Cucumber Plant Needs

Planting

• Plant cucumbers in warm soil since ones planted in cold soil don't always germinate properly. In fact, cold soil and early planting can kill your crop entirely. In areas where the soil stays cool or frosty until later in the spring, choose cucumber varieties with shorter growing seasons because the seeds are susceptible to damage from the cold. Pickling varieties like Bush Pickle and Carolina are ready for harvest as early as two weeks before other varieties.

Fertilizer

• Cucumbers are part of a family of plants that need less nitrogen in the soil than many other plants. Nitrogen makes plants pour energy into creating vines and leaves instead of vegetables. Phosphorous and potassium are quite important to cucumbers, however. When you buy fertilizer for your cucumbers, ensure that both of those numbers are higher than the nitrogen content. Nitrogen is always listed as the first number in a fertilizer formula.

Sunlight and Water

• Sunlight is very important for healthy cucumber plants and for their growth. Plant them where they can get eight hours of sunlight each day Also, the roots of cucumber plants extend deep into the soil, so provide at least an inch of water weekly for healthy plants. The soil must be damp at least 6 inches into the ground to provide adequate root moisture.

Pest Control

• To have a successful crop of cucumbers, you need to control a variety of pests, particularly cucumber beetles. Uncontrolled, these insects carry fatal bacteria to the plants. Insecticides control cucumber beetles, but in smaller gardens, baited traps effectively attract and kill them, as well. Other pests that attack cucumbers include spider mites and melon aphids. In both cases, insecticidal soap is an effective treatment. Helpful insects in the garden such as ladybugs are important for control of aphid and mite populations.