Growing Cucumber

cucumis sativis : Cucurbitaceae / the gourd family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
      S S              
        T T T          
        P P            

(Best months for growing Cucumber in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • P = Sow seed
  • Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 61°F and 95°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 16 - 24 inches apart
  • Harvest in 8-10 weeks. Cut fruit off with scissors or sharp knife.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Nasturtiums, Beans, Celery, Lettuce, Sweet Corn, Cabbages, Sunflowers, Coriander, Fennel, Dill, Sunflowers
  • Avoid growing close to: Potato, Tomatoes

Your comments and tips

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14 Dec 13, miss joy (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I have planted two to three punnets of Crystal cucumbers into garden bed. all good until vines seemed to multiply??? Perhaps stray pumpkin vines have self sown as well. Hard to tell which is which and I would like to thin out some of the vines to allow tomatoes' a fair go. any hints on how to tell the difference between crystal cucumbers and pumpkins??? some vines are long and rangy with twisted creeper/feelers.
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10 Dec 13, Elizabeth (Australia - temperate climate)
It's the second time I'm growing pickle cucumber , but I don't what happened this year, the leaves are yellow, cucumbers are yellow. Don't know what to do :(
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27 Nov 13, Jack Zampella (USA - Zone 6b climate)
I grow an open pollinated variety of cucumbers (straight Eight) Two years ago I picked 83 cucumbers from two plants. This past season I only picked 18 cucumbers from two plants, 1. I had problems with cucumber beetles. Any suggestions on how to rid or control then? 2. Also, I believe that the were far less bees around to pollinate. No bees, no pollination. No pollination , no cucumbers. What is the best flower / herb that I can plant to attract pollinators to my cucumbers. Thanks
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01 Nov 13, Darby (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Same here, millions of them all around and in my containers of potatos. I have poured boiling water all around the pavers and set the containers off the ground on cutoffs of an old wooden trellis. It has helped and now I am setting down some 'ant rid' which I hope will eradicate any more nests.Keeping the soil moist is good too, ants don't like it wet.
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31 Oct 13, Bill kitsch (Australia - temperate climate)
My cucumber seedlings don't seem to grow. They stay looking fine but then for no obvious reason dir
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21 Sep 13, Msrk (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Pick the yellow leaves off , too much rain for sure. I had the same problem until I improved drainage
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08 Aug 13, Leanne (Australia - temperate climate)
trying to locate where I can buy Pineapple Cucumber seeds please thankyou!
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25 Jun 13, dries van Dyk (South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical climate)
Hi, I live in Polokwane, Limpopo Province, so it is quit hot around here. Can I plant English Cucumbers in direct sunlight or can I plant it in a greenhouse with 40 persent sun troughlet, what kind of insectisides do I use? Can I plant it in pots of about 30cm high and 20 cm wide, then spaced to your specs or must it go directly in the ground?
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27 Mar 13, neil sheppard (Australia - temperate climate)
Does anyone know where I can buy Diva cucumber seeds, preferably in Australia.
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02 Mar 13, Carol (Australia - temperate climate)
My cucumbers are HUGE and yellow, I'm almost convinced that they are something entirley different. They have been planted too close together as I only have a small space, which I'm geussing may be the yellow, but I cant understand the why they are so big.
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If you have TRUE high humidity: humidex above 95% consistently -- then you have a real issue. If you have a "created" high humidity situation: like a poorly ventilated greenhouse; then correcting the ventilation will fix things. You can create an updraft by placing a screened window/door very close to ground level (or the lowest level that opens to fresh air) and then furthest and highest away from this point another screened window (on the ceiling/roof, or very high on the wall). So if you have a door on the North/East Bottom. the window goes on the South/West Top. When both of the windows are open, you should get a nice updraft that will whisk away all your humidity. It is best to situate the ground level door/window in a shady spot -- because this will be cooler air, and as this comes in it will force the hot/humid air up and out. There are also green house fans that can be installed (but if you do your updraft correctly you will probably not need one) ; and if you are fully indoors even a dehumidifier might work. If you are in a garden setting like the situation above; I think perhaps the cucumber created a roof that was helping hold in the moisture. In this case prune the cucumber to increase airflow. Things like fences can hold moisture; for example if you have a garden between two houses and there is a wood picket fence; this could impede the flow of air, and cause humidity to build up. The answer will ALMOST always be to increase air flow. If this is a true climate issue then you should select what you are growing with care, choosing plants that can tolerate high humidity; and still trying to situate your plants/garden in such a way that air flows freely. I have an allotment, that has "dense" fencing on two sides (I am in the back corner) and I can feel that I have an extra humid situation. I have found that runner beans do well; once they climb higher than fence level, they get a lot of air flow and do nicely. As far a hydroponics; I am not well versed enough to even begin guessing at the issues that may exist in these environments. Just remember that even when the humidex is NOT high, plants still need the airflow to move what they have transpired away from their leaves.

- Celeste Archer

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