How to make a vertical bed for cucumbers with your own hands and grow them

Cucumbers are considered one of the most popular vegetable crops, grown by almost all gardeners. Experienced gardeners recommend creating vertical cucumber beds. This simplifies growing the plants and increases their yield.

Pros and cons of vertical garden beds

Growing cucumbers vertically has its advantages and disadvantages, which you should be aware of before planting. The advantages include the following:

• Aesthetics. This type of bed looks very neat, which is why some gardeners grow cucumbers vertically to decorate their plots.
• Saving space. Owners of small gardens or orchards create vertical beds to prevent bushes from spreading outward. This helps conserve space in the garden.
• Ease of growing. Bushes that are tied to supports are much easier to care for. Weeding, watering, and fertilizing the soil are completed much faster, since the bushes do not spread out on the ground.
• Mobility. The structures to which the seedlings are tied are very easy to move.

Planting and growing vegetables in vertical beds has several disadvantages:

• Rapid soil drying. Since the bushes don't spread out across the soil surface and don't create much shade, the soil dries out quickly. This will require more frequent watering.
• Insufficient soil. Sometimes, when creating vertical garden beds, special structures are created that are filled with a limited amount of soil. This negatively impacts the growth of some cucumber varieties.

Does vertical planting affect the growth and yield of cucumbers?

People who have come up with the idea of ​​vertical vegetable growing are interested in how such planting will affect the future growth of the planted plants and their yield.

Properly planted cucumbers will increase their yield severalfold. This is because the plants receive more sunlight. The harvest also increases because the plants are less likely to die from diseases that may develop after the leaves come into contact with the soil.

Plants grown vertically absorb nutrients and moisture better. This allows plants to grow slightly faster than those grown vertically.

Is it possible to build the structure yourself?

Any gardener who wants to grow cucumber plants vertically can create their own beds. They don't require any technical knowledge or special skills, so even someone who has never done this before can handle the task.

What tools and materials will be needed?

Before planting cucumbers in the ground and creating a vertical garden bed, you need to familiarize yourself with the list of necessary building materials and tools.

To work you will need:

• A drill is an essential tool used to create fastener holes in plastic, metal, or wood.
• Angle grinder. Needed for cutting materials used to create a garden bed.
• Metal stakes. These are used if bushes need to be tied to supports when creating a garden bed.
• Pipes. Some prefer to create garden beds from pipes. In this case, pipes with a diameter of 10-15 centimeters are used.

Types of structures

Vegetable growers interested in growing cucumbers vertically can use one of the common types of structures.

Vertical garden bed made from tires

One popular method for creating cucumber beds is using car tires. First, gather the necessary tools and materials:

• wooden block;
• chisel;
• tires.

Using a chisel, make holes in each tire for the bushes. The tire is then transferred to the garden and dug into the ground to a depth of 10-12 centimeters. Afterward, it is filled with a pre-prepared soil mixture, into which the cucumber is planted.

Growing cucumbers in PVC pipes

PVC pipes are most often used for growing berries, but some vegetable growers use them for cucumbers.

Two types of pipes are used for work:

• wide, 15 centimeters in diameter;
• narrow, 8-10 centimeters in diameter.

All pipes are carefully cut with a grinder to a height of no more than one meter. The narrower pipe should be 10 centimeters longer than the wider one.

The narrow pipe will be used to moisten the soil, so 7-8 holes are made in it to allow moisture to penetrate the soil. It is then wrapped in fabric and rewound with nylon thread. After this, holes 100-130 millimeters in diameter are drilled in the wide pipe. These holes are made for the branches of the bushes.

Once the structure is complete, the narrow pipe is placed inside the wide one and secured with screws. The gap between the pipe walls is filled with gravel and soil mixture.

Using a grid

Another common way to create vertical beds is to use mesh.

The construction mesh is carefully rolled into a ring 30-40 centimeters in diameter. The ends of the material are secured with wire, and the bottom is lined with straw. Soil with mineral and organic fertilizers is added on top. The soil is thoroughly mixed, after which cucumbers can be planted.

Planting cucumbers in open ground in plastic bags

You can also plant vegetables in special plastic bags. It's recommended to use containers with a diameter of at least twenty centimeters. Sew sturdy handles to each bag for hanging the plants. Then fill the bags with a potting mix containing ash, river sand, superphosphate, and other fertilizers.

Vertical garden bed made from bottles

The most readily available material for creating vertical garden beds is plastic bottles. To create reliable garden beds, learn how to make them step by step:

• cleaning bottles from labels;
• creating holes for growing bushes;
• making a small hole in the bottom through which a rope will be threaded to hang the bottle;
• filling containers with soil mixed with expanded clay.

From the barrel

When growing vegetables in a greenhouse, ordinary barrels are often used. Even damaged containers without bottoms are suitable. For planting cucumbers, it's better to use wooden barrels rather than plastic ones.

Before planting, use a knife or saw to cut out cells in the sides of the containers where the seedlings will be planted. Each cell should be at least 50 centimeters long and wide. A drainage system should also be created to prevent water stagnation. To do this, manually pour a layer of gravel mixed with river sand into the center of the container.

From flower pots

Those who choose to plant cucumbers on their balconies should use flower pots. They are suitable for growing dwarf cucumber varieties that don't grow very well.

When creating a vertical structure, the pots are stacked on top of each other so that the largest and heaviest pot is at the bottom and the lightest and smallest pot is on top. Experienced vegetable growers recommend staggering the containers to give the cucumbers more room to grow.

How to plant and grow cucumbers vertically

Vertical cultivation of cucumbers is carried out in several stages:

• Growing seedlings. First, cucumber seeds are planted, from which young seedlings are grown for subsequent transplantation.
• Creating a vertical garden bed. While the seedlings are growing, a vertical structure is created where the cucumber plants will grow.
• Transplanting. When the seedlings reach 10-14 centimeters, they are transplanted to a new location.
• Care. Transplanted bushes require proper care. They are fertilized 3-4 times per season and watered every three days.

Conclusion

Some people prefer to plant cucumbers in vertical beds rather than in open ground. Before doing so, it's important to understand the main advantages of this growing method and the specific features of various types of structures.