Scrambling Cucumbers

[Rox]

Has anyone grown their greenhouse cucumbers not vertically up poles, but allowing them to scramble horizontally across the ground? I have a very large raised level covered with white pebbles which looks perfect for allowing them to scramble along without getting dirty and easier to damp down and harvest. Only concern is that the cucumbers (which are all in large pots) might snap near the base level if allowed to fall over the side of the pot. Any suggestions? many thanks in advance!  :)

[Rox]

[jennym]

Not sure if greenhouse cucumbers would be different, but I've grown outdoor ones scrambling across chicken wire, which was only an inch or two off soil level. The stems seemed ok, and I got a crop.

[Mrs Ava]

I grow my outside cumbers along the ground and they do fine.  Just have to keep an eye out for sluggies of course.  You can always put something under the fruits to keep them off the ground, but I didn't and had a superb crop of lemon cucumbers last year.

[tim]

Rox - take them up to 2' or so before allowing them to ramble?

They would be more flexible then?

[saddad]

All climbers scramble naturally, so you shouldn't have a snapping problem but getting them up off the soil is a wise move. Crystal Apple/lemon (syn) is ideal for this and as they are round fruit they don't end up trying to bury one end in the soil which encourages rots and slug damage.
:)

[tim]

Rox does have a problem.

Yes - they will scramble, but to drop down from, say, a foot, to soil level needs a bit of thought? I would need to have a good length of growth & train it down progressively.

Alternatively, tip the plants out into growbags - on their side?

Even then. I find that greenhouse cus trained horizontally are always seeking 'up', & you keep having to pull them down.

[Rox]

everyone-  thanks for your replies!

Tim - my instinct tells me that you are quite right - I will either abandon my thought of having them scramble and grow them horizonally up tall poles as I've done in the past, or as you suggest, have them grow up a bit, and then perhaps devise some strategy and contraption whereby I can train them gradually back down to the pea shingle surface on a slight diagonal gradient so as to not risk a drastic 'bend' and hence potential stem snap. Can't get ahold of grow bags over here, so unfortunately I'm going to have to make do with their pots.

thanks again!

[littlegem]

oh! i've got 2 telegraph cucs ready to go up the middle of the 2 GH that are put together and to save space i've got 1 cuc planted ready to sprawl in between some toms in a raised bed in GH. done exactly the same with melons! will this work?

[Rox]

Hi Littegem,

I think the general consensus is that cucumbers and melons can sprawl - (though may be better to grow them vertically). I actually have a huge amount of horizontal space along a greenhouse shelf but not very much to the toip of the greenhouse! That's why I'll try to have them scramble along. Since the pots they are currently in are quite high, I'm going to try and avoid the stesm braking by taking a bamboo near the base of the stem and training the vine down the bamboo on a gradient till it reaches the bottom where then it can be free to scramble along at will. Hopefully, the bamboo canes will take some pressure off the stem by carrying some of the weight of the plant itself. I put the canes in yesterday - I will let you know if this method actually works! Good luck!