Get a big harvest: 9 cucumber trellis and support ideas

Who doesn't love a cucumber? The delightfully fresh, crunchy produce always makes a welcome addition to salads, cheeseboards, and crudites. But what tastes even better than a cucumber is undeniably a cucumber you've grown yourself, at home. It's actually surprisingly easy to get a cucumber plant going in your garden, but there are certain tips and tricks which can help you along the way.

One way to ensure you get the very best out of your cucumber plant is by making sure you're giving it adequate support. Growing cucumbers vertically can save space in your garden, but the heavy produce the plant bears means they can't stand alone. Luckily, there is a wide range of different ways you can create homemade trellises to add extra stability to your cucumber plants.

If your garden already has a fence, you can use it to add support to your cucumber plant. Any type of fence, be it chain-linked or wooden, can work as a backbone for your cucumber growing - plus, the attractive plants can help conceal any less attractive fencing areas.

Some gardens are surrounded by brick walls rather than fences, and if that's the case, you can create your own supports against your garden walls. You can use hooks or screws to affix a wooden trellis to your wall or create a more natural structure using bamboo or other strong, sturdy sticks.

To make the most of limited bed space, you can install a vertical trellis right down the middle, acting almost like an extra layer of fence! You can use a readymade trellis, or create your own from natural or reclaimed materials then dig down into your beds and place the trellis to install.

Another way to create support over existing beds is the tent trellis. This is a structure using two trellis sides joined together at the top in a triangular shape. This offers a surprising amount of strength to the structure to help hold up heavy cucumbers.

If you don't want to buy or make a trellis structure to support your cucumbers, you can use some readymade items instead. An old stepladder or wooden pallet can work really well to hold your plants up - simply lean them against a wall.

For just one cucumber plant, a singular teepee-shaped trellis could be the best option. You can quickly build this structure using several strong sticks, tied together to the top, then place it over your cucumber plant and watch it grow and thrive.

Arch trellises are a really good option if you want to keep your cucumber trellis lower to the ground. These types of trellises are best made out of wire but can be customized easily to be as big, small, long, or short as you'd like.

This quick and easy option is perfect for adding support to cucumber plants in a pinch. You can simply tie lengths of yarn, string, or twine above your cucumber plants, creating a surprisingly strong network for them to grow on.

If you have the garden space, it isn't actually necessary to add vertical support to your cucumber plants at all. You can simply allow your plants to stay close to the ground, with the soil offering all the support your final cucumbers need.