| Temperature |
| Germination | 60-95 F |
| For Growth | 65-75 F |
| Soil and Water |
| Fertilizer -Heavy feeder, before planting apply compost |
| Side-dressing - Apply every 2-3 weeks |
| pH | 5.5-7.0 |
| Water | heavy |
| Measurements |
| Planting depth | 1/2 - 1" |
| Root depth | 12", tap root 2-3' |
| Height | 6' |
| Width | trellis - 12-15" On ground - 12-20 square feet |
| Space between plants |
| In beds | 12" |
| In rows | 24-48" |
| Space between rows | 4' |
| Average plants per person | 3-5 |
| Support structure - Use a 6' post, A frame, tepee, or a trellis |
| Harvest |
| Allow the main stem to grow as high as possible by pinching back some of the lateral shoots and letting others grow into branches. By picking the fruit early, you won't have to support heavy fruit or risk arresting plant production. When the fruit is slightly immature, before seed coats become hard, pick with 1" of stem to minimize water loss. In warm weather, all cucumber plant types should be picked daily. Always pick open-pollinated varieties underripe. Harvest pickling cucumbers at least 2-6" and slicing cucumbers at 6-10" |
| First Seed starting Date: 14-21days before last frost date |
| Last Seed Starting Date: 84-118 Days before first frost date |
| Companions |
| Companions: all beans, cabbage, eggplant, kale, melon, peas, sunflower, tomato |
| Incompatibles: Anise, basil, marjoram, potato, quack grass, rosemary, sage, strong herbs, summer savory |
| Storage Requirements |
| Keep the short piece of stem on each fruit during storage |
| Fresh |
| Temperature | Humidity | Storage Life |
| 45-55 F | 85-95% | 10-14 days |
| Preserved |
| Method | Taste | Shelf Life |
| Canned | good (pickles) | 12+ months |
| Frozen | good | 8 months |
| Dried | poor | |
| Dried | poor | |
Where to grow:
Where a long, warm growing season, minimum 65 days, can be assured. Cucumbers are a warm-season crop, very tender to frost and light freezing. Don't grow cucumbers where there are foggy, damp summers, as the plants are subject to mildews.
Varieties:
Most cucumbers are monoecius and produce both male and female(fruit bearing) flowers. Gynoecious types bear only female flowers, therefore a few male-flowering pollinators are included in the seed packets. Both types require pollination by bees. Parthenocarpic types produce few if any seeds and require no pollination(develop without seeds), so they can be grown to maturity under row covers. Bitter-free are resistant to damage from cucumber beetles. Dwarfs are good candidates for intercropping with tomatoes and peppers, but they must have a constant water supply. All types must be picked daily in warm weather.
Since cucumbers are susceptible to many virus diseases and wilts, the selection of modern disease-resistant varieties is highly recommended. The following show resistance to all or many cucumber maladies: Marketmore Hybrid, Tablegreen 65, Spartain Valor; Marketer; Burpee Hybrid. All female(gynecious) varieties: Gemini; Victory; Pioneer; Mariner.
Pickling varieties: SMR 18; West India Gherkin; Pioneer; Mariner
Burpless varieties: Burpless 26, Sweet Slice
Tub-type varieties: Patio Pik; Cherokee
Novelties: Lemon (fruit size and color of a lemon); China or Kyoto (an extra long cucumber.)
Soil:
A fertile clay soil supports good cucumber growth if it is enriched with well-rotted manure and compost to aid its water-retentive qualities.
Planting:
Germination in 7-10 days
When: Warm soil (65 degrees) is necessary for cucumbers to take hold. The plants are very susceptible to frost. Where there is a very short growing season, cucumbers can be planted in peat pots indoors a month to 6 weeks before planting outdoors. Cucumbers do not take readily to transplanting, and should be handled so that their roots are not disturbed. If necessary, transplant seedlings on a cloudy day or in the afternoon to minimize transplanting shock. If there is ample garden space, the vines can be allowed to sprawl over the ground. Use a mulch, black plastic, straw or salt hay to keep the fruit clean. For small gardens, plan on training them to a trellis or support of some kind. This not only keeps the fruit clean and off the ground for quick ripening, but enables the fruit to grown straighter.
How: Where there is ample space and vines can sprawl, the simplest way is to plant cucumbers in hills, with several plants placed together. Space hills 4 feet apart each way and plant about 8 seeds per hill. Thin to the 3 strongest plants when the seedlings are about 4 inches high. Since cucumbers grow along rapidly once started, the ground should be prepared well in advance. Work a deep planting hole where each hill will be. Add a spade full of well-rotted manure, and a generous handful of 5-10-10 or bone meal and rock potash. Work in well and cover with soil before planting the seeds about an inch deep. The same soil preparation works well if the vines are to be trained on a support or grown in patio tubs.
How it grows:
Once started, the cucumber vine grows along quite rapidly, putting out hairy stems with large, attractive leaves. The vines produce tendrils and can be trained to climb readily. The male (pollen-bearing) flowers will appear on the plant first, but do not produce fruit. A week or so later the female flowers appear, and produce the oval, elongated cucumber. The modern gynoecious (all-female) varieties are popular because they start bearing as soon as the first flowers appear. Seed packets contain enough of the good male pollen carrier to assure proper fertilization of these newer varieties.
Culture:
Once cucumbers start growing they must have a constant supply of soil moisture. If it is lacking, the plants stop growth in a "holding position" until there is more soil moisture. It is therefore important to grow cucumbers near a water supply. Keep weeds down with shallow cultivation or by growing the vines on black plastic mulch. Or mulch rows heavily with straw, salt hay, grass clippings, or partially rotted compost. When the plants are about 4 inches high, add a high-nitrogen fertilizer such as blood meal or cottonseed meal, or water the plants with fish emulsion. Avoid stepping on vines as they develop.
Harvest:
50-70 days. Never work around wet cucumber vines, as they are susceptible to many diseases that spread when leaves are wet. Since more than 50 percent of the cucumber is water, the fruit must be picked when it is succulent and green (immature) for best taste. If the fruit starts to turn yellow, it is past its prime and the seeds will be dark and ripe. Harvest cucumbers every 2-3 days, and promptly pick the fruits as they reach the desired size. If any mature cucumbers are left on the plants, production will stop, so harvest carefully and remove any badly shaped or mature fruits.
Pests:
- Striped cucumber beetle (East Coast). Spotted cucumber beetle (West Coast): This is essentially the same pest, which changes its coat depending on which coast it chooses. Adults overwinter on garden debris, so good fall cleanup is the first step in control.
- Squash bug - Handpick adults and leaves bearing eggs. If boards are placed between rows in the evening, these insects will hide under them and can be destroyed in the early morning by uncovering and killing them.
- Vine borers - These pests are usually not seen until the damage is done. Good fall cleanup to destroy overwintering eggs is important.
Diseases:
Grow resistant varieties.