How to Grow Cucumbers

Cucumbers love a warm soil so use plastic mulch or a floating row cover to heat things up in the spring. Throughout the growing season keep the soil evenly moist. Be sure to remove any cover from the plants once they begin to flower so that bees can pollinate them. All cucurbits produce only male flowers at first so no fruit will mature from the first flowers. Any fruit that have not been properly pollinated will be shrunken and shriveled. Remove these from the plant so it may flower again. Sometimes fruit begins to rot on the vine. This is caused by a fungus during periods of high humidity. Pick these fruit off. The situation will improve as the weather improves.

Soil temperature for germination: 15-30ºC (60-85ºF). Usual seed life: 3 years.

Several diseases atttack cucumbers but are mostly caused by cultural practices that stress the plants: Keep the garden clean and tidy, remove diseased material and do not compost unless you're able to get a hot compost pile going; avoid overwatering and do not spray water on to the leaves; plant in a well drained site; use long crop rotations and whenever possible use disease resistant varieties.

White spots on the leaves at the end of the season are caused by Powdery Mildew, an airborne fungal disease.  A very dilute copper spray can be used to prevent a Powdery Mildew outbreak.  Do not spray in direct sunlight or when the plants are drought stressed.  If mixed with the_____the copper spray's effectiveness will be enhanced and extended.

If plants get off to a good start, few pests will bother them. If pests are present, young plants are best protected with floating row covers which are removed when flowering starts. Aphids, cutworms and thrips can be a problem. The cucumber beetle causes problems only east of the Rockies.

Aphids and thrips are indications of plant stress. Before running out to buy an insecticidal soap or other chemical solution begin to solve the problem by trying to figure what the stressers are and dealing with them. Are the plants over or under watered? What fertilizer are you using? Is it a balanced organic fertilizer? Predatory insects will be attracted to the site and will benefit greatly by an interplanting of Sweet Alyssum, dill, or cilantro. Our Crimson and Dutch White Clover planted along pathways between rows is excellent for attracting beneficial insects too. Place shallow dishes of water with small protruding rocks in amongst the cucumbers for beneficial insects to stop and have a drink. They'll lay more eggs, eat more pests, and be more effective if you provide for their needs right where the problem is at in the garden. Instead of thinking that the solution is to remove the problem, think about what can be done to aid nature in creating a balance.

Cutworms are best dealt with by using a floating row cover to prevent their access to the cucumbers. They can be handpicked during the day if small pieces of wood or cardboard are laid out near the cucumbers for them to hide under. All the better to find them. Keeping chickens or ducks works too.