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How to Plant and Grow Cucumbers

cucumbers growing on the vine
Botanical Name
Cucumis sativus
Grown as
Tender Perennial
USDA Zones
4a
4b
5a
5b
6a
6b
7a
7b
8a
8b
9a
9b
10a
10b
11a
11b
Toxicity
Non-toxic
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Water Needs
High
Height
6-10 feet
Spread
1–3 feet
Soil pH
Neutral
Bloom Time
Summer
Flower Color
Yellow
Special Features
Container-Friendly
Attracts Pollinators
Plant Type
Vegetables
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Whether you’re dreaming of garden-fresh cucumber slices or the perfect crunch and zesty flavor or homemade pickles, growing your own cucumbers is seriously rewarding — and it’s the best way to get your hands on all the fresh cukes you want. From trellis-loving vines to patio-perfect bush varieties, there’s a cucumber plant for every space, and we’ll teach you how to grow them all right here!

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.

Spacing for Cucumbers

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.

You can also grow cucumbers in containers!

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!

Cucumbers on the vine.
Photo by barmalini/Getty Images

Harvesting

When to Harvest

Most cucumbers take somewhere between 50 and 70 days to start fruiting when grown from seed. However, harvesting guidelines vary depending on the type of cucumber you’re growing.

  • Slicing cucumbers are usually picked when they’re about 6 to 8-inches long.
  • Pickling cucumbers are at their best at 2 to 3-inches in size.
  • Burpless cucumbers aren’t prone to bitterness and can be left on the vine until they’re up to 10-inches long.
  • Gherkin varieties are picked very small—1-inch long for crunchy cornichons or 3-inches for larger varieties.

Technically, cucumbers are harvested when they’re still immature and before their seeds harden and the fruits become bitter. Don’t let cukes get yellow. A cucumber is of the highest quality when it’s uniformly green, firm, and crisp — unless you’re growing uniquely colored varieties like ‘Lemon’ or ‘Silver Slicer.’

At peak harvesting time, you should be picking cucumbers every couple of days. They grow quickly and plants stop producing without regular harvesting.

How to Harvest

To harvest, use a knife or clippers to cut the fruit off the plant. Don’t pull on the fruit as this can damage the vine.

Storage

Cucumbers are over 90% water and wrapping them in plastic wrap before you pop them in your crisper drawer can help them stay fresh longer. In the fridge, cukes usually last for about 7 to 10 days. 

For longer term storange, cucumbers can also be pickled and canned. I like to preserve some of my cucumbers with lacto-fermation, which produces a zingy and tangy pickle that’s loaded with probiotics but needs to be stored in the fridge. I also can some cucumbers to make dill or bread and butter pickles, which can be preserved with water-bath canning and stored in the pantry when the jars cool.

Although it’s not for everyone, cucumbers can also be frozen and kept in airtight packaging in the freezer for a few months. This changes their consistency, so they’re not ideal for salads and fresh eating. However, you can use frozen cucumbers in place of zucchini in any stir fry dish!

Tip: Yellow cucumbers that have gotten too ripe usually have a bitter flavor, which can be masked by turning them into relish.

Pests and Problems

Like other veggies, cucumbers can be prone to certain pests and diseases that may affect plant growth or reduce harvest yields. Here are a few problems to be aware of and smart solutions appropriate for any organic garden!

Common Problems

  • Poor fruiting: Cucumbers that don’t fruit or that fruit poorly are usually suffering from a pollination issue. Companion planting flowers and flowering herbs near cucumbers and avoiding pesticides will encourage more pollinators to visit. Keep in mind that cukes produce male flowers first, followed by female flowers, and both male and female flowers need to be open before pollination can take place.
  • Blossom end rot: Often caused by irregular watering, blossom end rot can produce mushy spots on cucumber ends. Less commonly, this problem can result from calcium-deficient soil.

Common Pests

  • Cucumber beetles: These small, striped beetles nibble holes in leaves and flowers, rasp fruit, and can potentially transmit diseases like bacterial wilt. Thrwart them by planting cucumbers later in the season, covering young plants with row covers until they produce their first flower buds, and companion planting cucumbers with pest-repelling flowers and herbs. If infestations have settled in, handpick the beetles into a bucket of soapy water.
  • Squash bugs can produce chew holes in leaves, transmit plant diseases, and damage cucumber fruit too. Check the undersides of leaves for the yellow to bronze egg clusters and crush them with your fingers. Handpick adults into a bucket of soapy water or lay boards on the soil and check underneath the boards each morning for hiding squash bugs!

Plant Diseases

  • Powdery mildew: A fungal issue, powdery mildew leaves a powdery gray to white coating on cucumber leaves and can stunt plant growth. Avoid this problem by spacing cucumbers out properly, watering at the soil line, and treating plants preventiatively with a spray made from 40% milk and 60% water.
  • Anthracnose: Another fungal problem, anthracnose can cause spotting on cucumber leaves and produce sunken, dark spots on stems and fruit. The best solution is to destroy infected plants, choose resistant varieties, rotate crops annually, and avoid overhead watering.

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.

Wit and Wisdom

  • “Burpless” cucumbers have little to no cucurbitacin, which causes bitterness and increases the likelihood of burping by those who consume it.
  • If you’re pickling, consider growing dill, a favorite pickling herb! These plants don’t just taste great together — dill helps to repel common cucumber pests too.
  • A favorite vegetable for more than 3,000 years, the cucumber originated in northern India and was cultivated in China before spreading to Europe and points beyond.

Vegetables

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann is the Executive Digital Editor of Almanac.com, the digital home of The Old Farmer’s Almanac. She leads digital editorial strategy and publishing across a wide range of Almanac sub...

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>Anonymous</span> Thu, 05/09/2013 - 14:05
How long does it take for transplants to spring? I planted them a week ago, nothing is happening.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Sat, 05/25/2013 - 06:33
Keep in mind that cucumbers need warm soil and constant water supply to germinate. You need a temperature range of 75 degrees to 80 degrees F during the day. At this optimum soil temperature, the seeds will take 7 to 10 days to germinate.
<span>Bobbigator76</span> Wed, 05/01/2013 - 07:03
My little cukes are dying before they barely start growing. They only make it about an inch long. I've not had this happen before. What am I doing wrong?
<span>Anonymous</span> Tue, 05/07/2013 - 09:40
This usually happens when you seed in dirt instead of sterile or pasteurized potting soil. It's known as "damping-off." Use the proper medium and be careful not to overwater. Give them lots of light and make sure they're not too crowded so they get air circulating. Good luck!
<span>Anonymous</span> Mon, 04/22/2013 - 01:38
i recentyly planted some cucumber plants and they are now turning yellow can you tell me what im doing wrong and what i can do to prevent this from happening
<span>Anonymous</span> Mon, 04/29/2013 - 17:02
Avoid watering the leaves
<span>Anonymous</span> Thu, 04/18/2013 - 10:52
I want to transplant my seedlings into a long growing box that can be mounted on my deck rail. How deep do I need the box to be to sufficiently hold the root sytem?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Thu, 04/18/2013 - 16:32
The recommended size for cucumbers is: 20" wide, 16" deep with soil volume of 4-5 gallons per plant. Cucumbers have deep root systems and aren't the best choice for shallow boxes. Here are some varieties that do well in containers: Sweet Success, Suyo, Salad Bush, Bush Slicer, Burpless, Liberty, Early Pik, Salty and Crispy.
<span>Anonymous</span> Thu, 04/18/2013 - 14:47
Build a frame and have a sheet of tin at the bottom. Then fill it with whatever soil you are using.
<span>Anonymous</span> Tue, 04/16/2013 - 16:19
I sod the seed and it germinated in three days. Its been a week and the plant is two inches tall with two leaves. I am keeping it indoors in a small pot. I plan to move it outdoors in two week in a planter. My question is it looks very thin and when I water it, it tilts to one side. Is that ok?