ISO advice for pumpkins grown vertically>horizontally b/w poles

[rafflesia]

Greetings - I am a greenhorn with a brown thumb, and I'm looking for some advice, resources, and/or words of wisdom.

I have a small yard space at the home I rent in NW Montana. I've been researching vertical/container gardening so I can limit the amount of yard digging and prevent a jungle of vines that the homeowner's landscapers have to mow around.

I'm hoping to grow 1-2 jack o'lantern pumpkin plants in the sunniest part of the yard, which also happens to have two heavy-duty, T-shaped metal poles from an old clothesline. They are about 6 ft tall, 3 ft wide at the top, and 25 ft apart.

Does anyone have any thoughts as to how I could take advantage of this area? I had a vision of growing the pumpkins up a vertical trellis and bridging across some sort of horizontal trellis to the other pole. But is this too pie-in-the-sky? Has anyone ever had a similar setup? What sort of materials should I use (bearing in mind I have no power tools)? What about nylon - could it hold the weight? And on a similar note, would sharing the setup with butternut squash be feasible (possibly having the pumpkin/squash meet in the middle)?

Thanks in advance for the input!
-raff

 

[oneeye]

Pumpkins are too heavy to grow off the ground.

 

[Meadowlark]

A great pumpkin choice for trellis/pole growing is the long pie pumpkin. However, it really isn't a jack-o-lantern pumpkin, rather an eating pumpkin. It is the only pumpkin I have found that is successful in my East Texas heat and humidity. Started in August it produces generous amounts of excellent tasting pumpkin for fall.

It is a beautiful growing plant that produces the least stringy fruit you will ever taste in a pumpkin pie. I wouldn't advise planting in proximity with squash as you mentioned because of the similarities and crossing likelihood.

A special taste treat!