Growing Cucumber

cucumis sativis : Cucurbitaceae / the gourd family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
      S S              
        T T T          
        P P            

(Best months for growing Cucumber in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • P = Sow seed
  • Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 61°F and 95°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 16 - 24 inches apart
  • Harvest in 8-10 weeks. Cut fruit off with scissors or sharp knife.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Nasturtiums, Beans, Celery, Lettuce, Sweet Corn, Cabbages, Sunflowers, Coriander, Fennel, Dill, Sunflowers
  • Avoid growing close to: Potato, Tomatoes

Your comments and tips

09 Jan 24, Gerrie (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Switch to fertilisers labelled "flowers and fruit", fertilisers with a lower nitrogen content. Animal manures have a high Nitrogen content that is good for basic plant growth. For example, Dynamic Lifter which is pelletised cow manure has an NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) ratio of 3.5 - 1 - 1.6 which is good for initial growth, but switch to another fertiliser when the plants are growing strongly.
12 Jan 24, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
If you compare a general fertiliser with some of these specialty fertilisers there is very little difference between them. I use Nitrophoska which is 15 - 6 - 12. It is used by commercial vegetable growers. Manures do not have high N content compared to commercial fertilisers. You just do not put raw manures on heavily, especially chook. You judge how much fert you put on by how high the npk is. A handful of fertiliser per sq meter is sufficient to grow a lot of crops. Applied a week or two before planting seed/seedlings and turned in.
02 Jan 24, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
A good fertilising at planting is all they need. A light fertilise maybe when they start flowering. Can't help with the reduced crop. I picked over 120 cues off 5 plants November.
11 Nov 23, Anne (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Morning I can’t post a pic by looks of it but I’m a learner gardener and have cucumber growing but the leaves look Like they have some sort of fungus on them so not sure on how to fix it
25 Nov 23, (Australia - temperate climate)
Google fungus on cucumbers. It comes up with powdery mildew - see if the photos look the same as your cucumbers.
18 Aug 23, Sakkie pieterse (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
How many fruit can you take from one cumcumer plant
18 Jul 24, Robert (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
I grew Ashley cucumbers, and got between 15 to 18 fruit per plant.
11 Aug 23, Ingrid (Australia - temperate climate)
Some websites suggest planting cucumber seeds directly into garden bed, other sites say start in trays. Which is correct ? Thank you.
20 Aug 23, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Can do it both ways.
22 Mar 23, Tankiso (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Why is it bad to plant cucumber near tomatoes or potatoes?
Showing 11 - 20 of 498 comments

If you have TRUE high humidity: humidex above 95% consistently -- then you have a real issue. If you have a "created" high humidity situation: like a poorly ventilated greenhouse; then correcting the ventilation will fix things. You can create an updraft by placing a screened window/door very close to ground level (or the lowest level that opens to fresh air) and then furthest and highest away from this point another screened window (on the ceiling/roof, or very high on the wall). So if you have a door on the North/East Bottom. the window goes on the South/West Top. When both of the windows are open, you should get a nice updraft that will whisk away all your humidity. It is best to situate the ground level door/window in a shady spot -- because this will be cooler air, and as this comes in it will force the hot/humid air up and out. There are also green house fans that can be installed (but if you do your updraft correctly you will probably not need one) ; and if you are fully indoors even a dehumidifier might work. If you are in a garden setting like the situation above; I think perhaps the cucumber created a roof that was helping hold in the moisture. In this case prune the cucumber to increase airflow. Things like fences can hold moisture; for example if you have a garden between two houses and there is a wood picket fence; this could impede the flow of air, and cause humidity to build up. The answer will ALMOST always be to increase air flow. If this is a true climate issue then you should select what you are growing with care, choosing plants that can tolerate high humidity; and still trying to situate your plants/garden in such a way that air flows freely. I have an allotment, that has "dense" fencing on two sides (I am in the back corner) and I can feel that I have an extra humid situation. I have found that runner beans do well; once they climb higher than fence level, they get a lot of air flow and do nicely. As far a hydroponics; I am not well versed enough to even begin guessing at the issues that may exist in these environments. Just remember that even when the humidex is NOT high, plants still need the airflow to move what they have transpired away from their leaves.

- Celeste Archer

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