Cucumbers are one of the most dynamic veggies in the world. Whether you plant them for salads, to pickle, or to use in juices and smoothies, nothing can match the flavor of a homegrown cucumber! Ready to learn how to grow cucumbers in your garden?
With tips about seed choices, the best way to trellis, fertilizing, and more, this guide shows you how to grow cucumbers and make them thrive.
Let's grow bigger!
Why Cucumbers Are Popular for Home Gardens
Cucumbers are a plant that everyone wants, even in small gardens. They boast impressive nutritional value and can be easy to grow when you know how to prevent common cucumber diseases.
With these resources to prevent powdery mildew, protect your plants from blossom end rot, and prevent stem and root rot by following the steps outlined in this guide, you will know how to grow cucumbers confidently.
My goal is to help you grow an Autopilot Garden in your backyard, which is why I’ve created growing guides that eliminate the guesswork, including:
Understanding Varieties of Cucumbers
When it comes to cucumbers, there are lots of different varieties and types. Cucumbers come from five main regions: Europe, India, Asia, Africa, and Central America.
From those five regions, we get the four main types of cucumbers: slicing, pickling, wild, and region-specific. Let me break it down further:
I hope this helps you find the varieties that will work best in your garden and for your preferred use and flavor.
How to Grow Cucumbers
When To Plant Cucumbers
Timing is everything when it comes to seed starting. Start your cucumber seeds indoors 1-2 weeks before the last frost. Find the last frost date in your area to give your seedlings the time they need to mature for transplanting.
This Seed Starting Guide will help you get your seedlings started. Then, begin hardening off seedlings 7-10 days before you want the plants to go out into the garden.
Planting Cucumbers
Cucumbers are great for new gardeners because they're easy to care for. Follow these simple steps, and you'll have plenty of fresh cucumbers to enjoy:
Sunlight - You should choose a location that provides at least 5 hours of direct, full sunlight daily, but 9 to 9 ½ hours is ideal. Sunlight is crucial for cucumbers; the more sun you give them, the better.
Check Soil pH Levels - Avoid extremes on the pH scale. Cucumbers like a neutral pH between 6 and 7. If the soil is too acidic or alkaline, add more compost to balance the pH. Pro-Tip: Don’t unnecessarily alter soil pH. Perform a soil test with the Rapitest Soil Tester so that you can adjust the pH based on what your soil needs, not a guess.
Amend the Soil - More important than soil type, cucumbers need well-draining soil. Amend dense soil with organic matter (compost) to create loose garden soil. If you have heavy clay soil, add sand for drainage.
Plant Spacing - Bush varieties should be planted about 12 inches apart. Vining varieties should be planted at least 1 ½ feet apart when trellising them and at least 3 feet apart in mounds when growing in-ground. Pro-Tip: Plant cucumber seedlings as close to the trellis as possible to allow the tendrils to reach the trellis quickly.
Planting Depth - Some people recommend planting cucumber seedlings a little deeper than the soil level. A better suggestion is to plant them at the soil level and then mound them up a little as needed later on.
Water - Water the cucumbers after planting. Generally, cucumbers need about an inch of water per week, so soak them deeply each time you water and allow time for the top 3 inches of soil to dry out between waterings.
Fertilizing Cucumbers for Maximum Yield
Cucumbers will produce both male and female flowers on the same plant. You can tell the difference between the two because there is a swelling at the base of the female flowers which will later set fruit.
Some gardeners believe that removing the male flowers will allow the plant’s energy to concentrate towards the female flowers, but the plant relies on both the male and female flowers for pollination, so it is not recommended to remove the male flowers.
Instead, support your cucumber plants by giving them a healthy start on a good all-purpose fertilizer that is higher in nitrogen. Cucumbers need more nitrogen at first to grow the vine and leaves, and you don’t want them to set fruit at a young age.
A good NPK ratio for cucumbers is 10-7-7. The fertilizer that I use for my cucumbers is Trifecta+.
Trellising Cucumbers
Cucumbers can be grown sprawling along the ground, but I find it beneficial to grow them vertically. Using a trellis, trellis netting or another support, you can maximize space in your garden, make them easier to prune, allow more pollinators to access the flowers, make them easier to harvest, and allow better airflow to keep the cucumber plants healthier.
Pro-Tip: Cucumbers are prone to powdery mildew. The best way to prevent powdery mildew is to give cucumbers plenty of space and good airflow by trellising, which allows the leaves to dry out.
Whatever you decide to use to support your cucumbers, it should be sturdy enough to support all the foliage and fruit once they form. For step-by-step instructions, check out my post on trellising cucumbers in a budget-friendly way.
Harvesting Cucumbers
It's fun to snack on cucumbers fresh from your garden. Once they reach the desired size, start harvesting them. Remove any fruit from the vine that you won't use, or production will cease.
Harvest pickling cucumbers daily. The fruit will keep in the refrigerator for about a week, but for best quality, soak them in ice water for 24 hours and then use or preserve them immediately.
I hope you learned something new about growing cucumbers, and remember to always grow bigger!
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