OM89, that makes sense for what you're actually growing, your area must be much more like Silvia's. I've given up on growing squash in containers, they don't do well and I've come to the conclusion that although the roots don't appear substantial they are runners and need lots of space so that would account for them not doing well in a SFG. Also, what Lou says about the squash is true and I have to be at work by 6:00 A.M., by the time I get home in the afternoon all the morning flowers from the squash are already too spent to hand pollinate. The last two seasons I've tried two varieties of parthenocarpic squash but they didn't do well either. Now, the parthenocarpic cukes were another story, they did very well inside my swiming pool cage where I didn't have to spray for pickleworm, the quick nemesis of my garden cukes since the garden is only 8' from the lake...very buggy down there until we finally get a cooling off period overnight. I keep my tomato plants well spaced from each other due to the gardens proximity to the lake, extremely humid too, and I never have blight and rarely other fungal diseases because of good air circulation around each individual plant, so for me "less is more" but I do see Silvia's plants up against each other so for you that might not be a problem. Tom

I grew more cucumbers then we could eat on a metal trellis last year and I didn't notice any signs of burning.

You can remove as many or as few suckers as you want when trellising, just depends on how strong a structure you have. Most of my growing now is on cattle panels, but before that I grew many years on 2x4's (or 1x2's for shorter beds) wired to tall heavy duty metal posts. I only pruned near the bottom to keep paths free for easy walking. I used baling string to tie the first leader up to the overhead board, and added new strings from above as I needed them for large side suckers. By the time you have from 3-5 strings per plant, you can usually weave the rest of the suckers in among the already supported ones. I like to call my method a suspended sprawl. I do tie off each string below a sturdy branch elbow when first adding a string, after that it's all weaving. I have a wide open NE and E exposure to wind in thunderstorms and never had any collapses of structure or vines. The main problem is if you are gone for a week, your new suckers will be snaking out and trying to go back to the ground. Late in the season, if I get sick of weaving, I may remove suckers that won't develop ripe fruit anyway if they get in my way. There is really no right or wrong way to do this. Whatever works for you, depending on your visual aesthetics and patience for maintenance. I feel that not pruning gives me better protection from sun scald of fruit, and if disease hits, I have more leaves as back up for the plant. If you live in a very humid region, pruning might make sense for better airflow, or maybe you just prefer the tidy look of heavily pruned tomatoes.

I bought a Chalice vine and would like to make a trellis for it to grow next to wall of my house. I am planning on using a metal frame with wire going across it. Can anyone tell me what distance the wires should be ? Also Is the wire suitable for this vine ? And any other tips (I live in Miami Florida) ! For an example of a simular trellis http://www.simplifiedbuilding.com/blog/building-a-backyard-grape-vine-trellis-with-pipe-and-wire/ I'm using galvanized steel pipes for the trellis because I would like to learn how to work with the pipe. In the future I would like to construct a trellis on my roof to prevent it from heating up and wood would not be strong enough. thanks !