I'm puzzled. Not sure about cukes, but why would you trim melon or squash vines? (And, as noted in another thread, why trim suckers on a tomato?) You can run vines along the ground and bury the ones that look buryable. The plants are trying to fruit. That's what they're there to do. You want fruit. So what the plant wants is what you want. The way they grow is the way they've determined is the best way to produce fruit. I never trim melons or squash. If you're trying to trim in order to maximize fruit that ripen before first frost with a short growing season, then I guess you could cut the vine just beyond a fruit, so all the energy of the vine goes into that particular fruit instead of newer, younger fruit farther on out the vine. If you're trying to trim in order to keep the vine small, then just hack it off where it gets too big.

Have to agree - weird idea. Why would anyone trim melon or cuke vines? Defeats the whole point of growing them in the first place. Why grow a big vine crop just to get just a couple of fruit? Grow a bush variety of that vegetable instead.

I know some people insist on removing so-called "suckers" from tomato plants, usually because they don't understand or know any better. But it sure isn't a common practice with other vegetable vines.

Lots of people grow their cukes without trellis, just let them run along the ground. I have done it too since I have plenty of room. You get more fruit rot that way unless you use lots of mulch but I have never had them root along the vine except in a very superficial way.

Dave

I never prune my cucumbers or melons, The only reason I can think of to do that is if you don't have enough room for them, Tomatoes I prune the suckers just because I want better tomatoes and it lets more air through the plants which I learned over the years, I realize there is people that don't understand or agree with this method but that is their choice, There is some suckers I will miss but no big deal.

daninthedirt the op probable got his ideas for pruning from old school gardeners or uk gardeners since both types seem to want to prune every vegetable plant on gods green earth in the false notation that it helps in improving the harvest or plant health all of which have been proven false in numerous scientific test studies.

Gridgardener9 - you are labouring under a misapprehension about why we prune tomatoes over here. It is not a false notion at all. In the UK side shoots in the leaf axils are routinely snapped off indeterminate tomato vines and the top stopped at about 5 or 6 trusses of fruit because more will simply not ripen outdoors. If you allow any more fruit and foliage to develop you will end up with a sodden mass of foliage and small green tomatoes. In greenhouses indeterminate tomatoes are usually grown as cordons both for space and crop quantity reasons. For determinate types nobody advocates pruning.

We can't grow melons outdoors at all with any degree of success so pruning doesn't apply. Under glass they might need to be kept in check and the number of fruits limited for space reasons. I know of no one advocating pruning cucumbers.

These practices make perfect sense in our climate but none at all in places with hot summers.

That was exactly my point. One reason for pruning is to encourage ripening of fruit if the growing season is short. In other words, don't allow the plant to make an investment in late fruit that can't ripen. That may be the case for the OP, but it wasn't mentioned.

So the question has to be asked again. What are you trying to accomplish by doing this pruning? If it's just "because everyone seems to do it", that's a poor reason.

Interesting, thought it was the norm. Most likely I looked up pruning - and of course found ways people use BUT that does not mean most do (my mistake). Not sure where I got this notion. oups!

FYI I remember why I prune now! I cannot fathom a good garden (I have well designed healthy raised beds) that can sustain unpruned cucs/melons etc. Mine are shooting off new vines, often from both sides, at every node. That is nuder 1 foot apart. Each plant will literally cover, and I do mean cover, all of 800 sf. Mine grown 20' long and each side vine 20' means 20'x40'=800 sf

Here in Ohio we have to worry about spotty mildew but even if we did not I cannot imagine how dense a plant would become and would definitely choke itself out. These pics are after I trimmed 1/2 or more new vines -and it is jsut getting started! I have not even mentioned that each new vine will start sending new vines!

So am I getting more growth then most? How can someone let this go unpruned?

How can people let them go unpruned? Easily. We just give them plenty of space and/or use trellises.

Rodney

Pretty simple. If you don't have the space, you'd better prune. But that's not a reason for everyone to always prune. Your original question was whether to trim vines, and not how to make plants smaller. We didn't have any reason to believe you didn't have enough space.

I get space - but literally my estimate was conservative, I cant figure out how they can go unpruned. I am getting 2-4 new vines per foot off the original vine. If I let them go and then let the new vines off the new vines go..... There would be vines ever 4" or less. Way to many!

For one thing all your pruning is triggering new vine growth. That is the primary cause of all the off shoots. It is the plants normal response to pruning - trigger replacement vines.

The vine in your top photos here- don't know if it is a cuc or melon - but it is quite small compared to my melon vines. So perhaps it is just a matter of balancing perspective to expectations. Melons are a big space crop - up or out - and you can't grow them successfully without lots of space. You have very limited space at 800 sq. feet so melons isn't really an effective crop for such a small space unless you trellis them or let them run out into the yard. That is one problem with using raised beds. You either have to devote an entire big bed to the melon or you have to let it roam out of the bed.

I have water melon vines that are easily 50' long - each - and still growing and side shoot vines that are 10-12 feet long so yes, they can easily cover 800 sq. feet. They can easily cover 2000 sq. '. That is their nature.

Dave

Not sure what makes "way too many" vines. If the plant can support that many vines, go for it. I can't help but think there are some preconceptions here, but I'm not quite sure where they come from. You started out insisting that you needed to prune them. Never said why. These plants simply get enormous. That's just what they do.

Dave is right. Every cut you make will produce at least two new vines.

Given your small space you really need to stick with short-vined varieties (aka 'bush' varieties).

Dave

Dave, Can I ask what type of melons you grow with vines 50 feet long, I grow Crimson Sweet here in PA and my vines never get like that, 800 sq feet would be and area of about 28' x 28' which is more then I use, I use about 25' x 18' for 2 hills and 2 plants per hill.

Unanswered question here on which species/varieties grow supplemental roots as the vines run. I have seen this in spaghetti squash and buttercups (C. maxima), would like to know of others.

My vines are going NUTS. No question I would fill a 40'x40' area! Amazing.

My vines are going NUTS. No question I would fill a 40'x40' area! Amazing.

Jimmy - most any of the old fashioned varieties - Arkansas Black, Charleston Gray, Black Diamond, Rattlesnake, etc. and yes, even Crimson Sweet when given the room and nutrients and water. The more vine, the more melons. ;-)

They literally will take all the room you give them and then take more and more even if it means they have to climb trees.

Dave

Thanks Dave, I only grow the Crimson Sweet and Sugar Baby since I have a short season for melons and they do good for me, Some year I would like to try a yellow or orange variety though.