This is my first season growing in my new small space container garden. To accommodate more cucumbers, I decided to cage them, something I’ve never done before. Caging did allow me to grow more, including four different varieties, but my results were mixed at best. Based on this season’s outcome, I’m not sure I will cage them again in the future. Here are the pros and cons of caging cucumbers that I found through my personal gardening experience.
Pros:
Space – Caging your cucumbers certainly is a space saver. It only requires about an 18-inch footprint, compared about 36 square inches when grown the traditional way.
Spraying – If you spray your cucumbers to control pests, having all the foliage compact and close makes it easier and quicker to reach all affected areas.
Cons:
Pests – Because there are more shaded surfaces when cucumbers are grown in cages, critters that prefer the cooler, shaded undersides of leaves have more area for refuge. The crowded conditions also encourage rampant breeding of pests and the spread of infestations.
Sun – Caging cucumbers makes sun exposure uneven at best. The outside foliage gets plenty, while the inside stems and leaves get very little. I’m not sure to what extent that harms a plant or its ability to produce, but it is likely to invite pests that prefer shade.
Ventilation – As you can imagine, air flow through a densely packed cage of foliage is very limited. This makes it prime territory for attack by fungi like powdery mildew.
Pollination – I had tons of blooms this season, but comparatively little fruit. Although this can be partly attributed to fewer pollinators available to do their job, it had mostly to do with the blooms being inaccessible to the pollinators that were available. Many of the blooms were buried deep inside the packed foliage, where bees and other pollinators could not easily reach.
Harvesting – Not only is it harder for pollinators to find and reach the blooms of caged cucumbers, it’s harder for me to find and harvest the fruit as well. You have to be really careful when pushing aside vines looking for cukes so that you don’t damage the plant. Doing so in such a densely packed environment is challenging at best.
My results don’t necessarily agree with those of other gardeners. For instance, some say that growing cucumbers in cages increases air flow and makes harvesting easier. In my experience, due to the density of the foliage, that was not the case. I will just need to decide whether or not the space advantages of growing in cages outweigh the disadvantages I experienced.
More from Cherri:
Building a Limited Space, Poor Soil, Desert Climate Vegetable Garden
Tips for a Pet-Friendly Garden for Butterflies and Hummingbirds
Kitchen Composting – From Table Scraps to Home-Grown Tomatoes
