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Photo Credit
Pixabay
Botanical Name
Cucumis sativus
Plant Type
Vegetable
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Soil pH
Slightly Acidic to Neutral
Bloom Time
Summer
Flower Color
Yellow
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Subhead
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Cucumbers
What would a summer salad be without the cool crunch of cucumber slices? It’s no surprise that cucumbers are one of the most popular garden vegetables! Learn how to plant, grow, and harvest cucumbers in yourgarden.
About CucumberPlants
There are two types of cucumber plants: vining cucumbers and bush cucumbers.
- Vining cucumbers, the most common varieties, grow on vigorous vines shaded bylarge 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. Since they grow off the ground, the fruits will be cleaner—versus those that grow directly atop soil—often more abundantand easier topick.
- Bush cucumbers,however, are nicely suited to containers and small gardens.
There are different cucumber varieties for growing outdoors and for growing in a greenhouse. Outdoor cucumbers can tolerate cooler climates and often have rough or spiny skins. Greenhouse cucumbers produce smoother fruits but need extra warmth and protection for success. Some varieties will happily grow indoors oroutdoors.
If you’re interested in making pickles, we recommend several prolific varieties below that are bred especially for pickling, such as heirloom ‘Boston Pickling’ or ‘Calypso.’ For crispy pickles, be sure to prepare them within a few hours ofharvesting!
Read Next
Mini-Vegetable Ideas for Small Garden Spaces
Growing Up! How to Grow Vertically in Your Garden
Planting
Select a site that gets full sun (at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day). Cucumbers like warmth and lots oflight!
Cucumbers require fertile soil.Prior to planting, add about 2 inches of aged manure and/or compost to the bed and work it into a depth of 6 to 8 inches. Soil should be moist but well-draining (not soggy) and have a pH of around 6.5 to7.0.
Improve clay soil by adding organic matter.Improve dense, heavy soilby adding peat, compost, or rotted manure. (Get a soil test if you are unsure of your soil type; contact your local county cooperative extension.) Light, sandy soils are preferred for northern gardens, as they warm quickly in the spring. See our guide to soil amendments.
When to PlantCucumbers
- For an early crop, sow cucumber seeds indoors for about 3 weeks before you plan to transplant them outside into the ground. Provide bottom heat of about 70ºF (21ºC) with a heating pad or place the seedflats on top of a refrigerator or water heater. Sow two seeds an inch deep in each pot, then water well. Once the seedlings emerge, remove the weakest to leave one perpot.
- Outdoors, cucumbersshould besown or transplantedinto the ground no earlier than 2 weeks after the last frost date. Cucumbers are extremely susceptible to frost and cold damage; the soil should be at least 70ºF (21ºC) for germination. Seedlings set best at that temperature, too. (In cooler climates,warm the soil by covering it with black plastic prior toplanting.)
- Make successive plantings (every 2 weeks) for continued harvests through the season. In warm soil, cucumbers will grow quickly and ripen in about 6weeks.
How to PlantCucumbers
- Sow seeds 1 inch deep and about 3 to 5 feet apart in a row, depending on variety (see seed packet for details). For vines trained on a trellis, space seeds or plants 1 footapart.
- Cucumbers can also be planted in mounds (or “hills”) that are spaced 1 to 2 feet apart, with 2 to 3seeds planted in each mound. Once plants reach 4 inches in height, thinthem to one plant permound.
- If you live in acooler climate, you can help warm thesoil prior to planting by covering the hill or row with blackplastic.
- After planting, mulch around the area with straw,chopped leaves, or another organic mulch to keep pests at bay and also keep bush types off the ground to avoiddisease.
- A trellis is a good idea if you want the vine to climb or if you have limited space. Trellising also protects the fruit from damage from lying on the moist ground. See how to build a trellis andsupport for vining vegetables.
- Cover freshly planted cucumber seeds with row covers, netting, or a berry basket if you have pests; this will keep themfrom digging out theseeds.
- You can also grow cucumbers incontainers!
Check out this video to learn more about how to plantcucumbers.
Growing
- When seedlings emerge, begin to waterfrequently.
- The main care requirement for cucumbers is consistent watering! They need at least one inch of water per week (or more, if temperatures are particularly high). Inconsistent watering leads to bitter-tastingfruit.
- Water slowly in the morning or early afternoon, and avoid getting the leaves wet, as that may encourage leaf diseases that can ruin the plant.If possible, water your cucumbers with a soaker hose or drip irrigation to keep the foliagedry.
- Mulch around plants to retain soilmoisture.
- Cover young plants with row covers or berry baskets if pestsappear.
- When seedlings reach 4inches tall, thin the plants so thatthey are about 18 inchesapart.
- If you’ve workedorganic matter into the soil before planting, you may only need to side-dress your plants with compost or well-rotted manuresparingly.
- Otherwise, fertilize the plants with a liquid 5-10-10 fertilizer. Apply 1 week after the plant starts blooming and every 3 weeks thereafter directly to the soil around the plants. Or, you can work a granular fertilizer into the soil. Do not over-fertilize, or the fruits will getstunted.
- If you have limited space or would prefer vertical vines, set up trellises early to avoid damage to seedlings andvines.
Growing GreenhouseCucumbers
Greenhouse cucumbers can be planted in beds, containers, or growing bags. Train your cucumbers up supports such as bamboo canes, vertical wires, strong netting, or trellis. Pinch out the growing tips when the plant reaches the top of the support to encourage it to produce side shoots. Pinch out the tips of side shoots so that just two leaves remain beyond each developingfruit.
Keep plants well watered and feed them every two weeks with a liquid fertilizer that is high inpotassium.
Remove all male flowers from greenhouse cucumbers (unless you’re growing an all-female variety). This prevents bitter-tasting fruits. Female flowers have a slight swelling behind each bloom that will become a fruit ifpollinated.
Making a CucumberFrame
A cucumber frame is a great way to support outdoor cucumbers. Stretch chicken wire or netting over a wooden frame and secure it into place with staples or U-shaped nails. Lean the frame against an A-frame made of sturdy bamboocanes.
Salad leaves such as lettuce can then be grown in the shade of the frame – a clever solution for growing cool-season crops in hotterareas.
Also, see our video onhow how to build a trellis and support for cucumbers.
Recommended Varieties
- ‘BostonPickling’(vine) is our favorite heirloom variety bred especially forpickling.
- ‘Burpless Bush Hybrid’ (bush) is good for small gardens, pots, orpickling.
- ‘Bush Crop’(bush) is a dwarf variety with a high yield. Great for eatingfresh.
- ‘Calypso’(vine) is disease-resistant and has a high yield. Perfect forpickling.
- ‘Lemon’(vine) produces round, yellow, super-sweet fruits. Fun forkids!
- ‘Parisian Pickling’(vine) produces long, thin cucumbers perfect for makinggherkins orcornichons.
- ‘Sweet Success’ (vine) is good for greenhouses, as it requires no pollinators. Produces seedlessfruit.
Harvesting
- At peak harvesting time, you should be picking cucumbers every couple of days. They’ll grow quickly!
- Don’t let cucumbers get too large before harvesting, or they will tastebitter.
- Harvest regular slicing cucumbers when they are about 6 to 8 inches long (slicingvarieties).
- Harvest dills at 4 to 6 inches longand pickling cucumbersat 2 incheslong.
- The large burpless cucumbers can be up to 10 inches long, and some types are evenlarger.
- Gherkin varieties are picked very small – an inch long for crunchy cornichons or three inches long for largerpickles.
- Cucumbers are best picked before their seeds become hard and are eaten when immature. Do not let them get yellow. A cucumber is of the highest quality when it is uniformly green, firm, andcrisp.
- Any cucumbers left on the vine too long will alsoget tough skinsand lower plantproductivity.
- Use a knife or clippers to cutthe fruit off the plant. Pulling it may damage thevine.
- Keep on picking!If you don’t, as plants mature, they will stopproducing.
How to StoreCucumbers
- Cucumbers are over 90 percent water. Store wrapped tightly in plastic wrap to retainmoisture.
- They will keep for 7 to 10 days when stored properly in therefrigerator.
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Wit and Wisdom
- Plant cucumbers while you are wearing your pajamas, on the first day of May, before sunrise, and no bugs will eatthem.
- “Burpless” cucumbers have little to no cucurbitacin, which causes bitterness and increases the likelihood of burping by those who consumeit.
- If you’re pickling, consider growing dill, a favorite pickling herb! Plant every few weeks into midsummer to ensure a constant supply. See our Growing Guide for Dill.
- Don’t forget that cucumbers aren’t just for eating. When puréed in the blender, cucumbers make a great summer facial for toning the skin and reducingpuffiness.
- With special molds, you can grow cucumbers in different shapes,like hearts andstars!
Pests/Diseases
Pest/Disease | Type | Symptoms | Control/Prevention |
---|---|---|---|
Anthracnose | Fungus | Yellow/brown/purple/black spots on leaves; sunken, dark spots on stems and fruit; spots may develop a salmon-pink, gelatinous mass; eventually, rot | Destroy infected plants; choose resistant varieties; provide good drainage; avoid overhead watering; apply compost; use mulch; rotate crops |
Aphids | Insect | Misshapen/yellow leaves; distorted flowers/fruit; sticky “honeydew” (excrement); sooty, black mold | Grow companion plants; knock off with water spray; apply insecticidal soap; put banana or orange peels around plants; wipe leaves with a 1 to 2 percent solution of dish soap (no additives) and water every 2 to 3 days for 2 weeks; add native plants to invite beneficial insects |
Blossom-end rot | Disorder | Dark, water-soaked spots on blossom end of fruit (opposite stem) may enlarge and become sunken and leathery | Caused by lack of calcium in fruit, often due to roots failing to obtain sufficient water and/or nutrients. Remove affected fruit; plant at proper soil temperature; water deeply and evenly; use mulch; maintain proper soil pH (around 6.5) and nutrient levels; avoid excessive nitrogen; provide good drainage; prevent root damage |
Cucumber beetles | Insect | Holes in leaves/flowers; rasped fruit; plants stunted/die (Bacterial wilt signs: wilting; plants die; ends of cut stems, when pressed together for 10 seconds and pulled apart, release stringy, white sap) | Handpick; mulch heavily; use row covers; destroy plants infected with bacterial wilt |
Cucumber mosaic virus | Virus | Varies with plant, but may include stunting, mottled green/yellow/white pattern or ringed spots on leaves/fruit; distorted leaf growth; warts on fruit | Destroy infected plants; choose resistant varieties and certified virus-free seed; use row covers; disinfect tools; weed; control aphids; use mulch |
Downy mildew | Fungus | Yellow, angular spots on upper leaf surfaces that turn brown; white/purple/gray cottony growth on leaf undersides only; distorted leaves; defoliation | Remove plant debris; choose resistant varieties; ensure good air circulation; avoid overhead watering |
Powdery mildew | Fungus | Typically, white spots on upper leaf surfaces expand to flour-like coating over entire leaves; foliage may yellow/die; distortion/stunting of leaves/flowers | Destroy infected leaves or plants; choose resistant varieties; plant in full sun, if possible; ensure good air circulation; spray plants with 1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1 quart water; destroy crop residue |
Squash bugs | Insect | Many small, yellow/brown/black spots on leaves; wilt; scarred fruit | Handpick; crush yellow/bronze egg clusters on leaf undersides; lay boards on soil and check for pests underneath each morning; remove plant debris; use row covers; rotate crops |
Whiteflies | Insect | Sticky “honeydew” (excrement); sooty, black mold; yellow/ silver areas on leaves; wilted/stunted plants; distortion; adults fly if disturbed; some species transmit viruses | remove infested leaves/plants; use handheld vacuum to remove pests; spray water on leaf undersides in morning/evening to knock off pests; monitor adults with yellow sticky traps; spray with insecticidal soap; invite beneficial insects and hummingbirds with native plants; weed; use reflective mulch |
Little or NoFruit:
- If your cucumber plantsdo not set fruit, it’s not usually caused by a disease. There is probably a pollination issue. The first flowers are usually all male. Both female and male flowers must be blooming at the same time for fruit to set. This may not happen early in the plant’s life, so be patient. (Female flowers are the ones witha small cucumber-shaped swelling at the base that will become the fruit; male flowers do not have this swelling at thebase.)
- Lack of fruit may also be due to poor pollination by bees, especially due to rain or cold temperatures, or insecticides. Do rest assured, you could alwayshand pollinate.(Dip a Q-tip into the male pollen and transfer it to the center of thefemaleflower.)
- Remember, gynoecious hybrid varieties (those that produce primarily female flowers) require companion cucumber plants with male flowers in order to producefruit.
Recipes
Chilled Cucumber Soup
Sweet Refrigerator Pickles
Cucumber-Mint Salad Dressing
Castilian-Style Cucumber and Tomato Salad
Cooking Notes
- See our section on pickling with lots of recipes and ideas.
- Enjoy our fun video on How to Make Easy Refrigerator Dill Pickles!
Vegetables
About The Author
Catherine Boeckmann
Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana. Read More from Catherine Boeckmann
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Comments
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This is conflicting and confusing information. You say fertilize with 5-10-10 once blooms start then say fertilize once a week after fruit sets. Which is it? I have the Vegetable Gardeners Handbook 6th edition there's no mention of continued fertilizer. The wording is exactly the same however the book has less info than the website. You'd think paying for the book would give much more info.
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You are making it more complicated then it needs to be. For years, I have simply placed seeds in ANY soil, vines prosper with enough water. I have even grown cuecumbers inside in a pot, and simply pollinated with an artist,s brush.
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I really appreciate the depth of research and clarity of presentation in your blog post. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and experiences.
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Oh! that's a very informative! I will take that into consideration when I start planting round cucumber varieties for my vegetable garden!
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I really liked this article because it answered everything to the point and brief. Keep it up!
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I have learned from experience and also from running my own little tests and cucumbers store much better in your basement or anywhere that is not hot other than the fridge and I have pictures to prove that after having done both at the same time. The cucumbers stored in the refrigerator went bad weeks before the others that had been stored in the basement.
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I agree Diane. Cucumbers last much longer stored in a cool dark place like a basement rather than the refrigerator.
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Thanks for sharing your experience, Diane! We are all interested in ways to keep the summer harvestfresh!
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Can you please tell me the ratio of sugar in water and how to make it ….. do I need to boil or just mix….. & how frequently to spray this on vines of cucumber. Thanks in advance
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