Trellis Construction and Planting Cucumbers

This year's cucumber patch is going to be devoted to growing mostly pickling cucumbers.  I did plant a handful of slicing cucumbers at one end of the bed just to add a little variety to my cucumber bed.  Last year I used a trellis in my cucumber patch and it worked out so well, that I planned to use that trick again this year.

When I plant a bed I always start from the ground up.  This means that I needed to do the final preparations to the soil to make the bed ready for planting.  I pull any visible weeds from the bed, then run a hoe through the whole bed to loosen up the surface layer of soil.  Once that is nice and fluffy, I run a rake over the bed to smooth out any low or high points.  The rake also removes any large rocks or debris to make a nice even planting surface for tiny seeds.

The next step was to set the t-posts that are going to support the trellis.  I lined them all up as straight as possible and pounded them into the ground.  I only used four to span this twenty foot bed, placing one every six to seven feet down the length of the bed.  Then I attached one end of the chicken wire to the end post and stretched the fencing down the bed, attaching it to the t-posts with baling twine.  I used a roll of chicken wire that was four feet tall and twenty five feet long with large holes that were two inch hexagons.  The larger holes will make it easier for the cucumbers to climb the trellis.

Once the trellis was set up I installed a line of drip irrigation on either side of the fence.  I planted the cucumber seeds on either side of the fence in a zig zag pattern.  I am hoping they all grow vigorously enough to fill in the whole trellis.After planting all the seeds, I turned on the water to make sure that the lines were flowing well before I began to cover them with mulch.

I laid down a layer of mulch that was about an inch or so deep.  I didn't want to put down too thick of a layer that would make it difficult for the seeds to germinate and push their way up to the sunlight.  If I have trouble with weeds in this bed, I can always add a thicker layer of mulch after the cucumbers have germinated. 

 I let the whole garden have a nice drink while I finished mulching in this bed.  In a few weeks I hope to see this bed come to life with two new rows of cucumbers.  This bed is twice the length that I planted last year, so I am expecting to have a very busy pickling season this summer.  I will enjoy the calm I have now knowing that I will have plenty of work ahead of me in a few months.