[gardgydja]

Any tried and true methods? I was thinking about building a small fence for the cucumbers to climb, but the winter squash is trickier as some of them are heavy. Can anyone advise me?

[tam]

My squash went up a wooden trellis fence panel. I don't know that canes would have supported the weight.

[Rangerkris]

Make a hammock for the squash when it starts to grow.

[Trillium]

I made my Munty frame out of 2x2's and the cukes climb up that. If I needed to, I'd run the squash up that support as well as it's well braced to take a load. I get very heavy tomato crops and I just use 2x2x8's for individual supports.

[gardgydja]

Thank you for the replies. I have an idea about making mini polytunnels along the south facing side of my big plot, with a good three feet in between. I thought if I could build some kind of sloping trellis or support ramp in between all the polytunnels, that I could train the winter squash up those and then onto the fence behind. I thought that nestled in between the polytunnels would be a good snug spot for them.

I will try to draw up what I mean later.

[JohnB47]

I didn't think you needed to support winter squash. My gardening books don't mention it. Why do you do this (to keep the fruit dry and away from pests?). I'm planning to grow butternut and crown prince.

Ta

[gardgydja]

Yes I want to train it into the paths between my mini polytunnels and hopefully onto the fence, keep it out of the way and let it get more light. I have grown it before just on the ground and it takes up so much space; I have 8 different kinds this year!

[Hobnails]

I grow Butternut squash on foot high ridges among the outdoor tomatoes. I make mini-bean trenches, set the plant on top and allow the vines to trail among the tomatoes. The leaves are as good as a mulch in preventing dry-out in a sunny summer. I pinch out the vine when it has set 3 fruit.
My Butternuts grow to about 2Kg weight and I would not want to grow them up a trellis.

[Paul Plots]

I've grown butternut in along with the runner beans before now using a stout frame. Worked well. 

[barbarella]

We put up a sturdy square (as opposed to diamond shaped) trellis up last year 6' x 6', and trained up two butternut and two potimarron squash plants - this was to save space on the ground as you are supposed to leave a couple of metres all round and we could not afford so much space.  It worked really well but we only got two or three smallish squashes off each plant. 

I was a bit disappointed at the small crop but several people have said it was a very poor year for them - I remember Anne Swithinbank saying this on Gardeners' Question Time so I don't think it was anything we did wrong.  We dug in lots of compost etc and I watered them regularly.  So I'm going to try again this year.  Hope springs eternal as they say

[gardgydja]

It's true! 
I have a really mad looking "Tromboccino" (sp?) summer squash that likes to climb, and I knew I would need to make a sort of frame for that one, so I thought, maybe they could all do it (winter ones as well) and save me some ground space. I had a golden hubbard the first year on the plot and it climbed all by itself right up a dividing fence and over to the neighbour's plot and it made a lot of fruit like that. I never got to see how it ended though because the neighbour took it down and sent it home to it's own plot!