How to grow Cucumber

Where to plant

Cucumbers need full sun and a well drained sandy loam to clay loam enriched with organic matter, at a pH of 6 to 6.5. A slightly raised bed helps drainage and reduces some diseases. Plant only after frost has passed and the soil has reached about 70°F.

In Florida, the Gulf South, Texas and the desert, grow a spring crop and a fall crop and skip the hottest, most humid months, when downy mildew and pickleworm are worst; South Florida grows them from fall through spring. Clemson gives spring planting from mid March to early June and fall planting in August and September in South Carolina. In California, sow from March to July. Across the North, the Midwest, the Mountain West and the Pacific Northwest, sow in late May or June, and in Alaska in a tunnel or greenhouse.

Choosing a variety

Slicing cucumbers are long and smooth for eating fresh; pickling cucumbers are short and bumpy. Bush varieties suit small gardens and pots. Most cucumbers need bees to carry pollen from male to female flowers, but parthenocarpic hybrids such as Diva, Excelsior and Sugar Crunch set seedless fruit without pollination.

How to plant

1. Work compost and a complete fertilizer into the bed before planting, guided by a soil test.
2. Sow seed directly about an inch (2.5 cm) deep once the soil is warm, or start transplants indoors just 2 to 3 weeks ahead.
3. On a trellis, sow four or five seeds per foot in rows 3 feet apart and thin to 9 to 12 inches (23 to 30 cm) when seedlings are 4 to 5 inches tall.
4. Put up a trellis about 6 feet high before the vines run, and guide them onto it.
5. In cool spring areas, black plastic mulch warms the soil for an earlier crop.

Watering and feeding

Cucumbers have shallow roots and suffer quickly in drought. Water to wet the soil at least 6 inches (15 cm) deep and keep moisture even, especially during flowering and fruit set. Water at the base in the morning and keep the leaves dry to reduce disease. Mulch with pine straw or bark in summer to hold moisture and keep fruit clean.

Side dress with nitrogen before the vines start to run, and more often on sandy soil or after heavy rain. Do not overdo nitrogen, which gives lots of vine and fewer fruit.

Pruning and care through the year

• The first 10 to 20 flowers are usually male and do not set fruit; this is normal.
• If bees are scarce and fruit is misshapen or not setting, hand pollinate in the morning: remove the petals from a male flower and rub its pollen onto the center of a female flower, which has a tiny cucumber behind it.
• Plant a variety of flowers nearby to keep pollinators visiting.
• Check plants often for cucumber beetles, especially on young seedlings.

Harvesting

Cucumbers are ready about 50 to 70 days after sowing. Pick pickling types at 2 to 6 inches (5 to 15 cm) and slicers at 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 cm), before the seeds harden or the skin yellows. Pick every day or two, as oversized fruit slows the vine.

Cut fruit off with a knife or pruners rather than pulling, to avoid damaging the vine. Cucumbers keep about a week in the fridge; they store best at 45 to 50°F, a little warmer than most fridges.

Growing in pots

Bush or compact varieties grow well in a pot at least 12 inches (30 cm) wide and deep with a small trellis. Water daily in hot weather, as pots dry fast and uneven watering gives bitter, misshapen fruit.