Attawaytogo! I'm impressed!

gardengus said:
Looks like the trellis would work for cucumbers.

Absolutely! I did have a few pickling-type cukes on it this year, although they kind of got lost in the crowd!

Now I just have to figure out what to do with all those gourds... I think next year I'll grow more edible and less decorative stuff... but it really has been fun to watch growing!

What I did with some of the gourds... on top of our "entertainment center"



and gave a bunch of them away... and still have a lot that I'm hoping will dry so I can make Christmas ornaments or something from them.

How creative you are! Do you use silica gel to dry them or just let them air dry?

Anne, "necessity is the mother of invention," as they say -- it was creativity inspired by "what the heck am I going to do with all these things now that I have them" !

They supposedly will just air dry, but I've lost quite a few to rotting... I suspect that I should have washed them with a weak bleach solution. I still have lots of them that are intact, though, so time will tell, I guess ! (and then I'll be wondering what to do with the dried gourds... )

That really is gorgeous, Sandy. I've had two cattle panel trellises up in two tunnels side by side--this will be the third season. My problem is the cucumber beetles don't usually give the plants enough time to grow and cover the arches the way I want them to before they die of wilt! My trombettas are the only ones that never fail to climb all the way up and then down the other side; I didn't realize they were moschatas until this year.

That one's coming from a plant growing from the other side of the trellis. The vines you can see are Malabar spinach and beans. I also like growing tomatoes up the sides.

... and the nasturtiums loved the tomatoes last year. So sweet! But tomato foliage isn't as impressive as cucurbit foliage. What you got was the effect I really want! So I'm planting only moschatas and a few watermelons this year and no cucumbers or muskmelons. I hope my arches will be as spectacular as yours this year!

Also, I did grow a gourd plant last year and got a couple of small ones. Too much shade where I planted them. I put them in the copper wire produce keeper hanging from the ceiling in the kitchen and now they're dry as husks. All the air circulation may have helped keep them from rotting.

Taqiyyah, that is one interesting squash ! Is it the same as "trombocino" ? I have some seeds for those that I'm going to grow for the first time this year... And your red flowers are nasturtiums? That looks so beautiful, mixed in with the tomato plants!

Did your gourds get really moldy -- as in "furry" -- as they were curing? I read that they tend to develop some mold, but mine have gone way beyond what I expected ! Still, they are drying pretty nicely.

It really was a lot of fun growing all those gourds and the way they looked on the hoop trellis... but this year I'm going to plant more edible stuff on it, including some larger squash... hopefully they won't fall on my head and knock me out or something

Lol, well that trombetta (yes, tromboncino) was probably around three feet long and it never beaned anyone in the head--we had to wrestle it off the vine, in fact.

I never noticed mold on my teeny little gourds (daisy gourds), but the hanging produce holder in the kitchen is high enough that the warm air up there would probably prevent mold from forming easily (they do like cool, right?).

I feel bad I didn't save seed from that nasturtium. Now I'm only running into mounding types and I want a climber like that again.

There definitely aren't as many of the long-vined types of nasturtiums as the mounding ones -- I've always thought of them as "trailing," not "climbing" -- did you have to assist them to go up the trellis, or do they just do that naturally?? I already have quite a few things planned for growing on the trellis this year, but I LOVE the way those nasturtiums look and just might have to add some to the mix!

I just let them lean up and guided them back around when they wanted to spill out of the container into the pathway. They climbed and wove themselves into the tomato vines after that. I found some tall growing nasturtiums at Baker's Creek and decided to give them a go. They're a mix, though--I hope there are plenty of reds in the mix.

Sandi, I finally found record of sowing nasturtium Crimson Emperor, and when I googled, Thompson and Morgan says the height is 12", but the spread is 78". That's the only one I sowed that fits that description, so now we know what to look for!

Sandy, I finally found record of sowing nasturtium Crimson Emperor, and when I googled, Thompson and Morgan says the height is 12", but the spread is 78". That's the only one I sowed that fits that description, so now we know what to look for!

I guess the definition of "height" depends on what direction you grow it in !! And those red flowers are so striking, I think they'd look great either growing up a trellis like yours, or hanging down from a planter... I have so many seeds to grow this year already -- but just might add that one to my list too

Good idea to grow down... hmmm. I'm always afraid they won't bloom here--last year they were spectacular but we had a mild summer. Theyr'e not always like that. But the foliage is pretty anyway. Maybe I'll try that in a hanging basket with something that blooms reliably (or looks pretty) in summer.

It never occurred to me that they don't like to bloom in hot weather... no wonder they do so well here

I really like that hoop idea Sandy, I just may have to try one in my garden for cukes, squash and such. I use something similar for tomatoes. I have 2 concrete panels mounted vertically on 2 landscape ties. It is easy to train the tomatoes onto the large squares. I use pieces of #14 insulated copper wire to softly tie the vines tight and keep the ties for years. I have about 6 different options for where to place it in the garden and move it every year.

Do I see correctly that you use TWO re-mesh panels, spaced apart by the width of the landscape tie?

Brilliant! I bet that supports the vines much more gently than a single mesh panel.

Ric, I do love the way my hoop trellis worked out, it was a lot of fun but it took up a lot of room in the garden and there isn't much you can use the space inside the hoop for because it doesn't get enough light. Despite that drawback, though, I'm using it again this year, for some winter squash, "Tromboncino" summer squash, runner beans, and other plants yet to be determined! (okay, maybe a few gourd plants too... )

I've heard of people growing their tomatoes on a trellis but have never actually seen how it was done -- I love the way you have the two panels spaced apart for the plants to grow between, that makes a lot more sense to me than just using a single trellis panel or something.

Awesome project! Simply awesome!! applause-applause