Does anyone have suggestions on good squash varieties that are amenable to train on a strong trellis?
Most smaller squashes are fine to trellis. You will need to put the vines up on the trellis. From my experience butternuts do very well.
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A great look! This is not mine. 
@ampersand is right. You need to place each vining squashā¦they will not do this by themselves!
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Thank you both! I did grow butternut squash last year up a chain link fence, it didnāt grab on itself but I clipped it on and it worked out pretty well. This year I have an arched cattle panel. Seems like most summer squash are bush-types and might not work well for trellising.
Larger squash/pumpkins can be done, but in my experience they have a knack for getting stuck in the openings or breaking the vine when they get big.
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Iāve seen people use pantyhose as a support sling, not sure how well that works.
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Trombocino is strongly vining and in my experience will grow up and over just about anything. Grow on a strong trellis gives you nice straight, long fruit. Also it is not bothered by stem borers (being a moschata variety) and is resistant to powdery mildew, both of which are real problems in my garden. I donāt have space to grow it every year but it was impressive.
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Thanks for the recommendation! I read that this can be cooked fresh like summer squash or allowed to mature and stored like winter squash. Did you keep any over winter?
I couldnāt help myself and put in some seeds for one more vining squash over the weekend. It is a Seminole squash, but is the Dan Zippleās strain that is supposed to have fruit around 8-9 lbs. I really donāt have room so Iāll probably keep cutting the vines back and just try to get a few to try. It is pretty late, but I think there is probably time to get a few.
I grew Seminole several years ago, it will grow ENORMOUS. Lots of pumpkins, but I can understand why (supposedly) the native Americans would grow it up dead trees!
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Yes, Iām a bit worried it will take over. When I grew South Anna, which is half Seminole and half butternut, they probably got to 25 feet long, although I wound the vines all around between my peppers. Iām going to let these get to about 10-feet and then keep them trimmed after they set the first squahs. Weāll see how that works out.
@LemonDrop I trellis all my winter squash. I started doing it because of a lack of space, but I like the way they grow and how easy it is to check for (and squish) squash bug eggs. I grow African Winter Squash (a very large butternut type), kikuza, yokohama, black futsu, and a variety of others over the years. I use a long trellis of concrete reinforcement wire on t-posts and weave the vines in and out. It is a good idea to make slings for the larger squash if you live in a windy area; use cheap fabric, netting, old pantyhose, etc. I have been able to get huge yields from a very small space.
Very old picture that shows the trellis:
October 2021, end of season, so they looked awful. It was always hard to get a good photo of the set up.
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Love your set up Bellatrix! Great to see that you have successfully grown vertically with different types of squash. Appreciate the pictures!
I didnāt do any transplanting this year, but in the past Iāve maybe started them 2-3 weeks ahead in Cow Pots.
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I have a huge pumpkin vine growing out my compost pile. Odd looking immature fruit, I wonder what they will mature into.
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Hereās my main squash trellis at my work. Currently has tromboncino, butternut, tetsukabuto, black futsu and some others. Due to squash vine borer I mostly grow moschata types.
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Wow, fabulous! I just placed an order for seeds for some fall stuff and added a packet of tromboncino. Out of the moschata types, do you have a favorite?
Autumn Frost is very good, I think Territorial is the source for it. Itās pretty identical to Robinās Koginut Squash.
Consider trying Centercut Tromboncino, I am trying it tonight for the first time and will update.
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Excellent, thanks! Look forward to your thoughts on Centercut.
I forgot about Autumn Frost. I grew that a few years ago and it was great. Super productive, one of the best tasting squash Iāve grown and they kept reasonably well, although not as long as some of the full-sized butternut types. The squash is also a good size to grow on a trellis. My only complaint is that the ribs can make it awkward for peeling if you want to peel and cut it up before using.
I think I need to put it back on my list for next year.
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