The Best Vertical Garden Crops For Hot Summers (Easy Summer Wins)

Gardening vertically has so many benefits and luckily there are lots of crops that love to climb during the summer. And in today's video I'm going to share five of my favorite crops that love to climb and show you where I'm planting them. I'm Angela from Growing in the Garden. My garden is in Mesa, Arizona. I want to help you succeed even if you're gardening in tough conditions. The first crop I'm growing vertically this summer is cantaloupe. Melons love to climb and keeping them up off the ground means fewer pests and diseases. My favorite way to grow cantaloupes vertically is on these ladder mesh trellises. They're inexpensive and easy to use. They store away until I need them the next time. They couldn't be easier to install. You take one end put them at the edge of your bed and push them down into the soil. They go across the bed and then you put the other end down into the soil. There you have it. Grow one plant per trellis and pay attention to the vines. You'll probably need to weave them in and among the trellis. If it has lots of suckers go ahead and prune those out. Don't let each plant have more than two or three fruits. If you have more than that they won't be as sweet. This trellis is all you need. The fruit doesn't require additional support but keep a close eye on it as it nears harvest time because cantaloupe will tell you it's ready by slipping easily from the vine. You want to catch it before it falls. My favorite varieties? That's an easy one. I've been growing hails best and hearts of gold for several years and I grow them every year. The second crop I'm growing vertically is beans. I'm growing pole beans on this trellis. They can take a little bit longer to begin producing but once they get going you get green beans all season long. Pole beans are simple. Once they find the trellis they'll climb up all on their own and that makes harvesting easy. The beans will hang down and be easy to spot among the leaves. Harvest often to encourage production and that ensures you'll get plenty of beans. I'm growing a favorite Kentucky Wonder pole beans from Saved Beans and a new one for me this year these Christmas Speckled Lima Beans. The next crop I'm growing vertically might surprise you. It's zucchini and summer squash. This climbing zucchini and rise and shine summer squash are varieties that have been bred specifically for growing vertically. They love to climb. Getting squash off of the ground and onto this trellis will help it grow better. There's increased airflow. I'll be able to spot pests and disease quicker and the blooms will be easier to spot for me and the bees. On this six foot bed I'll have four plants, two of each variety. As the plants grow I'll definitely need to tuck the vines in and among this trellis and as the lower leaves begin to get damaged I'll trim those leaves up as the plant grows. For my fourth crop I'm planting cucumbers on this trellis once the peas finish up. I love growing Japanese cucumbers. They're full of flavor and prolific. My favorite Armenian type cucumber is painted serpent. Hands down the best Armenian type cucumber to grow. It tolerates the heat and thrives during Arizona summers. Growing cucumbers vertically means you can grow more in less space. Without a trellis cucumbers can take over an entire raised bed but instead I'm planting four cucumbers along this trellis one per square foot and each of them will climb. I'll definitely need to help those vines twine among the trellis. I'll probably prune the suckers as they grow to encourage more production on that main vine. Although I'm calling them both cucumbers, Armenian cucumbers are actually a type of melon. That's what lets them withstand all this Arizona heat. If I was going to grow one crop this summer the painted serpent Armenian cucumber would be it. Not only are they prolific and easy to grow but they are delicious. They taste so much like a regular cucumber you'll never believe that it's actually a melon. And finally tomatoes. I love growing tomatoes vertically. Here in the low desert our season is short so I already have mine in the ground. A tomato cage works great for determinate varieties like romas that are only going to grow a certain height and then stop. But indeterminate varieties like the ones I have planted here will keep growing and growing and growing. They need lots of support to grow up. I plant one tomato per square and keep it pruned to a central leader. That means as it grows up I'm attaching it to the trellis and pruning out any suckers along that stem. Daily maintenance is crucial if you're growing vines on a trellis. You want to keep an eye on those vines. Young vines twist easily in and among the trellis. As the branches get older they become more brittle and it's easy to break them. This season I'm planting San Marzano, Cherokee Purple, Pink Berkeley Tie Dye Tomato, Big Beef Tomato, and Yellow Brandywine. I tucked in some basil or marigolds next to each plant as a companion plant. I'm growing a tomato plant in this container. If you're growing in containers make sure that they hold at least 10 gallons of soil. I like to add an oya so that they have plenty of moisture and definitely add a trellis if you're growing an indeterminate type like this one. Add more space to your garden this summer by growing vertically. I'll put a list of all the crops we talked about in the description along with links to the seeds. Are you growing vertically this year? I would love to hear what you're growing.