How to Grow Cucumbers
Cucumbers, commonly called "cukes", are a favorite garden vegetable. Most
gardeners grow at least one variety, if not more. Although quite susceptible
to insect and disease problems, these prolific producers are easy to grow.
Cucumbers are vining plants, members of the Cucurbita family which includes
pumpkins, squash, and gourds. They grow best, when allowed to sprawl along
the ground in your garden. This is because secondary roots will develop along
the vine at the junction between the vine and the leaf. Secondary roots are
a source of additional nutrients for your plant and fruits' growth.
If you have limited space, cucumbers are very successfully grown in a small
space, by training them up a fence or trellis. If a trellis or fence is your
only choice, go for it. You will not be disappointed.
Fresh cucumbers are great on vegetable trays with dip, sliced or in salads.
Varieties of Cucumbers:
-
Slicing Cucumbers
-
Pickling Cucumbers - more on Pickling
Cucumbers
-
Oriental Cucumbers - These are long and thin, with many over a foot long.
Days to Maturity:
55 to 65 days. Once cucumbers begin to ripen, you can usually harvest
them for several weeks.
Sowing Cucumber Seeds:
Plant seeds in rows or hills, planting them one to 1 inch deep. When planting
in rows, sow cucumber seeds 2 " to 3" apart, thinning seedlings to 6" apart..
If you are planting in hills, plant four to five per hill. After they have
germinated, keep the best two to three. Cover very lightly with soil.Water
the first day and if there is no rain, every two to three days until they
germinate.
Growing Cucumber Plants:
Cucumber plants require well drained soil. Like other members of the cucurbita
family, they are big feeders. Early in the season, provide plenty of high
nitrogen fertilizer. 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.
Provide lots of water, for fast growth.
Tip: Cucumbers grow quickly, and are at their best when picked before
they get too big. Encourage new fruit development by picking regularly. Do
not allow them to get overripe on the vine or they will slow down, or even
cease bearing new fruit.
While cucumbers grow best on the ground, they will also do will grown up
a fence or trellis. They grow well on Veggie Cages (see below), too. Train
young plants up the fence or trellis. After they get started, they will continue
to climb on their own, and will fix themselves to their support, by curling
their tendrils around the support.
Veggie Cages This revolutionary cage makes
a great cucumber trellis. It expands a whopping 7ft! Stores flat in almost
no space. Try them on cucumbers, sweet peas, tomatoes, pole beans, and other
climbing climbing flowers and vegetables.
A word about hot weather: Cucumber plants do not like mid summer's
heat and humidity. The leaves will wilt and can burn in the hot, midday
sun. Using overhead sprinklers intermittently during midday, can alleviate
the problem. Shade covers are also effective. Or, you can grow them in an
area that is shaded to partially shaded from the midday sun.
Insects and Pests:
Like all members of the Cucurbita family, 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. Mild insecticides like Sevin are most commonly used for effective
treatment.
Public enemy number one to the cucurbita family 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. Then, apply fungicide around
the wound to minimize disease.
Squash Bugs will suck the juices of plants. If severe, the plant will die.
More on Squash Bugs
A variety of other pest can also cause problems, depending upon where you
live.
Disease:
As a member of the Cucurbita family, cucumbers are susceptible to the same
diseases as pumpkin and squash. These include both fungus and bacterial problems.
Powdery mildew is also a problem with cucumber plants. If not treated at
the onset of powdery mildew, the disease can be fatal to your crop. Treat
with fungicides at the first sign of problems, or just before hot humid weather
arrives in your area.
More
on Powdery Mildew
Hardiness:
Cucumbers are susceptible to spring and fall frost. They grow best in
temperatures between 60 to 80 degrees.
Cucumber Recipes:
May we suggest:
Nutritional Value of Cucumbers
More information:
Cucumber in a Bottle - An amazing story about
a cucumber grown and preserved in a bottle, then forgotten for decades.
Buy Cucumber Vegetable Seeds Top quality Ferry Morse,
Lilly Miller and Livingston seeds. Better quality, better prices. |
