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All About Cucumbers - Urban Farmer's Guide


Home > Gardener's Guide > All About Cucumbers

Introduction
Cucumber
Cucumbers are a wonderfully rewarding crop to grow in your home garden. You can use cucumbers to pickle or to eat raw in salads. Cucumbers are highly nutritious and are a good source of many minerals. Cucumbers are one of the world’s favorite vegetables. There are a huge number of cucumber varieties available.

Before Planting
Cucumbers require full sun. Cucumbers also require a decent amount of growing space in your garden, so you’ll need to take this into account. If you’re short on space, vertical structures such as trellises can help make up for limited space in your garden. Cucumbers are happiest when the average temperatures are around 70°F. Plant your cucumbers in the late spring or early summer when there is no risk of frost. In general, cucumbers are not picky about soils. However, make sure your soil is well-draining and has a pH of around 6.5.

Planting
You can plant cucumber seeds directly in garden or grow indoors until ready for transplanting. Plant in rows or hills, planting them 1 to 1 1/2" inches deep.Set vining varieties 2 to 3 feet apart; bush types, 18 inches apart.  When planting in rows, sow seeds 2 to 3" inches apart. If you are planting in hills, plant four to five per hill. After they have germinated, keep the best two to three.

Watering
Provide at least 1" inch of water each week, especially when the plants are flowering and fruiting.

Fertilizer
Cucumbers are big eaters. Provide plenty of fertilize high in nitrogen. Switch over to a more balanced fertilizer, after the flowers begin to bloom. A side dressing of fertilizer and regular feedings of fertilizer will significantly help the health of the plant and the size of the harvest. Spray the plants with fish emulsion fertilizer about four weeks after germination, or side-dress with compost.

Days to Maturity
Most cucumbers take 55 to 65 days to mature. Once cucumbers begin to ripen, you can usually harvest them for several weeks.

Harvesting
Pick cucumbers when they're still moderate-sized - between 3 and 4 inches for pickling varieties and 6 to 8 inches for slicers - otherwise they'll become seedy and bitter. Encourage new fruit development of your cucumber plants by picking regularly. Do not allow them to get overripe on the vine or they will slow down, if not cease bearing new fruit.

Storing
Lay the cucumber on the top shelf. This is the warmest part of the refrigerator and the best place to store cucumbers. You can also place them in a bowl and set in them refrigerator.

Pests & Diseases
The Cucumber Beetle is the dreaded pest of cucumbers. Cucumber Beetles are either striped or spotted. They feed on the leaves of the plants and can cause even greater damage as they spread disease from one plant to another. They are effectively treated with most insecticides.

Another enemy is the Squash Vine Borer which bores into the vine, usually near the tap root ,and will eat right through the vine. Once it gets inside, the only way to kill it is to surgically remove it. Cutting Squash Vine Borers out of your vine is done by slicing up or down from the entry area until you find the pest.

Disease Resistance Abbreviations
CMV - Tolerance to Cucumber Mosaic Virus; DM - Tolerance to Downy Mildew; PM - Tolerance to Powdery Mildew; S - Resistance to Scab; TLS - Tolerance to Target Leaf Spot; WMV - Tolerance to Watermelon Mosaic Virus Race 1 & 2; ZYMV - Tolerance to Zucchini Yellows Mosaic Virus

Tips
When you harvest, carefully inspect your plants (without stepping on the vines) and cut the stem about 3/8 of an inch above the cucumber itself. Once the cucumbers start appearing, harvest frequently to maximize the quality of the fruits.