ooppss - my raised bed is 6 sided so a hexigon not an 8 sided octagon

Fern

I use velcro straps on mine to get them started. If one strays, I move it to where I want it, moving the 1st strap to hold this one. I would expect string or twist ties would also work.

What are you using for the runner beans?

I have the runner beans waving high above a trellis that seems to be "way" too small for them - it is being pulled inward now - I think that something like that would get pulled over by the cukes

Fern

Oh, So you are looking for trellis ideas?

Possibly a nice trellis or would an obelisk work? I have a beautiful planter with obelisk and a Mandevilla vine growing up it - it has provided me with beautiful flowers all summer. I really like the look of it and am trying to figure out how to include more metal obelisks in my space to allow me to grow vertically - since I'm horizontally challenged with regard to space - my entire back yard is only 17 x 17.5 feet and I do love to grow some veggies but the entire area is my outside sitting space so I want to make it look nice with flowers [roses] also

Fern

I'm using electrical conduit for my tomato trellis, it's not cheap but it's sturdy. I anchored them to the sides of the bed with C shaped clamps. If you know an electrician, you might be able to get some scraps.

Here they are at the beginning of the season.

{{gwi:31002}}

Now the 3 tomato plants are over 6' tall.

I started with the recommended vertical pieces of string hanging from the top bar, but I found that I needed to tie some more supports for the larger branches mid-season.

I haven't grown cucs yet, going to tackle that next year, but I think you could do something similar. I'm not sure how sturdy the vines are though.

If you want it to be pretty, spraypaint it green. :)

I had an extra tomato cage, so I plopped that over my 3 cucumber plants and just used blades of ornamental grass (um, it was long enough and close at hand when I was looking for something) to tie them up until their tendrils grabbed the cage. We've had lovely straight cucs the last few weeks! The tomato cage is kind of ugly and utilitarian, but I don't see why an obelisk wouldn't work the same. I have one in front of my house with a flowering vine on it, but I can see it with a cucumber.

Catherine

I bought some white wooden trellis at Lowe's which definitely is not sturdy enough for veggies. But what I did was spray painted some fence posts white and lashed the trellis to the fence post. They are quite sturdy now. I use clear fishing line to add more support since the spaces in the trellis are too far apart. I already had the fence post is why I used those, but before I have used piece of concrete rebar and strapped the "pretty" trellis to it. The pretty ones are nice looking, generally they're just not strong enough for the weight of veggies. I guess mostly designed for flowers which don't get very heavy.

a lurker but thought I would finally register so I could post. For the last 2 years I have grown cuks in 5 gal buckets ( recycled from local ice creamery )that I drilled holes in for drainage and buried about 6 in. deep. Dh and I built 6'ladder type trellis' out of 1x2 & 1x3 for the cuks as an experiment... what a teriific idea....the plants grew right to the top with little persuation to wrap and vine around the leg and cross supports, cuks grew straight and long and I never had to worry about beetles or other nasty ground crawlies getting to them because the were suspended in the air.
nette

momashaw I love that idea!
You could also get long bamboo stakes and lash them together at the top to make a tipi/type of structure- then growing the cukes or beans or both -- up the structure. I've seen very tall ones of these and they are very pretty in the garden. Wouldn't work too well for tomatoes, though. Tomatoes do well in pots though if you get the right varities- check out the container garden website for that.

Garden fever,

Cherry tomatoes do VERY well in my 5 gal buckets.. too well in fact, I can't keep up with them. I bought 2 of a patio/bush variey last year.... was only supossed to get about 2' high, these suckers grew to about 4 feet and sprawled out like a wandering squash vine! The silly things produced until November. Even my ladder trellis could not contain it in any managable means. I asked my nursery about it and I was assured the stock they grow is garanteed to be what it claims to be. I guess my compost must have been pretty good for that particular patio tomatoe, have no idea what I put into it over the year.. clippings, leaves, kitchen veggie waste etc... and I bet I can't do it again next year lol