Planting
When to Plant Cucumbers
Cucumbers are heat-loving crops that don’t handle cold weather well, and generally don’t like to be transplanted. That’s why it’s best to directly sow seeds outdoors no earlier than 2 weeks after the last frost date of spring, or when soil temperatures are around 70ºF (21ºC). Covering the soil with black plastic mulch a few weeks before planting can speed planting times along if needed.
Although cucumbers grow relatively quickly, some gardeners may choose to plant cucumber seeds indoors for an earlier crop. If you decide to go this route, start the seeds about 3 weeks before you intend to transplant them and only transplant the seedlings outside when nighttime temperatures stay consistently above 50ºF and the seedlings have been properly hardened off.
If you want to enjoy even more cucumbers, you can make successive plantings of seeds every 2 weeks through mid-summer.
Where to Plant Cucumbers
Cucumbers like warmth and lots of light, so select a planting site that gets at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight per day.
These plants also require fertile soil and adding about 2-inches of aged manure and/or compost and a complete fertilizer to the area before planting helps cukes grow even better. Make sure the soil is moist but well-draining and has a pH of around 6.5 to 7.0 too.
Depending on your space, you can grow cucumbers in in-ground gardens or raised beds, or in containers or grow bags that are at least 5-gallons in size. Container planting is best for bush-type cucumbers or vining varieties that are kept tidy with a trellis.
How to Plant Cucumbers
- To plant cucumber seeds directly outdoors, sow 2 seeds about 1 inch deep per planting hole and space holes 12 to 18-inches apart in rows that are about 4-feet from each other. Alternatively, you can also plant 2 to 3 cucumber seeds together in mounds or “hills” spaced 1 to 2-feet apart and thin the seedlings to one plant per hill when the plants are around 4-inches high.
- To start cucumber seeds indoors, sow 2 seeds 1-inch deep in 4-inch biodegrable pots, water well, and place the pots on a heating mat set at about 70ºF (21ºC) to speed up germination. Once the seedlings emerge, remove the weakest plants so you’re left with 1 plant per pot. When it’s time to transplant seedlings outdoors, harden the plants off carefully, plant biodegradable pots along with your cukes to minimize root disturbance, and water well.
- After planting cucumbers, mulch the area with straw, chopped leaves, or another type of organic mulch to keep pests and weeds at bay. If you’re growing vining-type cucumbers, install a trellis when you plant them. I like to grow cucumbers on a cattle panel trellis, but you can also create a simple trellis or support structure with wood or bamboo.
Growing
Watering
Cucumbers are thirsty plants and should be watered consistently with about 1-inch of water per week. Plants need even more water during high heat or if you’re growing them in containers. Remember, inconsistent watering leads to bitter-tasting fruit and may cause issues like blossom end rot.
When watering, allow the water to deeply saturate the soil and do your best to avoid getting the plants’ leaves wet. Damp cucumber leaves are much more likely to develop mildew issues!
Fertilizing
Blending compost or aged manure and a balanced fertilizer into the soil helps cucumbers produce bigger harvests. After that, just side-dress plants with a balanced or high potassium fertilizer, such as tomato feed, when they begin to produce flowers and fruit.
Pruning or Maintenance
Bush-type cucumbers don’t need pruning, but vining varieties do. For these plants, remove any leaves on the lower 6-inches of vine once the plants are suitably sized and pinch off any suckers you see too.
Adding mulch around cucumbers works to retain soil moisture and reduce weeds. However, it’s best to not apply mulches until the soil has warmed to around 75°F.
Seasonal Care
If you’ve struggled with pests in the past, planting cucumbers a little later in the season can help you avoid issues with cucumber beetles and other nuisance insects. You may also want to cover young plants with row covers to reduce pests. Just make sure to remove coverings when the plants produce flowers to allow pollinators to get to work.
Once cucumbers start fruiting, you’ll need to be ready and harvest plants often. Cucumbers that aren’t picked in time quickly turn yellow and bitter!
Types
There are two main types of cucumbers: vining cucumbers, which grow on vigorous vines and require trellising, and bush cucumbers, which have a more upright habit and are better for pots. You can also choose between slicing cucumbers, which are ideal for salads, and pickling cucumbers that retain the best crunch when canned. Here are just a few of my favorites:
- ‘Boston Pickling’: this vining heirloom is prolific and bred especially for pickling.
- ‘Burpless Bush Hybrid’: a bush variety that’s slow to bitterness and good for small gardens, pots, or pickling.
- ‘Shintokiwa’: My favorite slicing variety, this Japanese heirloom yields long straight fruit with a fresh, crisp flavor.
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Comments
In most regions, you'd want to plant cucumbers in early July. This produces a September harvest. However, check the seed packets for the "days to maturity" and see if there is a faster-growing variety. Also, make sure that the seed packet says whether or not the cucumber variety is suited for container growing. Some container varieties are: Salad Bush Hybrid, Bush Champion, Picklebush, Spacemaster, Hybrid Bush Crop, and Midget Bush Pickler.
Picking your harvest usually keeps fruit production going, not stopping. When cucumber fruit doesn't keep growing, the most common reason is that you had low pollinating insect activity at the time due to weather conditions. Or, if you do not have a lot of bees to pollinate, you can self-pollinate by brushing the pollen-coated stamen of the male flower onto the center of the female flower (the one with the bulb or ovary at the bottom) or use a Q-tip if you do not want to pick the male flower. Pollinate in the morning when both male and female bloosm are open. Good luck!
As stated above, bitter cucumbers are usually due to inconsistent watering, especially low moisture. Water slowly in the morning or early afternoon, avoiding the leaves. During dry periods, water 1 to 1 1/2 inches of water in a single application. Apply a mulch, such as straw, shredded bark or newspaper to cool the soil and conserve moisture. You can also plant bitter-free cultivars.
Often (but not always), cutting off the stem-end and removing the skin of bitter cukes will remove much of the bitterness.
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You can reduce the amount of heat hitting the plants with shade cloth. Using mulch will increase the amount of water that stays in the soil and misting with cool water will increase the humidity around the leaves.