Vertical gardening techniques
Whether your garden is large or small, you can make the best use of every square inch by using vertical horticultural techniques and growing steep crops. Polar beans typically produce twice as many bean varieties as bush varieties, and doubled grated cucumber yields for the right cross-section. Then there are crops like tomatoes, which need some kind of support to keep them above wet ground, where diseases are at their peak. Properly covered, it will withstand plenty of adverse conditions.
How to climb plants
Plants that benefit from cross-stitches in the garden use a variety of methods, including curling tendrils, twin stalks, or long rope branches that form roots at the point where they touch the ground.
The curling tendrils produced by the pea and cucumber-family crops revolve around everything available, so you have plenty of versatility when supporting these crops. The tendrils stick to the horizontal and vertical parts of the truss, so the web is woven with a biodegradable string attached to the posts often works well. Twinning stems rotate around their support and grow steadily upwards until they turn on their own - a growth habit found in hops, polar beans, Malabar lettuce, and yard-long beans.
Twinning rods do little good for horizontal lines, so they often work best with poles or poles that are nailed to a cross fence.
Tomatoes like to throw themselves on their support. They need to be trained and attached to a tray that is nailed to an upright crossbar, which is not as easy as growing in wire cages. If the tomato plant is large and strong, you will need a sturdy tomato cage that will provide support on all sides.
Temporary or permanent?
In my experience, flat t-stacks or vertical 4-by-4 posts (or 3-inch diameter saplings from the woods) should be sunk to a depth of 18 inches in a truly sturdy upright garden. Establishing this semi-permanent garden system takes time and muscle. In my garden, the most versatile crossbars are about 8 feet wide and 4 to 5 feet high, and are made of woven wire fence or animal panel attached to two pillars. Allowing 4 inches of space between the base of the fence and the ground makes it easier to weed and cultivate the area. The advantages of such a truss are the ready availability of the structure each spring and the option to create an attractive permanent feature in the garden.
The disadvantage of this or any other long-term vertical horticultural support (such as an existing fence) is that it restricts rotation to pea, bean, tomato, and cucumber-family crops. Temporary crossbars, such as bamboo poles, give you more flexibility depending on where you are planting, but you should remove them in the winter and store them in a dry place to prevent them from rotting. If you collect the parts of the tray that is beaten horizontally, tie them with string or cloth in the fall and store them for the winter, they will rise quickly the next season.
Every year I make several temporary crossbars, often wrapped around cotton, hemp, or jute strips of upright stock or posts (a ball of any of these natural, biodegradable materials that I call "string"). Using biodegradable material, I can cut off the tray that has been beaten horizontally, at the same time pulling out the plants and then throwing everything in the compost pile.
Crop-specific supports
The most successful garden cross-cuttings increase the leaf-fruit ratio of the plant by allowing more leaves to access the sun. Good support will allow the vines to see and reach to harvest your crop, and it should be strong enough to withstand its load.
Any type of pea (snow, snap, or shell) will thrive if it grows in a vertical tray made by weaving a string at a point where the two posts are connected, starting with the horizontal lines. Come 2 to 6 feet The stock should be high enough to expect the type to grow. Small, hollow branches stuck to the ground between the plants will help carry the pea seedlings to their support. Pea varieties with long vines often require extra support if they are heavier on top of the pods. An easy fix is to add four stocks, one for each outer corner of the plant. These stakes can anchor a core made of two or three horizontal runs, up to 5 feet from the ground. Pea vines fall on strings that lose their stalks and are very easy to pick up from there. Last year I tried an old idea: using grains in favor of peas. Although you will need a tall pea to use the rye 5-foot tall, the thin-grain rye plants at 14-inch intervals worked well.
To make the most use of any pea cross-stacked tray, with two varieties of cross-stitch and tall, 'stack' the base of the 'sugar on' snap peas, 'sugar snap', etc. to support its slow-growing brethren, and the taller one to begin to bear when it begins to bloom.
Polar beans, runner beans, and Asparagus beans become very heavy as they mature. The slats that are beaten for the upright cross must be firm or they will be bent by the summer thunderstorm. There is no better use than using an already woven wire fence to support polar bears. The so-called semi-runner types are best suited for 4 to 5 foot high fences. If longer flag types are required, taller stakes can be easily added to increase the height of the fence. These stakes can be attached by string to create a view of the flags. When I did this with a mixture of polar beans producing yellow, purple, and green beans, the effect was delightful.
The beans will depart if given a tripod or dippy-style crossbar, which naturally resists rolling because it pulls down as the bearing weight increases. You need to consider the height carefully when planning a bean truss. There is nothing worse than watching beans being plucked because you can’t reach them without stopping for something. You can control the height somewhat by avoiding long flag types, but you should also reduce the height of the crossbar.
Personally, my favorite is two bean trellis: a humble, 3-foot-diameter woven wire tomato cage, anchored with two metal fence posts for early planting, and sweet corn stalks for late cross-stemmed stalks. Peel a squash, grate it and squeeze the juice until the beans are at least a foot high.
Cucumber varieties vary depending on how well they are carried to a plate that is beaten for a cross. Large-fruited, purple hybrids can be easily trained on a straight grid-type crossbar made of string or wire. Push the growing vines through the mesh once a week. Small pickled cucumbers tend to form more branches, so they are more unrestrained for training. Woven wire tomato cages have a reasonable amount of their vibrancy and are easy to find ripe fruit.
Melons offer a unique opportunity to use slashes for diagonal or A-framed crossbars. Melon vines like to be close to the ground, but growing them protects them from diseases and pests that travel on the ground. Look for the varieties you want to harvest in the "compulsory seat", i.e. the melons should be cut from the vine as soon as they are ripe. Honeycombs with small fruits are the best candidates for the cross-stitch culture.
If the space in your garden is tight and you think there is no room for melons, think about combining beds next to this delicious summer fruit with a curved or A-frame trellis. The trick is to temporarily turn a path into an over-the-top, over-the-top gardening space.
Tomatoes grown in woven or welded wire cages require a monitoring until they are aware of the unique growing habits of the variety. Because the knock for the same cross that satisfies little 'Juliet' will wreak havoc with the mob of 'brandivine'. Concrete reinforcing wire, which will last for many years, and 6-inch-to-6-inch openings make it easy to pick up. Build the cages slightly downhill so they can build the nest together.
In ready-made cages, three-ring welded cages are sufficient only for early fixing types. The four- and five-hoop specimens can handle varieties of moderate and medium-size and vigor, but most tomatoes spit out the top and sides and then lean towards the sun. Similarly, thinner varieties, such as 'Sun Gold', can be trained and built into a vertical barbed wire fence or fence, but varieties that grow on dense, 6-foot shrubs, such as 'Black Cream' or 'Better Boy', need support. On all sides, it is best served with a cage. Even the best tomato cages will become heavier at the top when the plants are full pods, so they need to be anchored well to form deeper stocks.
Tall, flagless crops such as pepper and cut ginseng benefit from some support. This is where the small "tomato" cages come in handy. Place a cage in each corner of a bed, then twist the rope around and through the cages to form a support team for the plants with legs.
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