I am absolutely GREEN with envy!
I'm going to try trellising some of my vine veggies this year -- cukes and summer squashes.
We also used terraces for growing melons, cucumbers and cantaloupes. One row close to the top and let the vines grow down each side.
I'd love to hear more about that.
I'm talking about terraces in the fields that diverted water from washing down the low spots and dumped at the ends of the field. These terraces were several hundred feet long and would carry the water at slower speeds than just letting it run. That was part of our soil conservation effort.
We would use one-way plows and pile the good soil - about 6" - off the top to the side. After several trips moving the soil away, we would set the plow deeper and start in the center and pile the deeper soil onto a row.
After several trips back and forth, the "row" would be about one or two feet tall. Eventually, all the good soil went back onto the top of the terrace. We used to let new terraces sit for one year with just hay growing on them.
Then, we would bale the hay for cattle feed and plow the old roots out. After a few months of fall and winter, we would again plow the soil and make rows for crops. We would sort of flatten the very top to allow more moisture to stay in the soil. Then, we would take our seedlings and plant on the upper parts and let the vines grow down the incline.
Lots of work, but well worth the efforts. Long vining plants were planted at least 25 feet apart.