Hi Naturegirl - I just remembered that I meant to answer your question! I have spring-planting brain. Does it really work? Well, my answer would be the same as to "Are you indecisive?" "Well, yes and no" :). The quick answer is: When trellising your squash up above the radishes, no, it absolutely did not work for me! However, in 2007, when the squash were all on the ground, I did not have any problem with SVB, so my guess is that it worked very well. The one caveat is that 2007 was my first year gardening in this spot. I've been told that the SVBs hadn't found me yet, but I find that hard to believe (the cabbage worms had no problem). My neighbors all grew squash and I'm sure the SVB were already here. I planted the radishes at the same time as the zucchini, but it would probably work better if they were started ahead of the squash. I broadcast the seed between the plants and used the white icicle radish. I wanted to plant more than once, but the zucchini became so dense that I was not able to. As I don't really like radishes, I let them flower for the predator insects. I've never heard that they need to flower to repel SVB. dutchess_9 Most of the long vining varieties will say "suitable for trellising". Some of the shorter vining varieties I tried to trellis based on previous growing experience. Some of the more regular catalogs may not have any zucchini that are good for the trellis. I find them in the smaller catalogs, like Sandhill Preservation Center, Baker Creek, Pinetree. Bellatrix

Like Llaz, I had a challenging year; a few of my perennial favorites had to take a year off, to be replaced by shorter season alternatives. I'll list them all anyway. Snap beans: "Fortex". I also grow at least one other pole snap, including: "Emerite", "Pole 191" (a.k.a. white-seeded Kentucky Wonder), "Rattlesnake", or "Garafal Oro". Shell beans: "Ma Williams" (early pole) and/or "Bird Egg #3" (late pole) and/or "PI 507984" (very early bush). At least one of these, depending upon the weather. "PI 507984" proved itself this year, in a very short season. Dry beans: "Brita's Foot Long" or "Soissons Vert" (high yield, outstanding flavor) Sweet corn: "Miracle" hybrid (highly disease resistant, very large ears w/tight tip cover, great flavor) Summer squash: "Zucchetta Rampicante" (borer & disease resistant, excellent frozen quality) Eggplant: "Casper" and "Diamond" (cold & Verticillium resistant, high-yielding) Okra: "Pentagreen" (cold & Verticillium resistant, the only okra I can grow reliably this far North). Proved itself this year, with a short, cool Summer. Swiss chard: "Special Large White Ribbed" (flat leaves, easy to clean, very wide stalks) Other greens: Water spinach, Egyptian spinach, Moringa oleifera (tree grown as annual, high-protein leaves) Cucumber: "WI 5207" (highly disease resistant, parthenocarpic, good climber, great flavor) Tomatoes: "Sojourner South American" (very large red oxheart, prolific), "Elfin" (OP grape tomato, extremely prolific) Peppers: "Greygo" (very large cheese type, sweet, tender skin), "Beaver Dam" (large pointed Hungarian type, very early, medium hot), "Pizza" (highly prolific, gourmet green peppers just before frost, outstanding keeper) Soybeans: "Sapporo Midori" (edamame, early, very large seed) Pea: "Purple Podded Parsley" (table pea, purple pods) Watermelon: "Blacktail Mountain" (very early, high Brix, good keeper) Garlic: 10 varieties (mostly hardneck), plus Elephant Garlic & Pearl Onions (which are really bulbing leeks) Since I am a seed saver, many other vegetables are grown in a rotation... I never have the same garden twice. But I do grow varieties each year from the categories below: - one adzuki bean - one mung bean - Runner beans: 2 - Limas: 2 - Yardlongs: 3-4 (will include the bush yardlong grown this year) - Cowpeas: 2-3 - one C. maxima squash (buttercup, hubbard, banana, kabocha) - one C. pepo squash (acorn, naked-seeded pumpkin, spaghetti) - one hot pepper for drying - Tomatoes: one banana-type paste, 1-4 red paste types, one non-red paste, one potato-leaf, one non-red slicer - one basil - soybeans: 3-4 additional edamame In addition, there will be many other trials each year for pole beans, soybeans, peas, tomatoes, and peppers.

Elysium, the "best" zucchini depends on your particular taste. If you didn't like "Black Beauty", you might be careful about some of the other dark zucchinis. If you like "Italian" flavor, one of the Italian types mentioned above would be good. I don't like "Rampicante" steamed, but it's nice sauteed with garlic. I don't think it's a highly-flavored squash but is has some sweetness. It's related to butternut winter squashes but tastes better than the latter when picked young, not as good when kept as winter squash. I grew it one year with Cucuzzi gourds. The pair would be fantastic on an overhead trellis. No spines. Cucuzzi is good briefly steamed or cooked with tomatoes when very young or pared, seeded and stuffed when more like a baseball bat. Immature seeds are white and sweet. My father-in-law's favorite summer squash is "Zapollito de Tronco" or however you spell it. It is related to many pumpkins and winter squashes. Picked young, it looks like a little green cheese-shaped zucchini, but has a different flavor. Plant is huge and not as productive as most zucchinis. For "regulation" summer squash, I prefer the sweeter lighter green zucchinis like "Magda" and the yellow crookneck and straightneck squashes. This year, I am also growing "Butterstick" and a darker yellow zucchini, "Meteor" (no longer marketed) along with rather dark Sweet Zuke (breaks easily at the neck), "Spineless Beauty", "Zephyr" (not the most productive, but the most fun and keeps well in the fridge) and a couple of scallops. "Meteor" was my first squash this year, with several others coming in the next day. By the third day, I had picked 19 squashes. I think "Magda" is my most productive variety, but Farmerdill says "Freckles" is even more productive. It has a thinner shape. Zucchinis generally survive longer than other summer squashes in my hot-summer garden. Pinetree is offering a new medium or dark green zucchini with mild, sweet "almost cucumber-like" flavor, "Reward". Won their taste-test. This post was edited by carolync1 on Sat, May 18, 13 at 22:01

Mommie_rose, "I recently moved to a new home (still renting, meaning I can't plant into the ground)..." We are currently living with my daughter and son-in-law, so we can make a large garden here. But over the years, we have been renters at several places. We have been fortunate because every one of our landlords said "Yes" when we asked for permission to make a small garden. Just an idea. Is there any sort of clothesline on your concrete porch area? If so, you could tie lengths of heavy string from it and tie your tomato vines to the string. Peas and cucumbers have tendrils and will grasp a hanging string with little or no "training". There are small "ready made" trellises at home stores and garden centers and your 5-gallon buckets, when filled with potting medium, might be stable enough to permit those to be inserted in them. Or perhaps you could build something of your own design with inexpensive materials. MM