How to Grow Cucumbers

cucumbers garden

Knowing how to grow Cucumbers is the perfect addition to a crisp summer salad or many varieties of sandwich. They are also great sliced very finely and added to Chinese lamb wraps or a stir fry. If you want to know how to grow cucumbers, the truth is there is nothing complicated about it. Cucumbers tend to grow quite well. They are a subtropical climbing vine and thrive in a climate with hot days and balmy nights.

Before you begin finding out how to plant cucumbers, you need to decide which variety of cucumber to sow. If you want to pickle them, choose a pickling cucumbers variety. If you want to eat them fresh, choose a slicing variety. Pickling varieties are 3 or 4 inches long and an inch wide. Slicing varieties grow up to 14 inches long. You can pick slicing cucumbers earlier if you want to pickle them. A good variety to grow is the Burpless cucumber because it is flavorsome and easily digestible.

How to Sow Cucumbers

When you are preparing to learn how to seed cucumber, choose somewhere sunny for them. Remember they can grow to 6 feet. You can grow the along the ground or on a trellis, stake or wall. Turn the soil over about 6 inches deep, adding organic compost as you go. Make sure your soil is well drained and contains enough compost or manure to nourish the plants. Cucumbers do well in a sandy loam soil.

You can start growing your cucumbers inside and then transfer them outside. Sow the seeds in peat pots. When the seedlings have sprouted and the last frost is over, they are ready to plant. Peat pots will biodegrade, meaning less risk to your delicate vines.

Leave 15 inches between each seedling. If you are using seeds instead, you can put 3 seeds in each hole. Plant the cucumber seeds an inch deep. If you want more than one row, space the rows 35 inches apart. Anyone who knows how to grow cucumbers will tell you the measurements don't have to be exact but if you are using guesswork, make sure you allow plenty of space.

How to Tend Cucumbers

A layer of mulch on the cucumber plants minimizes weed and helps the soil retain water. Cucumbers won't grow in standing water and hate constant soggy roots but the more moisture they absorb, the better and sweeter the resulting cucumbers will be. Water them weekly. Weed them often but just an inch down, so as not to damage the roots.

When learning how to grow cucumbers, you should know that the cucumber plant has both male and female flowers. You might want to help with the pollination process to transfer pollen from the male flower to the center of the females. You can use a cotton bud. The females have a little cucumber underneath them and the males don't. Helping with the pollination can lead to more cucumbers.

How to Harvest Cucumbers

Cucumbers take a couple of months to reach full size. The skin should be dark green. If they are yellow, this means they are overripe and will have lost flavor. Cut the stalk above the cucumber tip to remove them or twist them off. Learning how to grow cucumbers is easy and the resulting product is truly delicious.

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