Is there a simple way to contain Zucchini and Cucumber plants?

Wri5731155
by Wri5731155
I love to plant these and eat the produce, but they spread so much, I would like to find a way to contain them so that they do not spread into my other plants and yard. Do you have any suggestions?

  10 answers
  • GrandmasHouseDIY GrandmasHouseDIY on Feb 22, 2018

    Hi there, if you give them something to climb on they will! Chicken wire around tomato cages works great for encourage those cucumbers to climb.

  • Allison Allison on Feb 22, 2018

    Definitely provide a trellis of some sort for the cukes. I must be doing something very wrong with my zucchini, they don't travel very far. Maybe use some very large planters for them, if they want to run, they can just climb down the sides of the planters.

  • They do come in bush plants as well as vines

  • Joy30150932 Joy30150932 on Feb 22, 2018

    These plants climb and so can be trellised or trained to go onto an upstanding frame. This will also give you protection from the soil which can generate rot on the fruit if the fruit is kept continually wet.

  • Nancy Turner Nancy Turner on Feb 22, 2018

    I have four foot chain link fencing around two sides of my garden and eight feet of metal fencing around the sides in my yard (I have two dogs that can flat foot jump over four foot fencing) and I put my cukes next to one side of the chain link and I keep it trained on that. I train my winter squash to go up to the back part of the chain link and travels across the entire back fence and around the side. I use a good chunk of my garden plot for them, but have no trouble with critters on the ones that grow on the fence. I get great crops from both this way and they don't grow into the nearby veggies. I do have to watch the cukes for ones that get stuck in the fence and may stay in their to grow. Had to cut a few last summer when I missed them.

    • Wri5731155 Wri5731155 on Feb 22, 2018

      thank you for your response. I do not have any fencing in my yard, but would be a good idea if I did. I was hoping for some ideas that i could use within my garden area that does not include fencing or something too extravagant! Thanks Again!

  • Nancy Turner Nancy Turner on Feb 22, 2018

    You can make anything to have them grow up. Get a bunch of the tall garden stakes, make them into a teepee around the plant and tie them together at the top. Try to bet them pretty tall, as the vines on a healthy cucumber plant could get really long. Just train the little shoots that grab everything on the lower part and keep doing that as it grows. If it reaches the top, train it to go down the teepee and so forth. My vines were about fifteen feet long last year. Try something like that, just know that you will need height in whatever you use, a couple of feet high definitely is not enough. A tall trellis would work also, but you would need to make sturdy feet and also have it held up by some strong metal fence posts that you pound in to keep them from blowing away in the wind. Just use wire to twist tie them together, or zip ties. There are actually many different ways to get vines off the ground, just let your imagination go. If you have enough sun under a tree, you could maybe use it to grow up it.

  • Terri Terri on Feb 22, 2018

    They also make bush varieties of cucumber and zucchini. I have grown the bush zucchini and it did not take over my whole garden. They also produced well. I have not tried the cucumbers that way but saw some Burpee seeds for them recently.

  • Cindy Cindy on Feb 22, 2018

    Think vertical. Use trellis's so that the plants will grow up them. Remember to keep an eye on them. Both vegetables can get large and weigh a lot. You may need to use support for them.

  • Wri5731155 Wri5731155 on Feb 23, 2018

    thank you all for you wonderful answers!