Looking for best squash support

[Sabz]

Hello fellow gardeners!

In fall I am always looking to either make the garden better, cuter, amend the soil, correct problems I've encountered, etc..

This year I had a lot of mildew (tomatoes, squash) because we had a super rainy spring and warm temperatures.

I thought probably if my squash were off the ground, they would get less mildew.

I found a few types of support that I liked. Wondering if any of you did something like that for squashes?

This is my favorite. I would replace the plastic pots by a raised garden bed with lost of drainage:




There is also the square arch, but the "bottom" of the plant is still on the ground..




Of course the first setup is more work and would cost more.
The fact that the plant is off the ground would give them more chances to resist mildew, I think.
But at the same time, being in a garden "box" or raised garden would limit the space available for the roots and the soil would dry faster.

The second choice is easier, faster and cheaper to build. I am afraid that if the arch isn't large enough, there won't be a lot of air movement inside it and would probably increase chances of mildew. I'd have to thoroughly think of the size of it, some of my squash varieties have enormous leaves..
The plants would be in the ground so I wouldn't worry about space for roots, watering, soil nutriments, etc..


Any thoughts or different ideas?

Thanks

 

[lazy gardener]

Squash have massive root systems and are heavy feeders. Even when grown in the soil, they often wild down in the heat of the day b/c they can't take up moisture fast enough to keep their leaves hydrated. I'd recommend growing them in the ground, in very well amended soil, using lots of mulch, and giving them a sturdy support. I am a huge fan of cattle panel. They are 50" tall and 16' long, made of very rugged welded wire. They can be put up in an arch, or put up horizontally as a fence. They are self supporting, only requiring staking to hold them in place.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Squash, like pumpkins put down roots every few feet, so they are constantly anchoring themselves down. I plant my squash in areas that I had spring crops so now my garden is mostly covered in squash plants, it just occurred to me that I am talking about winter squash, I don't do summer squash. Mildew is mostly unsightly, it doesn't interfere too much with growth and fruit quality. I do grow cucumbers on upright support.

 

[shortgrass]

Squash, like pumpkins put down roots every few feet, so they are constantly anchoring themselves down. I plant my squash in areas that I had spring crops so now my garden is mostly covered in squash plants, it just occurred to me that I am talking about winter squash, I don't do summer squash. Mildew is mostly unsightly, it doesn't interfere too much with growth and fruit quality. I do grow cucumbers on upright support.

I have to disagree. Powdery mildew is detrimental in the garden and must be curbed or it will infect the entire garden. Squash, gourds, and curcubits are ALL major PM vectors, and it will spread by spires to other species, especially tomatoes. Plants with PM must be pulled and burned immediately.

We had a severely wet spring too.. Spelled disaster as far as PM goes; fought it all year Best way I found to beat it was pulling the squash and curcubits off of the ground so air could move through. It stopped the spores from multiplying from the ground being wet. Powdery mildew will also keep fruit from setting, so I would definitely call mildew a problem.

I use cattle panels. Next year I'm going to anglecthen up against a 7' fence so they can climb better, this year the panels were in a "M" and it helped a ton as far as picking too


I like the pergola idea; I could live with gourds above my head instead of crawling for them

 

[Sabz]

Yeah I disagree also, and the mildew can carry on to tomatoes and berries. I didn't harvest any blackcurrant this year, I think the plant was just fighting off the mildew.
I have some squash with mildew, the plant completely dead. Some others in a different location in my garden and not affected and continue to produce fruits, as opposed to the other ones.
And anyhow, it's ugly PLUS I have to change gloves after I touch an infected plant so I won't transmit it.. I just find it trouble and very ugly. My patch of squash looks like a hurricane passed on it.. I much more prefer a bushy and green part of land than a deserted, yellow and white patch

It is true that they have a good root system, I suppose elevated boxes are not a good option.

I'll try the cattle-panel tunnel then, choice #2

Yeah I could pick gourds standing up too! Not just because I am lazy, but often I can't even SEE them. Sometimes I miss a zucchini or a pattypan squash and when I find them they are just enormous and a lot less tasty.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

 

[Guvnah]

I let my squash (and cucumber) vines grow on the chain link fence surrounding my garden. I even did jack-o-lantern pumpkins that way. Only one of the pumpkins failed to stay supported. (I suspect one of the bigger varieties of pumpkins wouldn't survive that method though.)

Letting squash vines climb is a great way to save on ground space so you can plant other stuff where the vines would otherwise have dominated.

For the record, cukes are easy to keep trained to the fence, but larger squash -- especially pumpkins -- grow so aggressively that some vines still find their way between the 'maters and corn.

And, yes, as mentioned by someone earlier, the vines that run along the ground DO send down more roots, allowing the plant to take up more water and nutrients. The pumpkins on the fence were not as large as the ones on the grounded vines. But given the mildew problem, it's better to have smaller fruit than a mildew problem that results in no fruit at all -- and that might also negatively impact other crops nearby.

 

[Sabz]

Thanks for the feedback

The pumpkins are funny at my place. They have gone about 8 feet away from where I planted them and they climb up my trees! lol. I actually had a few pumpkins grow, and when they are too heavy for the tree they go back down to the ground. It seems to be a gradual descent, as they don't bruise.. so I let them be and my blue conifers get covered with yellow flowers. It's cool.

The ground space is a huge argument in favour of the support.
I have one squash type that grows about 40 feet in the 4 directions. It's taking over my garden. It is quite interesting to watch but a WHOLE LOT of maintenance. I have to cut the leaves that hide my peppers otherwise they don't mature.

 

[Guvnah]

Yup. I had a pumpkin vine "escape" the fence and grow into a huge lilac bush. Reaching into the center of that to harvest the pumpkin that grew in there was scratchy.

In the summer of 2010 I let my garden go fallow. But the grandsons wanted pumpkins, so I just plunked a hill in the center of the plot. No water. No tilling. No nothing. They took over the place. Corner-to-corner, and up the fences. I harvested 30 small pumpkins, 9-12-incheach, and I took them over to the oldest grandson's kindergarten class and each kid, the teacher and the assistant all got their own pumpkin. My grandson was proud as could be that he and his ol' poppy could distribute them there.

A fun thing to do with the kids and pumpkins is to pick out one or two when they're green and baseball-sized, and use a nail to scratch names or other designs into the skin. The scratches heal over and grow with the pumpkin, like a balloon blowing up. When it's ripe, the kid has a pumpkin with his name tattooed into the surface. Do two in case one dies.

 

[Sabz]

Oh wow, didn't know that carving trick So nice of you to give your pumpkins like that.

I also have a patch of squash I didn't care for. They are growing in the weeds but don't seem to be bothered.

This is unrelated to squashes but what are the eggs on your avatar? Are they blue for real?

 

[Guvnah]

Oh wow, didn't know that carving trick So nice of you to give your pumpkins like that.

I also have a patch of squash I didn't care for. They are growing in the weeds but don't seem to be bothered.

This is unrelated to squashes but what are the eggs on your avatar? Are they blue for real?

Those were the first eggs I started getting from my chickens. Some came out really tiny.

Yes, the blues come from Ameracaunas. Beautiful eggs. And they are a treat to give to people. Great reactions! (Inside the shells, they look just like any other egg.)

And this past easter we used them for dyed easter eggs. Yes, we didn't just leave them blue. They took on amazing color with the underlying blue.