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
The metal garden fencing alone isn’t strong enough to hold up heavy squash 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.
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 of them 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. But any type of winter squash or summer squash varieties will work, as long as they are climbers.
Related Post: How To Pollinate Squash By Hand For Maximum Production
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!
If you’d like to learn how to make the most of your space and get as much homegrown food as possible, then my Vertical Vegetables book is perfect! It will teach you all you need to know, has tons of gorgeous photos, and includes 23 DIY projects you can build for your own garden. Order your copy today!
Learn more about my Vertical Vegetables book here.
More Posts About Vertical Gardening
- How To Make Sturdy DIY Tomato Cages
- How To Build A Pea Trellis Arch
- 20 Excellent Trellis Plants For Your Garden
- 15 Types Of Vertical Gardening Systems & Supports
- How To Build A DIY Greenhouse
Leave a comment below and let me know what you think of my squash arch design.
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!
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! 🙂
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
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.
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!
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!
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!
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!
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.
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!
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
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
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. 🙂
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
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
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!