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Whether for pickling or slicing, cucumbers are easy to grow if you give them good soil, full sun and sufficient moisture, and wait for weather to warm before planting. |
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3 to 10 days, 60F to 105F |
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Well Drained, High Fertility |
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Growing Guide
GROWING NOTES
Well-drained, fertile soil, high in organic matter with near-neutral pH. Consistent, plentiful moisture needed until fruit is ripening. May develop bitter taste in dry sites. Cucumbers are heavy nitrogen feeders and require fertile soil.
Cucumbers are not hard to grow if you provide good soil, plenty of moisture and full sun, wait for soil and weather to warm before planting, and use fabric row covers if pests are a problem.
Vining varieties can climb up to 6 feet with support, or hug the ground if allowed to sprawl.
Bush varieties take up only 2 or 3 square feet, while unsupported vining varieties can run along the ground for 6 or more feet.
MAINTAINING
Cucumbers are very sensitive to cold. They need warm soil and air, whether direct-seeded or transplanted. Don’t rush to plant too early. Seed will not germinate if soil temperature is below 50 F, and germinates only slowly at 68 F.
Direct-seed 1 to 1 ½ inches deep, either in rows (2 inches apart in rows 5 to 6 feet apart) or in hills (3 to 6 seeds per hill, hills spaced 3 to 5 feet apart).
Thin to 8 to 15 inches apart in rows or 2 to 3 plants per hill. Snip off plants when thinning to avoid disturbing the roots of nearby plants.
For early crops, use black plastic mulch and row covers or other protection to speed warming and protect plants. Direct seed into holes in plastic. Cucumbers seeded into black plastic usually produce larger yields, as well earlier ones.
For extra early crops, start plants inside 3 to 5 weeks before transplanting. Sow 3 seeds per pot in 2-inch pots. Thin to one or two plants per pot. Grow above 70 F during the day and above 60 F at night. Be careful when hardening-off plants not to expose them to cold temperatures.
Plants with one or two true leaves transplant best. Transplant into black plastic mulch or warm garden soil after danger of frost has passed and weather has settled. Be careful not to damage roots when transplanting. If using peat pots, make sure they are saturated before transplanting and completely buried. If using row covers, remove when flowers begin to blossom to assure good pollination.
For a continuous harvest, make successive plantings every 2 to 3 weeks until about 3 months before first fall frost date. About 1 month before first frost, start pinching off new flowers so plants channel energy into ripening existing fruit.
To save space, train vining cucumbers to a trellis. (Make sure the trellised plants don’t shade other sun-loving plants.) This also increases air circulation (reducing disease problems), makes harvest easier and produces straighter fruit. Set up trellis before planting or transplanting to avoid root injury. Space plants about 10 inches apart. Pinch back vines that extend beyond the trellis to encourage lateral growth.
Most cucumbers have both male and female flowers. The male flowers blossom first and produce pollen, but no fruit. Other varieties produce female flowers predominately or exclusively. Seed packs of these varieties include a few seeds (usually marked with dye) of another variety that produces male flowers to provide pollen. Make sure you don’t remove pollinator plants when thinning.
Cucumbers are heavy feeders and require fertile soil, nitrogen fertilizer, and/or additions of high-N organic matter sources. Pale, yellowish leaves indicate nitrogen deficiency. Leaf bronzing is a sign of potassium deficiency.
To reduce pest and disease pressure, do not plant cucumbers where you’ve grown them in the last two years. Choose resistant varieties to prevent many diseases and/or trellis vining varieties to encourage good air circulation.
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