Cucumber Growing Techniques

Selection

• Seed selection depends in large part on the purposes for which you intend to grow your cucumbers. "Slicing" cucumbers are eaten either raw or cooked, while "pickling" varieties are bred specifically to be made into pickles. Slicing varieties include Burpless, Marketmore 76, Straight 8, Bushcrop, Fanfare and Salad Bush. Pickling varieties include Bush Pickle and Carolina. Disease resistance and time to harvest are the main distinguishing characteristics between each varietal, so choose one that is resistant to the most common cucumber diseases in your area, as well as one that will yield ripe cucumbers when you want them.

Planting

• Cucumber seeds are typically sown directly into the soil in the spring, after the last winter frost and after the soil has started to warm. Plant seeds 1 to 1 1/2 inches deep and about 12 to 36 inches apart from each other, depending on the layout of the area where you will be growing the cucumbers. Cucumber seeds can also be started indoors in peat pots, peat pellets or another growing medium approximately three to four weeks before the last winter frost. Transplant the germinated seeds after the soil has warmed in early spring.

Long-Term Care

• Cucumbers are thirsty plants and require ample amounts of moisture throughout the entire growing season, especially as the plants begin to vine and fruit. A nitrogen-rich fertilizer can be applied to soil just as the plant begins to vine. It is important to protect the cucumber plants from pests, especially the cucumber beetle. If you did not purchase an insect-resistant cultivar of cucumber, control the cucumber beetle with biological methods such as introduction of natural predators or with an insecticide.

Harvesting

• Cucumbers are typically harvested and eaten before they have reached full ripeness; they can technically be harvested at any time during their development, so harvest times should depend primarily on the flavor and size of cucumber that you wish to end up with. For the highest quality and most developed flavor, pick the cucumbers when they are green all over and firm to the touch. If the cucumbers start to turn yellow, they will quickly become overripe, so pick them well before any yellowing is seen.