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Cucumber

Cucumber

The cucumber is an old world plant that was popular with American settlers. Like squash and
pumpkins, cucumber is monoecious, producing separate male and female flowers so it must be pollinated by insects, or by hand. Being tropical plants, cucumbers are exceedingly sensitive to cold temperatures. Cucumbers are high yield plants that are relatively easy to grow in a backyard garden. Bush varieties of this tasty vegetable can even be grown in containers on an apartment porch or balcony.


Varieties: Ashley, Burpless, Bush Champion, Dasher, Diva, Early Pride Seed Saving.
Introduction
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Description

The size of your space will dictate how many plants you can have. You’ll want to space vining plants 36 to 60 inches (91 to 152 cm) apart. If you’regrowing them vertically, allow 12 inches (30 cm) between trellises.
Optimal Time/Temperature for Germination:
Seeds germinate in 3-7 days in the preferred temperature range. Plant when the soil is at least 70 °F (21 °C). Wait until at least 2 weeks after the date of the last frost to plant your cucumbers. If you want an early crop, start your seeds indoors about 3 weeks before you plan to plant, then transplant the seedlings to your garden.
Optimal Soil Conditions:
Find a sunny location to plant your cucumbers. Cucumbers are a tropical vegetable,and they crave a lot of direct sunlight although they can be overwhelmed by too much sun in hotter climates. In cooler regions, choose a spot where they won’t be too shaded from the afternoon sun. If you live in an area where summer temperatures routinely climb above 90 °F (32 °C), your cucumbers will likely need some shade from the afternoon sun. Cucumbers grow roots 36 to 48 inches (91 to 122 cm) deep, so don’t plant them right beside trees. Tree roots can compete with your cucumber plants for water and nutrition. Remove weeds from the area. Cucumbers should be started in a weed-free area. It is advised that weeds can drain nutrients and water from the soil, starving your cucumbers, while they are developing. Bring the soil’s pH level as close to 7.0 as possible. Cucumbers thrive in soil with a neutral to slightly alkaline pH. You can buy a pH testing kit at any garden supply center or hardware store. For natural fertilizer, use rich compost or aged manures. Mix them into the soil to a depth of about 2 inches (5.1 cm), then gradually cut and work them into the soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm). Add organic material to improve soil quality. The ideal soil for cucumbers is loose,light, and sandy. This type of soil gets warmer more quickly and retains that warmth more easily. If you have more clay in your soil, add organic material. Dense, heavy soil can be improved with peat, compost, and well rotted manure.
Seed Planting Depth, Spacing and Procedure:
In areas with shorter growing seasons you will need to start your seedlings indoors. It is recommended to use biodegradable peat pots when starting them indoors so that they can be directly planted in the garden without removing them from their pots. If you are transplanting seedlings from regular pots, wiggle the entire structure out of the starter pot, soil and all. The soil helps protect the plant’s sensitive roots. If you transplant a cucumber bare-rooted, it likely won’t survive. It is preferable to direct sow cucumbers where they will grow. Moisten the soil before seeding. Stick your finger in the soil to check its moisture level before planting. If you feel dry soil up to your first knuckle, water the soil before seeding using a gentle hose or watering can. Watering the soil before you plant your seeds reduces the risk that you could wash them away. Drop 3 or 4 seeds together in a group every 18 to 36 inches (46 to 91 cm). Planting several seeds together allows you to select the strongest plant. Push seeds slightly into the soil. Cucumber seeds should be no more than 1 inch (2.5 cm) into the soil. You can also lay them on top of the soil, and then cover them over with topsoil of a similar depth. Add mulch once seedlings sprout up. Mulch helps control weeds. It also keeps the soil warm and moist. For additional warmth, use a darker mulch. If you’re using straw or wood chips, wait until the soil has warmed up to at least 70 °F (21 °C). Give the plants plenty of room. Vining plants, in particular, require a lot of space. Cucumber vines can grow 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 m) long. In large gardens, the vines can simply spread over the ground. If you have limited space, you may want fewer plants.] When planting in containers, bear in mind that cucumber plants that are too crowded can become stressed. The cucumbers won’t grow to size and will taste bitter. Production will also decrease. across and about 8 inches (20 cm) deep. Containers should also have several drain holes to ensure the best drainage for the plant.
Best Companion Plants and Plants that Hinder:
Benefited by flowering herbs such as borage that attract pollinators but are not aromatic. Corn and cucumbers are mutually beneficial. Raccoons do not like the vines and corn protects cucumber from the virus that causes wilt. Cucumbers do well with peas and sunflowers. Radishes protect from the cucumber beetle. They grow well in orchards as part of a food forest because they like some shade in hotter climates and the pollinators that come for the fruit will also pollinate the cucumbers. Do not plant cucumbers near potatoes.

Growing Instructions

Crop Maintenance

Growing cucumbers vertically increases exposure to sunlight, giving you a higher yield. It also keeps the vegetables cleaner. If you want to grow your cucumbers vertically, prepare your trellises before the vines start to grow. Use 4 or 5 ft (1.2 or 1.5 m) welded wire fencing or hog wire to create a 12 to18 in (30 to 46 cm) diameter cage. This size cage can support 2 or 3 vines. As your plant gets bigger, you can gently wrap the vine tendrils around the wire to encourage the plant to grow up the trellis. In hotter climates, pant taller crops south of your cucumbers to provide some shade, or use a shade cloth that will block at least 40 percent of the sunlight.
Moisture Requirements & Solutions:
Keep your cucumbers well-hydrated. The soil surrounding cucumber plants should be slightly moist at all times. Plan on giving your cucumbers at least 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to cm) of water a week to fulfill their hydration needs. Be especially vigilant as the plant flowers and begins to fruit. Stress from lack of water can result in bitter-tasting cucumbers. Water at the soil level. Wet leaves are at risk of developing powdery mildew. A drip irrigation system can regulate the water flow more constantly, while keeping the foliage dry.
Weeding Needs & Solutions:
It is helpful to keep the weeds clear when the plants are young but once Cucumbers are established they will overgrow most weeds with their hardy vines and shading leaves. For best results, pull the larger weeds up by hand, yanking up as much of the root as possible. If you leave the root of a mature weed behind, there is a strong likelihood that the same weed will grow back. Small weed cuttings can be left laying on the soil for fertilizer.
Feeding Needs/Optimal Natural Fertilizers:
Make sure you start your cucumbers is soil with plenty of humus content, compost and well rotted manure. Fertilize again once flowers begin to bud. Wait until runners appear on the vines and the flowers begin to bud, then add a mild liquid fertilizer or organic feed such as compost or aged manure every 2 weeks. If the leaves turn yellow, your plants need more nitrogen. Look for a high-nitrogen fertilizer such as seaweed and add it to the water.
Pests, Diseases & Solutions:
Cover your plants with netting to protect them from wildlife. A fine mesh netting will keep rabbits and chipmunks away. Covering seeds and tiny seedlings with a berry basket keeps them safe from getting dug up by animals. Once the plants get larger, you can remove the netting. A fence around your garden would better protect your cucumbers at this stage. Squash bugs can be controlled by placing cedar boards on the ground under the plant. At night the bugs congregate under the boards and can be killed in the morning. A spray made from chive tea or horsetail tea will help with downy mildew.
When to Harvest/Number of days to maturity:
Pick your cucumbers at the optimal size. For higher production, you don’t want to leave your cucumbers on the vine too long or allow them to get too big. The best size at which to harvest your cucumbers depends on the variety you’ve planted. American slicers should be 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) long.Middle Eastern varieties are best at 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm), while picklers should be harvested at 3 to 5 inches (7.6 to 12.7 cm). Pick cucumbers often. The more frequently you pick cucumbers,the more cucumbers the plant will grow. Check your plants every day and pick the cucumbers that are around optimal size for their variety.
How to Harvest:
Use pruning shears to pick cucumbers cleanly. Take hold of the cucumber,then cut the stem about 1⁄4 inch (0.64 cm) above the end. Many people think they can simply pull or twist a cucumber off a vine. However, when you do this you risk damaging the vine.
Optimal Storage temperature and conditions:
Refrigerate your cucumbers to keep them crisp. Try to use your cucumbers as soon as possible after you harvest them for the best flavor and texture. If necessary, you can keep them in the refrigerator for 7 to 10 days. Wrap them in plastic or put them in a zippered plastic bag before refrigerating them to keep them from drying out.
Optimal Preserving Procedures:
Cucumbers are famous for making dill pickles, sweet pickles and relish which can be preserved in jars for long term storage.
Seed Saving:
Cucumbers are eaten as immature fruits. When cucumbers are grown for seed, harvest is delayed until the fruits reach botanical maturity. As the seeds develop, the cucumber will continue to grow beyond its market-mature size, eventually changing color and losing firmness as the seeds reach full maturity. Cucumbers can change color to yellow or orange.It is best to wait several weeks after this color change before extracting the seeds. Cut cucumbers in half lengthwise to extract the seeds. Scoop out seeds and any surrounding pulp from the seed cavity. Place this mixture of seeds and pulp into a small bucket or jar with some water. The mixture needs to undergo fermentation for 1-3 days to remove the pulp from the seeds. The fermenting mixture should be held in an open container at temperatures between 70-80 degrees F. When fermentation is complete, decant the seeds by adding more water to the container and stirring the mixture – the pulp and lightweight seeds will float to the top and can be poured off, leaving only viable seeds which will have settled at the bottom of the container. Once the seeds have been rinsed clean, set the seeds out to dry on coffee filters or old window screens until they can be cleanly snapped in half. Store cucumber seeds in a cool, dark, and dry place in an airtight container to keep out moisture and humidity. When stored under these conditions, cucumber seeds will remain viable for 5 years.

Harvest and Storage

Notes

If you find that your area is just not suited to growing cucumbers outdoors,consider growing them inside. Thin strips of cucumber will repel ants.

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