Why noot grow them at the corners of the beds and let them sprawl outside the beds. Just lay down paper or cardboard to protect the fruits.

Howdy, CloneZero!

Its been a pleasure reading your posts.

I think Ray Sheel has some interesting experiences with vining Italian squashes that can be eaten young as summer types or left to harden as winter types.

Another option you might consider is staking, which has worked very well for me. At 18 to 24 inches between plant centers, staking is the way to go for this squash lover in the Southwest. (I may try some in planters this year, who knows!)

Here is a link that might be useful: Our FAQ on staking summer squashes

Hi Rain1950 & jacque_e_tx;

Thank you for your suggestions they are very helpful. The thing is I'm trying to learn the ins & outs of Mel's SFG. So I'm at the stage where I am trying to be a purist. I had a successful run using SFG last year and was very impressed by it, but I grew squash/corn/pole bean in the Native American style of three sisters. I had one Alaskan Melon growing on strings but that didn't work very well.

This year I wanted to really see if I could get the squash to grow vertically. I did some more posts and sent some emails out and got a nice list of summer squash & zucchini that people recommend that can be grow as vines a little, see below.

jacque_e_tx: funny you should mention the vine Italian squashes, my Italian barber has a picture under a trellis with him & grandkids growing this type of huge squash. Impressive having the huge squash hang down from the roof.
I think I will build a 4 x 4 trellis & 4 feet off the ground and grow these Italian squash, just ordered the seeds from Pine Tree Seeds. Also, I have never staked squash or zucchini, why would I do that? Is it just to get them to grow vertical? Do you tie them or just wrap them around the stake?

Anyway, I like the cardboard idea under the squash/zucchini plants is good. I grew a gray-ish zucchini last year that was great, until it started to wilt because some bug was in the stalk. Very disheartening having to rip out plants that have been producing steady for 2 month.

Here is a list of vine summer squash & zucchini that I have collected, however, I have not verified any of them. I'll try a couple this year and let you know.

Recommendations I received:

Vining Summer Squash or Zucchini List (Unconfirmed)-
------------------------------------------------------------
* Zucchetta rampicante 'Tromboncino'
(www.superseeds.com)
* Trailing Green Marrow
* Shepherd's heirloom summer squash Zuchetta Rampicante (s-shaped fruit - 3')
* Green Striped Vegetable Marrow
* Mexican C. Pepo called Tatume
* Italian Vegetable Marrow
*"zucchetta rampicante," "tromboncino," or "Italian trombone squash." (Cucurbita moschata)
* Saffron (Burpee: 63453A)
* Early Prolific Straightneck (61069A)
* Peter Pan Hybrid (52787A)
* Pic-n-Pic Hybrid Crookneck (53215A)
* Early Golden Crookneck (61036A)
* Butterstick Hybrid Zucchini (53231A)
* Burpee Golden Zucchini (53157A)

The following summer squash varieties are compact bush varieties:
* Sunray Hybrid Straightneck (54833A)
* Sunny Delight Hybrid (Scallop/Patty Pan) (54874A)
* Sweet Gourmet Hybrid Zucchini (52670A)

Rain1950: I have been growing the squash on the edge of my garden, but my SFG plots only have 1 foot ailes, so I'm a little limited. I might make 1x1 ft boxes fill them with compost and get the plants to be higher then the resto of the plot. Thanks for the cardboard idea.

Thx,

CloneZero

So, it's been almost a year since your post about looking for vining summer squash. Had any luck? What did you try?
Thanks!

I grew butternut on a trellis last year. It worked really well.

green devo you make me LOL, all that about summer squash and you planted butternut. I am so glad it worked for you. Very impressive list, by the way. I had pretty good luck last year with veining beans Meraldas on teepees with zucchini underneath. Both had pretty good yields.

I grew the "Italian trombone squash" (Cucurbita moschata) & it work out very well, but each vine only produces 1 or 2 fruits at a time. I waited for them to mature, their size is big. I will grow twice as many. Plus I found a couple little Peter Pan squashes , but will plant them this year. I also planted smaller/bushier squashes so got my density up, & used much more compost so yields stayed up, plus a little chem fert. Will tweak the whole thing this year. One caveat is that we had rain all June so had to plant another set of seedlings, but got enough crop to be happy.

I have done extensive research on this topic, as I, too, was looking for zucchini and yellow summer squash to grow on vines in my SFG. After talking to many experts in my area and some online research, I found out that there are NO none vining summer squash...however, don't panic. There are a few substitutes that can be used. These substitutes are technically acorn and/or butternut varieties, so you can let them grow and mature to a full size, which is large. However, if you harvest them young, they are a good substitute for zucchini. I will be trying out one of these (Table Dainty) for the first time this year and will let you know how it goes.

Lastly, in response to the unconfirmed list posted above, I have several notes:
The Tromboncino, Zuchetta Rampicante, and Curcubita moschata, listed separately, are the same plant. They can be grown as immature zucchini, but are actually a butternut variety. The Mexican Tatume is a round squash, not your typical cylindrical zucchini, and the rest of the list are ALL bush plants, although some are compact. I have not found any vining substitutes for yellow straightneck or crooked neck summer squash, so if anyone has any ideas, please let me know. I will be doing a compact bush: Pic N Pic variety, available just about anywhere. Also NOTE: None of the seeds you will find on Burpee's site are vining...very important. I am going to post each of the 3 zucchini substitues in separate posts, because I have pictures for each. Again, I have not tried these, but will be trying the Table Dainty this year. Maybe trying the others later.

Here is a link that might be useful: Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

ZUCCHINI VINING SUBSTITUTE #1

TABLE DAINTY
$2.25/packet of 15 seeds, $3.50 S&H = TOTAL $5.75
See link below or go to www.rareseeds.com (Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Co.) These are heirloom seeds, which is great because you will get seeds to save for the next year.

Here is a link that might be useful: Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds-Table Dainty

ZUCCHINI VINING SUBSTITUTE #2

ODESSA (Orig. Ukraine)
$2.50/packet of 20 seeds, $3.50 S&H = TOTAL $6.00
See link below or go to www.rareseeds.com (Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Co.) These are heirloom seeds, which is great because you will get seeds to save for the next year.

Here is a link that might be useful: Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds-Odessa

ZUCCHINI VINING SUBSTITUTE #3
LONG TRAILING GREEN MARROW (Note: In the UK, Squash are called Marrows. I could not find this variety for sale online in the U.S., hence it's placement at #3. Please let me know if any of you try it and/or find it in the U.S.)
0.80 POUND (UK Currency)/packet of 20 seeds, Not sure what S&H is since it's coming from the UK. See link below or go to www.vegetableseeds.net. Can also try Kingsseeds.com (Also in UK, 1.00 Pound per packet of 20 seeds)

Here is a link that might be useful: Vegetable Seeds.net (UK!!) - Trailing Green Marrow