jetgraphics wrote:
Thanks to everyone

Collected posts:
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Consider Malabar Spinach an annual.****Grapes*may*be*of*interest*also.**
Mix in moon flowers and other flowering vines for interest...NOT Edible.
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In addition to the above, Not quite edible, perhaps useful if you brew
your own beer though, is hops.**You*could*train*some*indeterminate*
tomatos, some pole beans, maybe a small melon or summer squash??
Lots of plants that are edible have a vining habit.
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Grapevines? :-)
The only problem with those is that they lose their leaves in the winter.

You could also try Passiflora edulis or Passiflora incarnata.
Those both produce edible fruits, and they tend to be evergreen.

My Passiflora cerulea stayed green all winter thru 4 or 5 good freezes.
I want to find some of the other two species and get them planted here
as well.

Plastic lattice as a trellis looks nice and is more durable than wood
lattice. It's more expensive but lasts forever, and it comes in colors!
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Have you tried the "choko"
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Honeysuckle is sorta nice and moderatly easy to maintain where you
want it. But its not edible. Smells really nice though.
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Check with your county agricultural extension office.**It*may*be*listed
under the state college (in New York, it is Cornell Extension office).
Their information and publications are mostly free and will be geared to
your exact location.**They*also*usually*are*the*base*for*4-H*groups*and*you
could get information through them.

In China, they grow grape vines that shade pig runs.**The*floor*of*the*runs
(cement) is slightly sloped so that when hosed down, the water and manure
flow to water and fertilize the vines.**Multiple*use.
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Kiwis would**be*a*good*choice*(if*you're*willing*to*cons ider*perennials).
There are hardy varieties than can be grown to zone 4, or the more familiar
fuzzy varieties, which are hardy to zone 8 and might be ok in zone 7 if you
got lucky. They're fairly attractive and grow quickly, but take a while
before they'll start giving fruit. But would be lower maintenance than
annual vines, and you'll eventually get a lot more height out of them.

The problem you will run into with most typical climbing vegetables is that
they don't grow that tall. You might be able to get about 8 ft out of pole
beans, and 10-15 ft out of some types of runner beans, but that'll be about
it. Curcubits (squash, cukes, pumpkins, etc.) will probably top out at
around 6-8 ft. They (both beans and curcubits) also are fairly prone to a
variety of pests: leaf-eating insects, soil dwelling insects, and various
mildews and so on. Doesn't mean you shouldn't try them; just means they're
one of those plants that can be hit-or-miss, even for experienced gardeners.

If I were you, I'd experiment with the edible shade concept for now, but
also plant a proper row of quick-maturing shade trees. By the time the trees
get taller than the crop plants, you'll probably be sick of trying to grow
dinner on the side of your house and be ready to move your efforts to a
proper garden space.
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I use Thompson Seedless grapes on trellises.**Plenty*bushy,*plenty
shady, need little to no water, makes wine, grapes, raisins.
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Any suggestions on minimum / maximum spacing between a wall and a trellis?

I'd allow at least four feet, both for ease of access during harvest
and pruning and to minimize the likelyhood of creepers bridging the
gap.


You
want
shade, plant some trees.
Shade trees aren't the best solution in this area. Unfortunately, due to
the
clay soil, trees are susceptible to knockdown after soaking rains and
windstorms.

Use trees with tap roots--like pecans. When planting, dig a hole as deep
as you can with a posthole digger (rent a power augur if doing more than
a few holes; much less work, and you can go deeper). Dump a pound or two
of fertilizer into the holes, then add 10-15 gallons of water (I just
fill the hole a couple of times). Break up some of the clay from the
holes, mix with some peat moss, compost, topsoil, and a bit of plant
food; use this to backfill the hole and surround the tree roots when you
plant the tree. Save a bit of the mix for filling in around the trees,
as the mix will settle. Use the leftover clay for landscaping.

This approach gives the tree a good environment to start growing, an
easy path for the tap root to follow, and a great boost at the bottom
to really anchor it.

And, using pecans also means a crop to gather in late fall. Pecans
should be planted at least 40' apart.
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Just a thought. We used wire one year to allow climbers to climb. Burnt the
stems. And we are only in zone 5b.
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Also, string beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and melons will climb a
trellis.**Consider*dipper*gourds*and*loofahs.
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Besides grapvines, you might consider pumpkins and squash. I grow
pumpkins in the rear of our garden and in the sideyard, next to the
house because it's that much less grass to cut. The pumpkins in the back
grow on a 9 foot tall pipe trellis every year because I grow other
plants on the same trellis under them - tomatoes and beans last year.
(The lower level of plants is not shaded much by the pumpkins because of
their much lower height and the East/West orientation of the trellis.)

I don't grow monster pumpkins, just smaller, cooking pumpkins, and the
fruit manages to hang quite nicely all on their own without falling off
and bashing innocent bystanders.

They give me a nice shady spot to boot when I "train" the vines to go up
and across right where I plant my own butt on my bench by using some
heavy cording. The only down side is removing the dead plants in the fall!

You might also want to consider hanging planters for both vining and
non-vining plants as more passive shading. That way you could have the
flexibility of extending the shaded period by planting cold-weather
plants in the early spring and fall.
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Ok, removable trellises...

If you are going to grow squash, pumpkins, or other vining "veggies"
that die back in the winter, just use a disposable trellis! :-)

Make a trellis out of hemp cording. That way, when the vines die or
freeze, you just cut the entire string trellis down and discard it...

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