Cucumber Garden Trellis

Cucumber Garden Trellis


 
The cucumber trellis is a new addition to our backyard garden. The trellis has been a great success and we have thoroughly enjoyed the benefits of this garden feature. The trellis was installed over a pathway between two existing raised concrete garden beds. We wanted to experiment with a self watering wicking bed. The soil on one side of the bed was dug out and the wicking system was installed.
Please view our project, that you may endeavor to also try a trellis in your backyard garden. 


Purchased from a hardware store
16 ft. X 52 " 4-Gauge Wire Cattle Panel
Bend the panel into an arch


Secure the panel with pegs into the ground on both sides of the garden pathway.



Panel secure and in place. Cucumber trellis has 72sqft of growing area. Trellis has an added benefit of crop canopy expansion beyond the arch area.

 






Cucumber seedlings are started in the 
greenhouse and transplanted into the garden.






Cucumber vines grow quickly up the trellis 
frame in the early stages of the season.





Cucumber vines cover the trellis 
frame and begin to develop.



Cucumber production yields were 
1 gallon or 4.5 L every second day.


Trellis design allows for ease of accessibility 
for both the gardener and the bees.




Cucumbers are easy to harvest. 
Picking requires no bending.
Easy to find.



(see below)
Cucumber trellis extra feature

The cucumber trellis is located over the path 
way between our two raised garden beds.

The cucumber bed on the right side of the 
 raised bed has a self watering bed feature 
 
Bed on the left has a watering soaker hose.
 
The new watering bed feature was definitely very apparent with both the amount of foliage canopy and the cucumber production yields. 
 
Cucumber yield differential 
3/4 wicking vs.1/4 soaker hose 
of total crop production yield. 




Making the Wicking Bed Feature
  
Step 1 
-removed soil from raised bed, leveled the base and added a 1"x6" wood frame






Step 2
- inserted the water fill pipe / water level pipe through the top of the frame @ 5" height 
- extended the pipe under the cement raised bed frame and installed a sink plumbing  "U" trap 
- on the outside of the bed wall installed a fill pipe into the "U" plumbing end to the height of the raised bed wall. The pipe also acts as a water level indicator. Drilled 1/2" hole in the fill pipe at same level as the top of the wood frame inside the raised bed. Filled the wicking bed with water, when full, it will come out of this hole.




Step 3
- lined the frame of the wicking bed with heavy mil poly
- stapled the liner to the top of the wood frame making sure that the liner fully extended to all corners of the frame.
Step 4
- installed the 5"drainage tile (see below) into the frame starting with the water level pipe extending through the frame. The weeping tile was looped in an "S" configuration. The tile came with a cloth cover to prevent soil entering and plugging the openings. Tied the cloth over the exit pipe with zip ties. The opposite end of the weeping tile was closed with a zip tie as well. 


Step 5 
-Filled the raised bed with soil. The soil had sufficient organic matter to facilitate water capillary action.
Step 6
- Filled the wicking bed reservoir with water
- Overflow water will flow out of the side of the fill pipe where the 1/2" hole was made @ 5" level
** Filling tip - make sure to thoroughly soak the top of the raised bed soil bed in addition to filling the reservoir. This essential startup tip will ensure the wicking system will work.


Project Overview
- water fill of the wicking bed was weekly. Soaker hose bed was run every second day.
- Fertilized weekly with soluble 20-20-20 & Epsom salts
-the final results were impressive. Cucumbers began producing starting on June 15 till Sept 15.
- Canned 36 quarts of pickles. Fresh eating of 3to4 cucumbers daily in salads and garnishes.
-Family, friends and neighbors were inundated with daily gift bags of cucumbers
- Estimated overall cucumber yields were in excess of 85 quarts
- Future plans are to install more wicking systems into our raised beds
 








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bee & Bird Fountain

Image
Gardening is an important component of our retirement lifestyle. Our backyard garden is an important ecosystem that helps maintain the bee and bird elements that we so richly enjoy.  We draw a tremendous amount of pleasure watching nature unfurl with the activities of the bees and birds as they go about in their daily activities in our garden. The watering fountain we constructed has been a major attraction for the bees & birds. The fountain is located on our backyard deck; we sit and enjoy our morning and afternoon tea while observing up close an array of  guests enjoying our fountain.          The ring of rocks that we have on the fountain perimeter  give the bees a excellent perch to enjoy the water as it flows across the formations. The outside concrete base of the fountain allows the smaller birds like Chickadees, Wrens & Finches a perch for access to the water flowing over the top of the fountain globe. The interesting fe...
Read more

Raised Concrete Garden Bed

Image
Project Overview The concrete raised garden bed was designed to allow ease of access, space utilization, durability & be environmentally friendly. The bed replaced an existing bed made with railway ties. We did not like the tar that was present on the ties. We felt the concrete would be healthier and more durable. The 132sqft bed measures 22’ long X 6’ wide X 16” high. The total construction cost was $600 and it took 2 weeks to build. The bed height & width easily gave my wife and I access to the planting area. The concrete moulds for the side panels & side walk were “Rubbermaid” boot pans purchased at a local hardware store. The pans were an ideal size and were very durable. The post moulds were 8’ concrete piling tubes cut to 32” lengths. The posts were dug into the ground 16” and 16” was above grade to accommodate the panel section width. The Styrofoam strips 16”x 2 ¼” were fastened inside the tubes using 1 ½” deck screws. The strips were removed once the con...
Read more

Gramma's Favorite Garden Recipes

Image
Gramma's Favorite  Garden Recipes "Gardening is a very rewarding activity"   Gardening provides enjoyment and exercise; comes with the added benefit of nutritious healthy foods. Here are a few of my favorite recipes that my family & I enjoy from our small backyard garden. Recipes for reference only! Dill Pickles Ingredients: cucumbers 6 cups water 2cups vinegar  1/3 cup pickling salt dill sprigs garlic cloves Directions: 1) brine mixture - combine water vinegar  and salt and boil for 3 minutes 2) fill mason jars with washed cucumbers, 3 garlic cloves & dill sprigs 3) pour brine into the jars & be sure to fill above the top of the cucumbers 4) seal & process the jars for 15 minutes Bread & Butter Pickles Ingredients 3 quarts cucumbers 1 quart onions 3 green peppers 3 red peppers 1/2 cup salt 6 cups white sugar 2 tsp. turmeric 2 tsp. mustard seed 1 tsp. celery seed vinegar Directions 1) wash cucumbers but do not peel them 2) slice cuc...
Read more