I used to grow my squash on the ground, and train the vines to stay in a neat row (well, as neat as squash can be). Not anymore, I designed and built a DIY squash arch to tame my squash, and now I have a wonderful piece of architecture in my garden too.
Squash is a bully in the garden, and it will take over if you don’t control it. Now that I have my squash arch, the squash in my garden grows vertically, and it’s so much easier to control in my small vegetable garden plot.
How To Build A Squash Arch
It was extremely easy to put this arch together. Originally, I was going to build it the same way I built my cucumber arch trellis. But the metal garden fencing I used isn’t strong enough to hold up heavy squash on it’s own around the top of the arch.
So we (my husband helped me with this project) came up with a design that uses PVC piping to support the fencing over the top of the arch.
To make the arch tall enough, we needed two pieces of PVC pipe for each side. We glued them together using a special PVC glue and then weaved the PVC into the fencing.
Once the squash arch was up, I spray painted the PVC black to make it look like metal. You can paint it any color you want, be creative! Just make sure to paint it before you plant any seedlings so they don’t get sprayed with paint.
Also, it’s better to paint the squash arch after you put it up. If you paint it first, then the paint will get scratched when you start to move the squash arch around. Be sure to use a plastics spray paint too, so that it sticks to the PVC.
My squash arch in the garden
Growing Squash On A Squash Arch
Many people are afraid to grow squash vertically because it’s so heavy. But, most of the squash sit on top of the arch. If any squash start to hang down, I put them back on top.
The heavy squash can also be supported by making a sling out of an old t-shirt or nylons to support their weight as they mature.
My favorite types of squash plants to grow on my DIY garden arch are Sugar Pie Pumpkins, Butternut and Delicata.
My squash arch with pumpkins growing over it
Amazing right? Who knew squash could be so beautiful! I’m super excited about this arch, I absolutely love it! So many people rave about it, and it’s the focal point of my vegetable garden.
It has made squash plant control very easy, and the squash no longer takes over the garden. It also makes harvesting the squash a breeze, since I don’t have to bend down and hunt for it.
If you love my unique DIY squash arch design and want to build your own, click the button below to download the detailed squash arch instructions today!
Interested in building your very own Squash Arch?
Click the “Buy Now!” button to purchase your step-by-step instructions.
Building A Squash Arch – Step-by-Step Instructions
If you loved my squash arch project, and want even more step-by-step vertical gardening projects, then my new book, Vertical Vegetables: Simple Projects That Deliver More Yield In Less Space is just for you! In it you will learn all about vertical vegetable gardening, and get detailed step-by-step instructions for nearly two dozen unique and beautiful vertical gardening structures and supports designed by me! Order your copy today!
Learn more about my new book: Vertical Vegetables.
Products I Recommend
More Posts About Vertical Gardening
- Building Sturdy Tomato Cages
- How To Build A Pea Trellis Arch
- 20 Excellent Trellis Plants For Your Garden
- 15 Types Of Vertical Gardening Systems & Supports
Leave a comment below and let me know what you think of my squash arch design.
Michael Moore says
I think this is a great idea, and I bet it helps with vine borers too.
Do the squash and pumpkins climb it themselves, or do you have to continually train them on it?
I look forward to seeing the results.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Thanks! I don't think my squash arch will help with the borers, but that's what the raised bed is for. I dig out the borers when I notice damage. Then I add some dirt to the bed, burying the borer damaged part of the vines. The squash plants will grow new roots as the stems are buried with dirt. I did this last year, and it worked great! I was harvesting squash until the cold killed the plants.
El Gaucho says
I've used this method before with cucumbers and squash and it works really well. Pumpkins need extra support so that they don't rip off the vine when they get too heavy but you can just use some old clothes or fabric scraps to "swaddle" them for extra support. Good luck, I'm eager to see your results.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Great, thanks for the tip about swaddling the pumpkins. I will definitely try that if the variety of pumpkins I have get large.
Amy
KathleenW says
For smaller squash or melons, you can use an old bra! I did it this past summer and it worked perfectly for my Uzbekistan melons. Pumpkins I guess would be too large, hee hee! But it would be easy to use a long sleeve shirt by pinning the cuffs together along with a pinch or two of the hem, pinning all together up at the top of the frame to make a cradle for the pumpkin. Nice blog, thanks for the squash arch instructions!
Kimberly May says
Ha hahahahahaha! I can’t wait to use my old bras on this project!
Amy Andrychowicz says
LOL, love it!! You better send me some pictures! 🙂
Bruce Maynard says
how about using mesh bags for support?
Amy Andrychowicz says
I think mesh bags would work great for swaddling the squash that are hanging down from the arch.
Tyra says
I use Pantyhose !!!
Mita says
Or recycle some old mesh bags from when you buy fruit or veggies at the grocery store. If you don’t have them, ask friends for them.
Mita says
And then I saw your comment! LOL!
Linda says
cut the leg off old nylons. Place fruit/vegetable that needs support into leg and ties to trellis… works great to suspend/support squash growing vertically.
Louis Dugas says
For those of you living near a fishing community, try a supplier of fish net, they would most likely give you the left over trimmings.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Great idea!
Kelly says
I had some of my pumpkins climbing last summer and I sat 5 gallon buckets or outdoor tables under them for support. I am planning my garden and am blogging on this very topic soon — thanks for the ideas! I’ll be putting a link to your article in my post…and it looks like you have TONS of great posts to dig through — Hooray!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Great idea! Thanks for the link back. 🙂
RandomGardener says
What kind of squash are you thinking of planting on them? Zucchini/yellow squash that I plant are bushes.
Amy Andrychowicz says
All of the types of squash I have are vine varieties. Let's see, I have delicata, butternut, pumpkin, acorn, sweet dumpling and I think I have a zucchini too. It's going to be a full arch (I hope)!
Amy
Janette Porter says
Can you use orange snow fence instead of metal mesh? It can be doubled.
Amy Andrychowicz says
I wouldn’t. I don’t think the plastic snow fencing would be sturdy enough for building the squash arch, and the center of the arch would likely collapse.
Cindy tilley says
Would spaghetti squash work?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Yes, it will work with any type of squash that is a vine (rather than a bush) variety.
sara montour says
I live in an apartment right now and am putting a garden on my roof this year. I was just thinking about building something like this for all of the squash I started; so glad I came across this post and can't wait to follow along and see how it works for you!
Amy Andrychowicz says
A garden on the roof, that sound very cool! Glad you found my post, and thanks for the nice comment! Good luck building your squash arch, I'd love to see your results too.
Amy
Susan says
I love, love, love this! Can't wait to try it next year. This summer I built a similar structure, but it was to protect blueberries and strawberries from the deer and rabbits. I used PVC pipe and wove it through chicken wire–thought it was an original idea! 🙂
Amy Andrychowicz says
Thank Susan! Funny, I guess great minds think alike! 🙂
Anonymous says
I'm a new follower and I've seen many design's for trellising squash and the like and this is the 1st one that has actually jumped out at me. It's to late for this year but next year I'll be in the know, I love your squash arch design. My cucumber's has over taken my bamboo teepee's this year and are going wild. Thank's for sharing this and have a great weekend!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Hi, thanks for the new follow! Glad you like my squash arch, I'm happy with the way it turned out. Isn't it fun when stuff starts to take off and grow like crazy. I figure in a week or two, it will be hard to walk through the vegetable garden. I love this time of year!
Crystal says
Can you give the specs on the PVC? I have been thinking of trying this, love how your arch adds interest to the garden!
Amy Andrychowicz says
The PVC I used is 1/2". Basically, I took a piece of the fencing to HD with me to see what size of PVC would fit. So, if you use a different type of fencing to build your arch, the diameter of the PVC might be different for you.
Nancy says
Amy,
Love all the wonderful ideas! The tubing you used is called “FlowGuard.” Home Depot sells it in 10 ft. lengths. Here’s their description: Charlotte Pipe 1/2 in. x 10 ft. CPVC SDR11 Flowguard Gold Pipe. We’ve used it to make mini hoop houses for my eggplants and the potato grow bags, as Colorado Potato Beetles are rampant around here. After creating a base of larger rigid PVC pipe, we drilled 5/8″ holes all the way through the pipe and fastened the 1/2″ pipe by pushing it through the 5/8″ pipe and anchored it in the dirt. We covered ours with AgriBon to make it insect proof. Makes it very sturdy AND you can break it down and reconfigure it a number of ways.
Amy Andrychowicz says
That sounds great Nancy, thanks for sharing how you protect your garden from nasty potato beetles. Yuck!
Kelly says
Love this beautiful arch! Does the PVC come rolled up or in straight pieces?
Thank you!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Hi Kelly,
Thanks, glad you love it! The PVC comes in straight pieces, you can find it in the plumbing section at HD or Lowe's.
Anonymous says
I made this today – thanks for the inspiration! Did you plant the squash inside the arch or outside? Do you think it would work to plant them in pots on the outside and train them up the arch from there?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Oh fantastic!! I'm so excited! You are so welcome, thanks for letting me know. I planted the squash seeds both on the inside and the outside of the arch, staggering the seeds, You could probably do pots, but they should be pretty large. Good luck!
Cheryl says
Use a dusting of diatomaceous earth around the stems of your squash. That should take care of the borers.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Great tip Cheryl! Eggshells would work too… Eggshells as Organic Pest Control
Amy
wheatberri says
Amy,
Thanks so much for your inspiration!
My husband and I have reclaimed an abandoned city lot for our veggie & herb garden this year, and we constructed a squash arch for it today, based on your blog.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I hope it holds up…time will tell 🙂
Amy Andrychowicz says
Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing this. It will hold up, and you will love how it looks when it's covered by squash vines.
LindaCTG says
Fabulous! I'm going to try it. It was just so great to meet you!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Great! If you end up building it, I would love to see pictures. It was great to meet you too!
Amy
Help! Mama Remote... says
Looks absolutely amazing!!!! I can't wait until next year now.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Thank you! I can't wait to see pictures when you build your own squash arch. 🙂
Amy
Sue Gilmore says
It looks beautiful–and the arch looks big enough to walk under. I think it would be so lovely with roses too!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Yes, I made the arch tall enough to walk under. Though it could be a bit taller for my husband, he has to crouch down a bit. 🙂
Julee Celeste says
What a super idea, and so decorative, too! When my husband and I finally close on the house we’re buying and I am able to plant a garden, I will definitely be building a squash arch. Thanks for posting it!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Great! Congratulations on your new house and garden.
Amy
Carrie McColl says
I used a cattle panel to make an arch for my garden, seems to be working well but I really like the idea of the woven fence , we always have a section left over from fencing around here… it will be put to good use this time. I use it mostly for melons , I will do some winter squashes this way this year. Great timing as I am getting ready to plant everything.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Awesome Carrie! I love it!
Fred Reeve says
What size pipe did you use for this? Thanks.
Amy Andrychowicz says
I used 1/2″
Kimberley says
I built my arch earlier this spring with my nine-year-old daughter it was a great project for us! My two questions are how many individual squash plants do you typically have a growing up the trellis, and what are the dimentions of the planting area at the base of the trellis?
Thank you!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Wonderful, I’m so excited to hear that you built your own squash arch! I’m not exactly sure how many plants I’ve put in the past few years. Probably 6 or 8 seedlings/seeds per side, then thin out the weak ones. I’m not sure what you mean by the dimensions of the planting area at the base of the trellis. If you’re asking about the dimensions of my raised beds, they are 2’x4′.
Amy
Kimberley says
Perfect that answers my question! I’d read from another source to have only one squash plant per 4 ft wide trellis and that left me thinking I wouldn’t get much yield. I’ve got 4 plants per side in raised beds that are 1.5’x3′ which seems consistent with your planting.
Thanks for the inspiration, I’m eagerly awaiting a full squash arch later this summer!
Ed Abayon says
If I buy the book Building a Squash Arch, do you send a pdf copy of it via my email? Am from Philippines. I just need a pdf copy, to avoid shipping cost .
Amy Andrychowicz says
Yes, you will be emailed a pdf downloadable file of the squash arch instructions.
Amy
Diana says
Hello, I loved your idea so much that I purchased the PDF and am planning on building two of these this year Such a great idea!
Two questions: I can’t tell from the pictures how ‘woven’ the pvc is in the fencing but it looks like you skipped a few fencing squares between weavings? Could you comment on that?
Also, in your experience is 3″ of rebar long enough above ground to keep the trellis adequately stabilized?
Thanks so much, this is the most functional, economical and relatively easy to build trellis idea I’ve seen yet!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Awesome, hope you enjoy it! 🙂 I loosely weaved the PVC into the fencing. Yes, just enough rebar to stabilize the arch. Once you get it in, you can readjust if you need to. You’ll see how stable it is once you put the arch up. 🙂
Amy
Rae-Lyn says
What length of PVC pipes did you use? How high is it? My hubby is going to build right away for me!!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Mine is about 6′ tall. The lengths of PVC you use depend on how high and wide you want the arch. The exact specs of mine are in the downloadable plans. 🙂
Skye says
I see from your link that you are using the metal rabbit fencing but not seeing it at the bottom of your picture. I don’t need rabbit fencing, is this type flexible, it looks like it is? Also, you possible know how many inches the squares are and/or the mm of the wire? Great idea, I want to try it! Thanks.
Amy Andrychowicz says
This is the exact type of fencing I used… Metal garden fencing
megan says
Do the squash climb themselvs or is it easy to train them to do so?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Squash plants do climb a little by themselves, but they aren’t great climbers. Here’s a post I wrote that explains how to train them to grow on the arch… How to grow squash vertically
Lissa says
Have you planted different varieties of climbing plants- squash, melons ect or do they cross pollinate?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Squash and melons do tend to cross pollinate, so if you’re worried about that then don’t plant them together. I usually stick to one type of squash on the arch, but have experimented with mixing them before. It’s fun to try different varieties. I’ve never grown melons on the arch, melons are tough to grow in our short season here in MN.
Diana says
We’re in Wisconsin and this year are starting our melons early under lights and then will move them to the greenhouse before planting them outside by the arch. Maybe we can get a good harvest that way instead of direct seeding them and being disappointed because they don’t have long enough to ripen.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Yes, melons are hard with our short growing season. Starting them indoors ahead of time should help a ton!
Julie says
If you did this for cucumbers approximately how many plants do you use per raised bed? My worries I may plant to many lol vs using the ground
Amy Andrychowicz says
The seed packet for the cucumbers I’m growing this year says to space them 12″ apart. I usually plant my cucumbers a little closer together than the recommendation, since they climb the trellis and have more room to grow than the bush varieties do. If you’re worried, then I would stick with the recommendation on the seed packet. Here’s a post I wrote about how to grow cucumbers vertically that might help you out.
Brigg Franklin says
I notice in your squash trellis picture above you appear to have used a 10′ PVC pipe and a shorter section hooked together. Is the short section 5′ to make the arch total 15 foot? It seems an arch of two 10′ sections is too tall and one 10′ section too short. You could also use three 5′ sections with “T” connectors to link two arches together with short PVC sections and give the fence more support. Ideas?
Amy Andrychowicz says
You could definitely customize it any way you want. That’s part of the fun!
Esther says
Very cool~ What I wd do is use zip ties to connect the fence wire to the pvc pipe.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Sounds like a great idea!
Gwen says
Just found your site after seeing your squash arch on Laurie Neverman’s Home Grown Food Summit presentation- really like your ideas!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Thank you Gwen!
Diana says
Hi Amy,
Just wanted to let you know that we built our squash arch last Sunday. Where it was placed is a step down from our driveway which made the original length look too short, so we used 2 10 footers instead and spread the legs apart further than in your instructions. It was a bit wobbly feeling at first but adding 10 or so zip ties to each side stabilized it very well. Everyone that has seen it thinks it looks great. I’m so excited to get some plants growing on it!! Thanks again for such a nifty and easy idea.
FYI: I chose to go with the schedule-80 dark grey pvc pipe since it’s supposed to stand up to UV rays better and it’s not that much more expensive.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Sounds like you made some great modifications! I hope it will work out well for you. I love the idea of using the dark grey pvc, then you don’t have to paint it. Thanks for sharing that tip!
Judy says
Perhaps this question came up in other comments but I’m wondering if you move your trellis to different garden boxes each year. I have been trying to do a sort of crop rotation in my boxes but it gets hard to do if you have permanent hard structures!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Yes, I do move it between boxes. I also use it to grow beans, and have alternated years with growing beans and squash on the arch so that I can do crop rotation that way too.
Ed Kniska says
Can you tell me if it is better to plant the squash inside the arch (fencing) and leave a gap so that the vines can be brougjht through and then ran up the trellis arch or plant the squash in front of the arch and then rub the vines straight up the arch as it grows?
Thanks
Amy Andrychowicz says
You can plant the squash plants either on the outside or the inside of the arch. It doesn’t matter because as they vine out, they will grab onto the fencing and weave themselves in and out of the fencing. You do have to help them out sometimes though, here’s more information on training your squash vines to grow vertically… How To Grow Squash Vertically
Barbara M. says
OMG this is just beautiful ! To me , gardening is all about the “magical” return on my creative effort.. And this arch is truly MAGICAL..next year I’m arching away! Maybe even in the FRONT of my house. It’s THAT cool. Thanks Amy! Just subscribed tonight.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Awesome, glad you love my squash arch design so much! Thanks for subscribing! 🙂
Margaret says
Now why didn’t I think of that? I grow a squash that apparently goes by a number of names – Trombocini and Rampicante are two of them. If I grow it on the ground it tries to take over the garden and on the fence it leaves little room for beans. It’s spring here (New Zealand) so I need to begin some serious arch making. Thanks for the timely idea.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Awesome, have fun!
Claudia says
I love this and it has given me an idea. I live in a little 4-plex and have a small patio. I’m going to try putting an arch at my gateway, with BIG pots on each side for the cukes, beans, and maybe something else. That way, it should look nice and I’ll be able to harvest easily.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Sounds awesome, good luck!
Helen Cano says
What a wonderful idea. I use to grow pumpkins up the front of my mobile home to help shade the house. Now Im thinking of putting an arch over my entry ramp. I was thinking cement reinforcement wire with a thicker pvc. I love the thought of editable landscaping. If I dont use the whole roll I can make tomato cages oit of some of the rest. Wow thanks for the inspiration.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Sounds great! You’re welcome, good luck!
Debbie W. says
Love this. A good way to keep the weeds out and we had to give up our garden with my mom being ill. Maybe this will work.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Awesome, hope it works for you!
Janet Vinyard says
Very attractive way to handle squash – well done! Blessings, Janet
Amy Andrychowicz says
Thank you! 🙂
Ellie says
What an awesome idea. I love how you give explicit directions! You take the time to answer all questions. Great blog!!!! Glad I found you. You make me look forward to gardening???????
Amy Andrychowicz says
Awesome, thanks!
luci says
Love it! We are working on a new property that needs tons of work. We ar working the soil now with organic compost inside our fenced chicken area. They run free in about a acre space. i am wanting to give them shade I think this might be the perfect solution and fun for the kids too! Thanks for sharing
Amy Andrychowicz says
Great idea! You’re welcome.
Amanda Jensen says
Amy, I too live in Minnesota, I would love to do a arch like this, but my question is which direction should a trellis like this be positioned? I worry about things behind it not getting enough sunlight… So I haven’t done one yet… Any advise? Thank you!!!!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Humm… good question. I’ve never thought about that before. I’ve never noticed stunted growth of the plants around my squash arch. But, to be safe, I think you should be good if you face it to the south/north so that it casts a smaller shadow.
Amanda Jensen says
Thank you for your response Amy! I am going to give it a try this year!
Amy Andrychowicz says
You’re welcome!
Augustine Rhodes says
What a great idea! I am going to try it and let you know how it works. Also, do you think I could try something like this for my cucumber arch? It would be cheaper for me than using cattle panels.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Sure, you could try it for cucumbers too. I like to use these smaller arch trellises for my cucumbers… Easy Homemade Arched Cucumber Trellis
Josh B says
Amy,
This is wonderful. I built my own this weekend and I am very excited for this growing season.
I have skimmed through this entire post and comments and I have a question about something I am unclear about:
Will I be able to grow more than one variety of squash on this arch? For example, could I grow acorn, butternut, and summer all on one arch?
Also, would winter squash (spaghetti squash) work on this (my wife and I are currently debating this)?
Thanks again for posting this.
Amy Andrychowicz says
You can grow any type of squash that is a long, vining type plant (avoid bush varieties). Yes, you could mix different varieties and grow them on the arch at the same time. BUT, squash plants do tend to get cross-pollinated. So you might end up with some weird hybrids if you grow them all that close together. And yes, you can grow spaghetti squash on the arch (as long as you don’t have a bush variety of the plant).
Lori Neumann says
I built my arch last spring and am thrilled to say my vines are going crazy! So far we have 4 sugar pie pumpkins and two acorn squashes growing, and lots of flowers on the spaghetti squash plant but no fruit yet. Here’s my question though – when the vines grow over the top and down the other side do you just let them grow along the ground? My husband said we should just chop them off but… We appreciate your advice!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Woohoo, glad to hear your squash arch is growing well for you! I always train the vines back up onto the arch, but you certainly could just let them grow along the ground or prune them if you want to.
Jessica says
I’m So Glad I found this! My gourds and Squash take over my garden! I cant wait to try growing my squash vertically this year. I just happen to have some left over PVC from other projects. I’m going to also grow my beans and Cucumbers the same way.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Awesome, have fun building your squash arch! 🙂
Julie Ford says
Do you plant anything else in the planter with the squash?
Amy Andrychowicz says
I do succession planting in my raised beds. So, I start by planting early crops like lettuce or spinach under the arch. Then I plant some nasturtium around the edges of the boxes at the same time as I sow my squash seeds to add summer and fall color to my beds.
Klara says
Love this idea for squash arch, Amy! I`ll try to make one this weekend, wish me luck!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Good luck, and have fun! 🙂
Megan says
The squash arch is beautiful! I’ve thought back on this longingly a few times since I first saw this post wishing I had the room to do something just like it.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Awe thanks! I hope you’ll find the space to build one of your own someday! 🙂
The Snowbound Gardener says
Hi Amy, I got a big fat hedgehog in my yard ( named Murray ) and he cleaned me out of squash last year. I too built an arbor this winter ( yet to be erected ). I have a 8×5 foot roof after a 5ft climb up…Hoping to grow 6 Winter Squash ( 2 Acorn, 2 Delicata and 2 Red Kuri )
Amy Andrychowicz says
Oooo, that sucks! I had a chipmunk last fall that was a major pest, but I can imagine a hedgehog would be way worse! The squash will do great on your arbor! You’ll just have to protect the bottoms from the hedgehog, and the rest will be safe off the ground! Brilliant!
Annabella says
I love this! Just got hubby to make me an arch and have planted heritage butternut squash around it, with a few sweet peas for good measure. Can’t wait for them to grow. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Amy Andrychowicz says
How fun! Hope the squash will grow beautifully to cover your arch. 🙂
Laraine says
Do you think this would work with butternut squash as it is larger and heavier?
Wonder about just using a bot trellis and the mesh. by the way, What is the mesh? Wire? Where can get?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Yes, this arch will work great for butternut squash, I’ve grown it on my arch before. The mesh is metal garden fencing, and you can get it here.
Marnie says
This is such a great idea! Thanks for sharing! Out of curiosity, what do you plant under the arch?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Thanks, glad to hear you love it! I put my squash arch over the path in my vegetable garden, so not much room for planting under it. But, in the boxes on each side of the arch, I plant an early crop of greens which will mature before the squash plants fill in. Last year I planted lettuce, and I also added several nasturtium plants for companion planting.
Karen says
Won’t the squash just fall off once they hit a certain weight? It’s really beautiful, I just figure gravity would set in sooner or later.
Amy Andrychowicz says
I’ve been growing squash vertically for years, and I’ve never had a squash fall off the vine. Large squash like pumpkins and large gourds may need to be supported if they are hanging down and get really heavy. You can make a sling out of an old t-shirt or even pantyhose, and tie it to the trellis for extra support.
Allergicmom says
What direction do you have this face? Wouldn’t the sides of the squash arch be shaded? I’m curious how this works with light and want to try it!
Amy Andrychowicz says
It doesn’t matter which direction it faces because the squash vines will grow all over the sides and top of the arch and get plenty of sun from all sides. 🙂
Jill Luettgens says
Have you had any problems with the PVC getting too hot being painted black? I live in PA and we have some pretty hot summers.
Amy Andrychowicz says
No, I haven’t had any problems with the arch getting hot because of the black paint.
Jill Luettgens says
Thank you- looking forward to trying to make this squash arch in my new garden.
Amy Andrychowicz says
You’re welcome!
Meg says
Hi Amy, is this trellis in your new book?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Hi Meg! No, I didn’t put my squash arch in the book. I wanted all of the trellis designs in the book to be fresh and new! 🙂 There is another large arch in the book, which would work just as well as this one, but it’s not the same design.