Grow red kuri vertically to maximize space

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Bright to deep red fruits with sweet, chestnut-flavoured flesh, hanging at eye level from a panel of mesh: red kuri squash normally sprawls over vast areas of ground, yet it climbs a wall or an arch willingly. Give it full sun and soil that can never be too rich, and even a balcony will crop.

Growing red kuri squash up a wall or an arch makes it possible to grow these delicious chestnut-tasting vegetables even on a balcony, terrace or any garden that has limited space.

• Read also: How to grow red kuri squash

Advantages of growing red kuri vertically

Red kuri growing vertically is a great solution for many small problems that might be encountered in traditional, ground-hugging cultivation.

• Space is saved because the plant doesn’t need to sprawl around for light.
• Red kuri fruits hang freely in the air which protects them from blemishes and insects that crawl the ground.
• Maturing fruits get more sun which makes them ripen faster and sweeter.
• Leaves are less vulnerable to fungal diseases like powdery mildew since it’s easier not to wet them when watering, and fungus spores don’t splash up to contaminate them.
• When combined with raised gardening, you’ll also avoid root rot. This will make for very healthy red kuri plants!

Choosing the right spot for vertical red kuri

Most important is exposure: your red kuri plant needs as much sun as it can get, even at young stages.

• Prefer locations facing South or South-West in the Northern hemisphere, and North-facing in the Southern hemisphere. Avoid shade from overhanging trees or buildings.
• If walls are of a very light color like white or cream, provide for adequate watering: the intense light reflected off the walls means the red kuri squash plants will be needing more water.

Choose a spot sheltered from the prevailing wind, since gusts can topple a loaded trellis, tear red kuri’s large leaves and vines, and discourage the pollinating insects the flowers depend on.

The strip of ground right against a wall often sits in a rain shadow under the eaves, so count on watering the red kuri yourself there rather than relying on rainfall.

Leave a hand’s width between the mesh and the wall so air circulates behind the foliage.

Remember that a grown red kuri on a frame casts a long shadow, so place it where that shade falls on a path rather than across your other vegetable rows.

Setting up the structure

You can either work with a lattice along a wall or set up a self-supporting structure that you can place anywhere in the garden.

Movable structures make it possible to test different locations along the garden, but a fixed set-up is more likely to last longer.

Growing red kuri squash up a wall

First of all, remember that what you build must last an entire season and support the weight of grown red kuri fruits.

• Securely attach a horizontal support bar or rail towards the top of your wall. Use screws that are suited to the wall’s building material.
• If possible, add more horizontal rails at two-foot intervals (50 cm) to minimize sway and movement of the structure.
• Use coated mesh wire with a spacing of 3 to 5 inches (8 to 12 cm) for the growing structure itself. Affix it strongly to the top rail and to every horizontal rail.

Plant the squash seedlings at the bottom and water generously.

Growing red kuri squash up a pergola, arch or trellis

Again, the full weight of the grown squash will weigh down on the structure which must be quite stable.

Fruiting red kuri flowers are vulnerable at the beginning stage and don’t like being disturbed. If the structure moves too much, the fruit will abort and fall off.

• Purchase a sturdy pergola. You can also use iron bars or 2×2 in (5×5 cm) wood beams to shape the structure.
• Iron bars can be shaped to form arches, whereas wooden beams are better suited for pyramid-like shapes or fence-like structures.
• Between the structural beams or bars, attach coated wire mesh (size 3 to 5 inches or 8 to 12 cm). Alternatively, weave simple coated wire between structural posts to criss-cross around the shape.

Which support to build for vertical red kuri

Every option has to carry the weight of grown fruit for a whole season without swaying. Choose according to where you want the plants and what you can build.

Whichever you choose, the structure must last an entire season and hold grown fruit without moving.

Red kuri squash reaching for the sky

If you’re setting this up on a terrace or balcony, provide a large garden box filled with very rich soil. If in the garden, why not install a raised garden bed to welcome this demanding crop? Amend the soil with mature compost. One-third to one-half compost is great and the soil can never be too rich for red kuri squash.

When the first red kuri stems start growing, tether them to the wire mesh. Once red kuri tendrils have locked on, there is no need to tether the plant any longer. Wire mesh is the ideal size for the tendrils to wrap around on. Anything larger than a finger is a bit too large for the plant to twist around.

You can guide new growth along the structure if ever shoots are spreading too far outwards.

Red kuri fruits usually aren’t heavy enough to pose a problem for vertical growing. There is no need to “bag” the fruits or otherwise relieve the weight, as might be the case with heavier squash and gourds like pumpkins, butternut gourd or spaghetti squash.

Harvest the red kuri fruits when they’re already bright to deep red and when leaves start yellowing off.

Check on first frost dates in your area because red kuri fruits exposed to freezing don’t keep for as long. Hanging in the open air makes them more vulnerable to frost than specimens grown on the ground.

• Read also: How to grow red kuri squash
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