I have a chain link fence that runs along the south side of our
property. I sprayed the grass with roundup, in order to do some sort of
slightly raised bed there and grow something. My original thought was
something like rhubarb, but then I thought perhaps vine crops?

One section will have purple morning glory, but the rest I think
could be various vine crops, such as squash, cucumbers, maybe even a
pumpkin?

I've grown some in the past, and had them destroyed by squash vine
borers. Another year my gourds were destroyed by downy mildew.

Can anyone suggest varieties of any vine crop that might be resistant
to both of these problems? I had heard they were genetically
engineering some vine crops that would kill squash vine borer larvae
about 4 years ago, but haven't heard yet whether they have successfully
incorporated this trait yet.

Thanks!

Ohioguy wrote:

....
Can anyone suggest varieties of any vine crop that might be resistant
to both of these problems? ...

any of the vining or pole beans like
scarlet runner beans.


songbird

Ohioguy wrote:
Can anyone suggest varieties of any vine crop that might be resistant
to both of these problems? ...

Grapes.

On 5/7/12 4:29 PM, Ohioguy wrote:
I have a chain link fence that runs along the south side of our
property. I sprayed the grass with roundup, in order to do some sort of
slightly raised bed there and grow something. My original thought was
something like rhubarb, but then I thought perhaps vine crops?

One section will have purple morning glory, but the rest I think
could be various vine crops, such as squash, cucumbers, maybe even a
pumpkin?

I've grown some in the past, and had them destroyed by squash vine
borers. Another year my gourds were destroyed by downy mildew.

Can anyone suggest varieties of any vine crop that might be resistant
to both of these problems? I had heard they were genetically
engineering some vine crops that would kill squash vine borer larvae
about 4 years ago, but haven't heard yet whether they have successfully
incorporated this trait yet.

Thanks!

Have you considered grapes? There should be some hardy varieties that
will do well in Ohio. A properly installed chain link fence should be
sturdy enough to support mature grape vines.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

David E. Ross wrote:
....
Have you considered grapes? There should be some hardy varieties that
will do well in Ohio. A properly installed chain link fence should be
sturdy enough to support mature grape vines.

a few grape vines would be ok, but more
than that and you are asking for a lot of
work. grapes go in and out of chainlinks
which makes shaping/pruning a lot more of
a challenge. the cleanup each season means
a lot of holdfasts wrapped around the fence.
getting the extra vines removed is a task...

experience from 35 yrs ago. wouldn't
ever do it again.


songbird