I don't know! But I like the question! I think I'd like to try this myself
How about just a tomato cage? Or three bamboo poles?

Oh yeah! Cucumbers in buckets!

Just happen to have a photo handy for you. :) Cukes are in front, and that's squash behind them.

{{gwi:382041}}

We just let ours cascade.

We also do gourds in five gallon buckets. (OK - we do everything in them, but back to the gourds.) We have an overhead wire for the gourds and let them climb up a string and then along the wire. That photo's in the link if you want to see it. It would work well for cukes too.

You could also just put a metal T-post in your bucket and train them up that. If you search my photos for "morning glory mountain" you'll see a version of that with morning glories - in a 5 gallon bucket, of course.

Lynda

Here is a link that might be useful: Gourds climbing along overhead wires

Lynda,
You are truly an amazing gardener,i have looked at your photoes a million times,and see something new every time.
It sure would be nice to be able to visit you,:0)i could learn a lot.
Now i am all pumped up again,can't wait to get going on these.Oh,hubby wants to see your cucumber pictures.
Thank you,
cAROL

cucumbers are trailing and will go as far as 5 feet if you let them. I did containers last year with same seed you mention- it looks really nice and usual small trailing ladder helpful.

I've successfully cuked in 5-gal pails. I always let them climb up a teepee (not stuck IN the container, but outside with the container in the middle, otherwise the wind can blow over the topheavy pail. Anchoring the teepee to the ground prevents that). Easy to pick and keeps them off the ground. Best advice I could give is YOU CANNOT PUT TOO MUCH COMPOST into the pail. They thrive on it. And they love nitrogen (I give them lots of fish emulsion every 2 weeks) else the ends of the cukes get bent and shriveled. Sorry, no pics.

Even now that I have beaucoup room to cuke, when I grow them in the ground - up a trellis, tons of compost and lots of fish emulsion.

{{gwi:382044}}

These past couple years I grow the Sweet Success: vines are 5-7' long, all female, self-pollinating and at least 12-inch seedless fruits. Neighbors gets lots of cukes... ;-D

Kris

Thanks Kris and Lynda!

I will remember to save compost for cukes, and put a fish in each pot.

Man, you guys are good.I really don't know what i would do with out all the help you have given to me,it is SO appreciated.

Kris, what do you have under the netting, and what Is the netting?
I ordered 50 strawberry plants from Spring Hill,and just last night hubby and i were discussing how we might be able to cover them to keep the birds and deer out,your idea looks like it would be the answer we are looking for.What is the netting?
As always thank you,
cAROL

Hi cAROL.

The netting is just craft polyester netting I buy at Walmart fabric department. It's good for several years of use, then the UV tend to make it brittle and it tears easy. There are snap beans under there. Keeps out the bunnies and bean beetles and the deer. Since beans are self-pollinating, I don't worry about not letting the bees get to the flowers. When the deer get really feisty, I drape (not enclose, deer don't eat from underneath) netting over the cukes and peppers, too.
Kris

Hey Carol -

Are you going to plant your strawberries in the ground our put them in a planter?

Just wondering. :)

Lynda

Here is a link that might be useful: Our 55 gallon strawberry planter

Wellll, i was going to plant them in the ground,But, seeing what YOU have done,and i DO have a 50 gsllon (plastic ?) drum,hummmm,how many plants do you have in there,and how do you winter them over like that.
Where in Ohio are you, it just might be worth a trip to see all that you and your hubby have done, you really amaze me,really.
I never thought about the bees needing to pollinate,so, a cover would not work for stwaberries.
Ohhh my head is spinning.
cAROL

Carol - we can overwinter the strawberries right in the containers. Not sure if you could do that in your zone though.

Not sure how many plants are in there. I'd guess maybe 40 in the sides and half a dozen in the top. We've also got them in old kitchen and office wastebaskets with he holes in the sides.

Pat also made stacking planters out of a bunch of different sized old cracked flower pots. Those were OK but not as good as the barrel and wastebasket planters. The link will take you to those photos.

The stacked planters look neat but the wastebaskets and barrels work better for us so we'll be switching over to just using those. The big open top of the waste basket or barrel is easier to water than having to make sure water flows around all of the sides of the stacked planters. Not a problem in a small garden, but a big deal when you spend a good portion of your life walking around with a watering can.

We're in Southeast Ohio - kind of out in the boonies. If you have plans on passing through the area drop me an e-mail, but I have to warn you - until all of my containers are planted out WSing is my priority, not house work! Give me plenty of warning and look at my gardens, not the house. :)

Of course, I can always be talked into sharing photos or rambling on and on about how we garden here. Don't even get me started on the topic of tire gardens! Those are as handy as bucket gardens.

Lynda

Here is a link that might be useful: More planters

cAROL, you can use regular bird netting over your strawberries, not the nylon net that is too fine. Bird netting is about 1/2" to 3/4" mesh. The bees can get and out just fine with that.
Kris

Ok, I am giving some serious thought to the 55 gallon drum for my strawberries,and the bird netting,oh,decisions,decisions,i will need to sleep on this one.
Thank you
cAROL

Oh Lynda,
I do not clean during the summer either,so good to know i am not the only one,i only do what has to be done, and only when it rains,ha ha

Housework? What is this strange behavior of which you speak? Sounds like some form of indoor yard work maybe?

Kris (who has her priorities straight)

I hope that I can resurrect this thread to ask if you all are planting 1 cucumber plant per 5 gal container? I'm thinking that's what you're doing, but I keep seeing conflicting info. online about how many cucumber plants can fit in a 5 gallon container and mine are itching to be transplanted.

I do one plant per bucket.

Lynda

I am going to need more big pots allright!

bump

Carol, I don't know about cucumbers, but I've done melons in pots, and just let them grow free. I usually put them on the deck though, so there's not a problem mowing around them.

Lynda, that gourd picture is amazing! I grew my first gourd last year ... cucuzzi, which is edible, and I think I'm hooked! I am trying to get some old Thai Bottle Gourd (also edible) seeds to germinate this year. Do you cure your gourds and do any crafts with yours? I was able to cure 3 cucuzzi, but haven't done anything with them yet ... still need to clean them. I grew mine up an A-frame, but I love what you did!

I would like to try my cukes up-side-down, next to my maters. I don't have room for them anywhere else!

Container question -- do you just plant in compost or do you mix it up with something else?