cucumbers! :)

My wife does. I love tomatoes. So, I built a nice trellis for my tomatoes.

@ dan_staley: >Fun. How's that spacing working out nowadays?

Nowadays is, what you see. I just planted the cucumbers YESTERDAY.

Yes, I know: I am late. One day in mid June, while hardening off my 100+ seedlings, I decided to put the seedlings overnight in the garage, instead of bringing them in the house like I did for the past few days. While during the day there were 75 F., next morning there were 61 F. Yep, ALL the seedlings died. So, back to square one. The truth is that most of the times, newbies like me (my first year of gardening) learn things the HARD WAY!

@ dan_staley: >Aside from the crowding

I have the same feeling: 1 ft. between them is not enough. My neibor across the street has 10 ft. long cucumber vines (excellent soil and 10 hrs./day sun.)

Very cool. Please post more photos when the plants are a little bigger and have more cukes!

I have the same feeling: 1 ft. between them is not enough.

The fam only wanted one vine this year. Other years I'm 2 on a 6-7' trellis and still spilling over. Fun solution!

Dan

Varieties of cucumbers that I grow:

Armenian (1),
Big Burpless (2),
Marketmore 76 (4),
Olympian (2),
Pickle Bush (1)
Straight Eight (2)
Sweet Slice (3)
Sweeter Yet (4)
Tasty Jade (2)
Tyria (2)
White Wonder (2)

I also used cutworm collars (paper cups.)

For the cucumbers I used Velcro Plant Ties (10 ft. - $2.49) [Pinetree Garden Seeds].

For my tomatoes, see the trellis for my tomatoes, I used Tomato Trellis Clips (100 Count - $7.25) [Johnny,s] .

Looked up the mulch on Johnny's....are you using the reflective mulch to stop bugs or cool the coil or bounce back light to the plants? Or combo?

it is innovative, let us know how it works in practice! and update the picks in a month or two!

You already got some cuke action - so obviously - not too late.

In the last 3-4 days, over half of my (27) cucumbers wilted/died.

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The wilted plants:

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The root:

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I have no idea what is happening.

Also, I do not know what is wrong with this cuke; the first and only cuke I have.

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So sorry, Daniel!

Root rot of some sort? I'm just guessing.

About the yellow fruit: cukes can have that shape when there's inadequate pollination (which can be caused by hot weather as well as lack of pollinators). I can't tell what size your cuke is: inadequate pollination would be more likely if the cuke was quite small. I don't see any seeds: that also might indicate that pollination failed (unless it's a seedless variety? -- I know nothing about those). Here's a link about pollination problems in cukes (not much info, but a couple of good photos):
http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/ipm.asp?code=98

I can't vouch for this site, but it has quite a bit on deformed cukes:
http://www.veggiegardener.com/deformed-cucumber/

You might consider posting this on the Pumpkins, Squash & Gourds forum. It's not very busy, but I think the experts check in regularly.

My deepest sympathies.

Have you seen any cucumber beetles around?

I am DEFINITELY no expert...here are my thoughts

You had planted enough cucumbers to feed the entire subdivision and also the neighboring one!

Plan for success...don't overplant (in case of failure)

The name tags are cool, however cucumbers sprawl and at harvest time your entire trellis would be a jumble of vines, with no identification possible.

Your system seems like it wold be nearly impossible to harvest a good crop (plan for success)

Looks like the foil mulch might have done you in...to much direct heat/drought...just my guess

We learn from our failures...Good Luck!

@ missingtheobvious: About the yellow fruit: cukes can have that shape when there's inadequate pollination...

Yes, it is possible. Thank you for the links.

In another post of mine What is happening to my Tyria cucumbers? jean001a wrote: >The 2 fruits. Lack of water. Plus, the yellowing = over-ripe and ill shut down production.

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Fortunately, the same plant with the yellow cuke, is STILL producing new cukes.

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>You might consider posting this on the Pumpkins, Squash & Gourds forum.

I thought I can only post the SAME message in only ONE (sub)forum.

@ emmers_m: >Have you seen any cucumber beetles around?

No, you - like me - are thinking of Bacterial Wilt of Cucurbits right?.

No, I did not find neither striped or spotted cucumber beetle.

@ lonmower:

>You had planted enough cucumbers to feed the entire subdivision and also the neighboring one!

>don't overplant

I planted 27 cucumbers, 15 died. If I planted 15 and all died, today I would have ZERO cucumbers. Most of my neighbors already said they are interested in buying cucumbers and tomatoes from me.

>The name tags are cool, however cucumbers sprawl and at harvest time your entire trellis would be a jumble of vines, with no identification possible.

Well, I think, I still might be able to identify cucumbers varieties. I will see.

>Your system seems like it would be nearly impossible to harvest a good crop (plan for success)

The cucumbers can either HANG or SIT on the screen:

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I can reach MOST of the areas from under, so some of the cukes, will do have to SIT on the screen. The screen is 2 x 4 in. so when the cukes are big enough, they will sit on the screen. Actually, on a small piece of plywood, that will sit on the screen.

>Looks like the foil mulch might have done you in...to much direct heat/drought...just my guess.

Maybe. Anyway I plan to remove the foil to see what is happening.

In my other post What is happening to my Tyria cucumbers? t-bird wrote: > ..looks like you had the silver mulch over cardboard mulch? Maybe kept the root too wet for too long.

Maybe.

Whatever the reason some cucumbers died, for me the mystery is: why only SOME plants died, when ALL the cucumbers received THE SAME treatment (watering, sun, etc.)

Here are two pictures, the first was taken when I planted the cucumbers, when ALL were ok, the second, today, after over half died (15 out of 27 died.)

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