How to Grow Pickling Cucumbers in Northeast Texas

Test your soil pH in an area that receives full sunlight six months to one year prior to seeding. Acidic sandy loam covers most of northeast Texas, and cucumbers need a pH of around 7.0 to do well, so you might have to add 3 to 4 pounds of ground limestone per 100 square feet to raise the pH by one full point. However, always follow your test’s recommendations.

Spread 1 to 2 inches of matured compost over the soil and sprinkle 1 cup of soluble, slow-release, 10-10-10 or 10-20-10 fertilizer over every 10 feet of row prior to planting. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of 10-10-10 or 10-20-10 around each plant after the vines grow to 10 to 12 inches long. Work the soil 8 to 12 inches deep, using a shovel or garden fork for the task.

Plant seeds in groups of three or four between April 1 and April 15 if planting a spring crop. Plant the seeds between Aug. 1 and Sept. 1 for a fall crop. Space the groups of seeds 12 inches apart in mounds of soil that measure 4 to 6 inches high and 6 to 8 inches wide. Space the mounds 3 feet apart.

Water the seeds after planting until the mounds are moist throughout, using a watering can. Water thereafter once a week until the mounds are moist throughout. You might have to water with an extra inch more of water during droughts to prevent the soil from drying.

Thin the cucumbers out to one healthy plant after the vines grow to 3 or 4 inches long, removing the weakest plants.

Spread 1 to 2 inches of shredded bark or shredded leaves over the soil after the vines grow to 3 or 4 inches long, keeping the mulch about 1 inch from the plants.

Insert one 5-foot-tall tomato cage around each plant after it reaches about 12 inches long. Guide each vine through the spaces of the cage to train them, and let the tendrils do the rest.

Cover the plants with 50 percent shade cloth when the temperature exceeds 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and remove it when the temperature drops. Pull weeds as they emerge.

Rub a cotton swab on the stamen in the center of the male flowers to extract pollen if you notice female flowers – the ones with the cluster of bumps, or stigma, in the centers – dropping off the vines. Rub the pollen-coated swab on the female flower's stigma to pollinate them.

Check the cucumber vines regularly for banded cucumber beetles, spotted cucumber beetles or squash bugs. Both cucumber beetles measure 1/4-inch long and have yellow-green bodies, but the banded species have three yellow, horizontal bands, and spotted species have 12 black spots. Squash bugs measure about 1 inch long and have grayish brown bodies.

Mix 2 tablespoons of neem oil with 1 gallon of water in a pump-type sprayer if you notice cucumber beetles or squash bugs on your cucumbers. Shake the tank to mix and spray the vines until covered on all sides. Spray every seven to 14 days, up until three days prior to harvest, until you have the pests under control.

Harvest the cucumbers after about 45 days or when they grow to about 3 to 4 inches long, severing the stems with pruning shears. Leave about 1/2-inch of stem on each cucumber.