An easy-care vegetable that loves sun and water, cucumbers grow quickly as long as they receive consistent watering and warmth. Don’t let cucumbers get too large before you pick or they will taste bitter! See how to grow and harvest cucumbers.
There are two types of cucumber plants: vining cucumbers and bush cucumbers.
- Vining cucumbers grow on vigorous vines shaded by large leaves. The growth of these plants is fast, and the crop yield is abundant if you care for them properly. Vining varieties grow best when trained up a trellis or fence. They will be cleaner—versus those that grow directly atop soil—often more prolific, and easier to pick.
- Bush cucumbers, however, are nicely suited to containers and small gardens.
Make successive plantings (every two weeks for continued harvests). In already-warm soil, cucumbers will grow quickly and ripen in about six weeks!
If you’re interested in making pickles, we recommend several prolific varieties below that are bred especially for pickling, such as heirloom ‘Boston Pickling’. For crispy pickles, be sure to prepare them within a few hours of harvesting!
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Cucumber Mortality
I have grown lemon, Suyo Long, and pickling cucumbers this year. Despite spring and midsummer plantings, variety diversity, applying compost, mulching, lots of sun, and spreading the plantings among several locations, I continue to have dismal results. The seedlings always start out strong and begin to fruit very well, but once they reached 6-8", the bottom leaves begin to develop yellow spots, some curl upward, remain very small, and eventually turn brown and die. This pathology continues working its way up the plant. Growth slows significantly, fruits become deformed, cease to grow or die. The plant, however, continues to languish, producing prolific amounts of male flowers, but it never dies. Do you have any suggestions of what the issue may be?
Cucumber problems
We’re so sorry to hear this. It sounds like Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV).
This is a virus. The leaves become yellow and curl downwards. The cucumbers become distorted and stunted in size. Take a look at this page to see which problem matches, and take the recommended precautions.
Bitter cucumbers
This is my 1st time planting & growing White Wonder cucumber in a half-barrel container. All of the cucumbers are very bitter, no matter what the size. What am I doing wrong? Please help!!!
Bitter cucumbers
Cucumbers end up tasting bitter if they didn’t get enough water during the early stages of growth. Cucumbers are made with water and they need a LOT of water to avoid stress. Water cucumbers deeply once or twice a week or place plants on a drip so that the soil stays moist but not wet. Use your finger to measure soil moisture; the soil should not be dry deeper than 3 inches below the surface. Also, make sure it doesn’t get too hot. Over 95 degrees will stress the out. Use mulch and a shade cloth if needed ro move the container.
If your cukes are bitter, here’s a tip: Cut off the stem end by an inch or two. And peel the skin.
Cucumber Leaf Coloring
I recently wanted to try my hand at growing cucumbers. I bought a relatively young plant from a garden store( no flowers/cukes). Some of my cucumbers leaves turned a white-ish color and then started drying (turning brown),curled, and can now be "crumbled" due to its dryness.
Can you help me understand what I am doing wrong?
Am I overwatering? Is it a fungus?
Any and all help is appreciated!
whitish and dried
It sounds like powdery mildew. See above and for much more detail, here https://www.almanac.com/news/gardening/gardening-advice/powdery-mildew-remedies-plants
Young Cucumber Plants
Planted young cucumber plants a week ago and now the plants show like something choking them in the middle of the plant. What doing this?
shriveled seeding stems
That sounds like dampening off disease, a fungal condition that usually occurs on plant seedlings indoors, when they do not have good air flow (are too close) or are too wet or both. If they are doing that outdoors, they may have brought the condition with them. Reduce water and increase ventilation, if they are still viable. You could try a fungicidal drench…or get new seedlings; the season is young…but coming on strong.
Bitter Tasting Cucumbers
What would cause the entire crop of cucumbers to be bitter? I have been growing cucumbers my entire life and realize that larger ones will taste bitter, but why did the entire crop taste that way? Bought these plants at a local Lowes where I had bought them in years past.
why a bitter harvest
It’s highly likely that your crop of cukes was stressed during the growing season. The stress could have been caused by lack of water, too hot or too cold temps, low fertility, or foliage disease. One source advises removing any plants that produce bitter-tasting cukes because all subsequent fruit on that plant will be affected.
Hope you have a better harvest this year!
Cucumber Seedling Leaves Are Curling
We just planted cucumbers inside. They are in 2.5 containers in a tray on a heat mat and under a T5 4 bulb light that has 20,000 lumens. We can’t figure out why the leaves are curling. They look stressed. We have the light 6 inches up from them. Are they overwatered? We have them in coconut coir. It does not seem too wet. What do you think?
Cukes like to be left alone
No one has mentioned at all the tender leaves and vines of cukes. My father planted a half acre of them every year for our own use. He himself only picked them. Never move the vines around a lot or they will wither. Never step on a vine if they are spread out on the ground or they will die. When picking cukes he always used a small set of clippers. Do not yank on the vines or they will wither. Being careful with the plant will give you plenty of cukes for the season.
Cukes Like To Be Left Alone
Linda Bender, Thank you so much! Every year I watch and guard my cucumber vines against disease, spraying with copper fungicide to ward off mildew and fungus, but every year no matter how hard I try my plants turn ugly brown, wither, and die after a few weeks of production. I do guide the vines, moving them a bit so they don't grow over a nearby fence. I will try next time to give them a free rein and let them do their thing without interference.
Cucumber Worms
Last year my cukes started having very small worm holes on the skin and ugly worms inside. What can I do to avoid this problem this year? Thanks!
Mealybugs in Cucumber leafs
I am growing cucumber in a pot(medium size pot), The plant is growing well ,it is now 3-4 inch tall, however when I was watering my plant I observe mealybugs under the leafs. Can I use neem oil to remove mealynugs from cucmber or will it destroy the plant.
Mealy Bugs
If you don’t see many mealybugs, it would be better to simply pick them off by hand and squish them. Check everyday until they’re no longer appearing on the plant.
Mealybugs
Neem oil with peppermint oil. Will clear problem with bugs
Seed processing
I am growing cucumber, but want to know how to process seed.
Thank you.
Gardening
I love gardening, and I always come here for plant help! Thank you Old Farmers Almanac!
Cucumbers!
My cucumbers have really ‘pulled me out of the ground’, as it were, in terms of getting what I want out of life. They inspire me every day! I love tending to and nurturing them, it’s a real sense of cylindrical responsibility. They are my green friends. Would anyone like to form a friendly research group into the mass production of our verdant vegetable violins? If so, please contact me ASAP via any means you see fit.
James
Yellow Cucumbers
Last year my cucumbers were growing great. Then they turned yellow then died. I researched it and I believe I found that they developed Mosiac Virus. I pulled all my cucumber plants then. But every year I plant in the same area (it’s a small garden) so I need to know if there is a natural way to treat the ground so I can plant again in the same general area? Also would this have occurred from compost that I put on my garden or would it have been in the plant from the beginning? Since I was late in starting my seeds I purchased plants from a local superstore and I was wondering if it is safe to do in the future. And I live in Penna where my garden freezes every year so I was also wondering if that kills the virus as well. Any help would be appreciated on this. Thank you
Best Guide To Growing and Harvesting Cucumber
Thanks for this awesome article on how to grow a cucumbers, I will have to bookmark this site for further more experiments.
Cucumber Tips
Here are some of the cucumber tips one should always adhere to ..
Plant where they will get full sun but in hot climate afternoon shade is best.
Space plants 3’ apart and rows 4-5’ apart.
Add plenty of compost and aged manure to soil when planting. After vines and first flowers develop follow with side dressing of compost and manure.
If yellow leaves appear, your plant may need more nitrogen.
Trellising helps to keep fruit available for quick harvesting.
They need between 1 and 2 inches of water per week, keep the soil slightly moist at all times. Water deeply about once or twice a week and more often if you’re gardening in sandy soil.
Cucumber beetles will attack plants and spread wilt. Cover plants early with row covers, but once flowers for you must remove for pollinators.
Your soil should have a pH between 6.0 and 7.0.
The more you pick cucumbers, the longer they will produce.
Better to pick these types of Planting pots for your cucumber (sijigreenhouse)
Production slowdown
I am in East TN, with a cucumber i bought as a seedling (I forget the variety and lost the label). It's been producing enough to nearly overwhelm the two of us, but has now slowed down dramatically. While I appreciate the respite, I'm concerned because most of the leaves have died off. There are yards and yards of vine wound around two tomato cages, and the vines mostly seem healthy and still have flowers, but there are hardly any leaves, and no obvious new leaf growth. Any ideas?
dying cucumber leaves
Dying leaves on cucumbers can be caused by several things, including just the age of the plant as it winds down for the season. Make sure that the plant has enough water; cucumbers like about an inch of water per week–if the soil is dry about an inch below in the soil, it is time to water. There are also several diseases (such as powdery or downy mildew, anthracnose, bacterial wilt) and insects that can cause wilting/browning/yellowing/dying of leaves–check for spots or holes in the leaves, or whitish patches. Be sure to provide good ventilation among the leaves; trellising cucumbers can help increase air flow to discourage disease. Remove any plant debris, which may harbor diseases or insects. Water in the morning so that the leaves have a chance to dry out before evening; watering at ground level is preferable than by overhead.
dying cucumber leaves update
Thanks, it was probably the erratic watering (travel-interruptus). And since I wrote in, there is new growth on a few of the vines, so I am reassured :-)
Watering
To avoid wetting the leaves I now place a 3/4 inch, 4 foot long piece of PVC pipe into the hill before planting. I drill 10 holes in the part that goes into the soil. I start an inch from bottom and go up 3 inches with the holes. Then when the plants need watering I put a funnel in the top of the pipe and pour in a quart. It goes directly into the compost. I also plant much of my garden through discarded rugs. Put them over the soil upside down. No weeding...
Cucumber and watermelon farming
Please, am interested in the above for farming. I reside in Lagos,Nigeria.
Cucumber
I am interested in planting cucumber, teach me how to plant and this is my first time. Though I went through the explanation, but I need proper clarification on to go about it. Thank you.
Cucumber
Is it possible to harvest cucumber in two or four days? Or what is the appropriate time of harvest of it. What is the minimum of harvest and maximum of harvest?
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