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How to successfully grow cucumbers in your home garden

Cucumbers are my favorite vegetable crop to grow because they germinate quickly, grow fast and produce fruit early. In addition, I love the fact that I can eat cucumbers in salads and pickle them for use in the future. Cucumbers are an ideal crop for beginner gardeners because they are easy to grow, have a high probability of success and produce a plentiful bounty. Read on to learn about how to successfully grow cucumbers in your garden.

Originating in India, cucumbers have been cultivated for over 3000 years. There are three main varieties of cucumbers: pickling, slicing and seedless. Within these varieties, cucumbers can be further broken down into vining or bush varieties. A vining cucumber can climb up to six feet with support or spread along the ground without support. A bush variety cucumber takes up only two to three square feet growing on the ground as opposed to six feet or more for a vining type. Bush varieties are good for container gardens.

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Cucumbers growing up a trellis

GROWING AND CARING FOR CUCUMBERS

Cucumbers can either be started indoors from seed (3 weeks before the last frost) or directed seeded outdoors after danger of frost has passed. Germination occurs in three to ten days in temperatures of 60 to 90°F. Cucumbers are very cold sensitive and should not be planted outdoors until the soil reaches a minimum temperature of 65°F. I once lost my full crop of cucumber seedlings because I planted outdoors too early. Wait until two weeks after the last frost date to plant outdoors.

GROWING CUCUMBERS

When starting seeds indoors use a container sized at a minimum of 2×2 inches (larger is OK). Because of the rapid growth rate of cucumbers, it is best to start in a bigger container. Plant 2-3 seeds per container and then thin to 1 or 2 plants. For a complete guide to starting plants from seeds, see my post titled “The complete guide to starting plants from seeds indoors”.
Cucumbers prefer a soil that is fertile, well-drained and amended with organic matter (e.g. the addition of compost and/or manures). Compost can be made at home or purchased from a garden center. For information on making compost at home, reference my blog titled “Recipes for Compost”. It is best to work compost into the soil in the fall for a spring planting. Ideal soil pH for cucumbers is between 6-6.5.
Plant cucumbers in full sun.
Cucumbers planting methods.
- Trellis – if you are direct sowing, plants seeds ½ inch deep and 10 inches apart, or set transplants out 10 inches apart. In a 4×4 foot bed, I will plant 4 cucumber plants and allow them to grow up a 4-foot trellis. Some people have success growing vegetables or herbs under the trellis, I have never had success doing this and so I leave the space beneath the trellis empty (my trellis is on a slant).
- Hills – build 10” high mounds of soil that are wide enough to plant 4 seeds (or transplants) 6 inches apart. For vining varieties, each hill should be spaced 4-8 feet apart. For bush varieties, the hills can be spaced two to three feet apart.
- Spreading – if you are direct sowing, plants seeds ½ inch deep and 10 inches apart, or set transplants out 10 inches apart. Allow three feet on either side of the plants for the spreading out.

CARING FOR CUCUMBERS

Don’t let the soil dry out during germination and while young plants are establishing. It will take three or more days for the seeds to germinate. Cucumbers will germinate quicker if air and soil temperatures are above 65°F. Cucumbers are 95% water and established plants should be watered deeply (1-1.5 inches) per week. Keeping the leaves dry while watering will minimize disease and drip irrigation or soaker hoses are best for watering.
There are two things you can do to give your cucumbers a good start:
- Lay down black plastic mulch to warm the soil and cut holes for transplants or to plant seeds.
- Cover cucumbers seedlings with row cover to keep the crop warm. It is important to remove when the flowers start to form on the plants. The flowers require insects for pollination.
Most cucumbers have both male and female flowers. Male flowers appear first and produce pollen but do not produce fruit. Female flowers will have a round growth at the base of the flower. Cucumbers depend upon bees and insects to transfer the pollen between the male and female flowers.
Cucumbers are heavy nitrogen feeders. Fertilizer plants twice during the growing season with a nitrogen fertilizer such as Blood Meal. Follow the directions on the label for the correct application rate.
Good companions for cucumbers include beans, corn, peas, radishes, sunflowers and lettuce.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

A good tactic to consider with cucumber plants is to practice succession planting. Start seeds every two to three weeks and plant in the garden. If an earlier plant succumbs to pests or disease, then you will have a healthy plant to replace.
To minimize pests and disease in future years, rotate your cucumbers every year and if possible do not plant in the same plot for two years.

Female Cucumber Flower

Male Cucumber Flower

PROBLEMS

There are several pests and disease that can impact cucumbers. The best prevention is raising healthy plants and keeping them healthy:

Plant when the temperature is warm enough
Fertilize with nitrogen
Practice succession planting within a given season
Rotate crops each year

COMMON PESTS

Common pests include:

Stripped or spotted cucumber beetles. Row cover or fine netting and hand-picking beetles are both good preventive measures.
Aphids can be removed with a heavy stream of water on leaves or stems.

COMMON DISEASE

Common diseases include:

Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that impacts the leaves of cucumbers. To prevent ensure good air circulation, plant resistant varieties and remove plants that are infected to ensure that disease does not spread.
Bacterial wilt also impacts the leaves. Remove and destroy impacted plants.

If you suspect that something is wrong with your cucumbers and live in the US, check with your Cooperative Extension for help in identifying and determining appropriate controls for pests and disease.

Colander of fresh picked National Pickling cucumbers

HARVESTING AND STORING

Cucumbers should be harvested often during the growing season when they reach the size specified for the variety. Frequent harvesting is important to encourage new fruit development. I check and harvest my cucumbers daily. The fruit should be uniformly green without yellow patches. Cucumbers should be stored in the refrigerator in perforated bags. Refrigerated cucumbers should keep for a least one week. A time-honored way to store cucumbers is via pickling.

Garlic and dill pickles

PREPARING

There are three primary ways, that I use, to prepare cucumbers:

German Cucumber Salad – I substitute dill for the chives in this recipe.
Sliced and added to a garden or pasta salad
Pickled and stored. When I make pickles, I generally do not use a boiling water bath. Instead, I store my pickles in the refrigerator. Check out this recipe for garlic/dill pickles that can be made using either the hot water bath method or the refrigerator method.

RECOMMENDED CULTIVAR

National Pickling (52 days to maturity)

A heavy producer that is short and thick and perfect in salads or for pickling. I have been growing these cucumbers for 4 years and they never disappoint. This is my favorite and I have been growing for years.

BOTANICAL INFORMATION

Family: Cucurbitaceae

Genus: Cucumis

Species: C. sativus

REFERENCES

Cornell University

Washington State Extension

University of Minnesota Extension

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