Cucumber

Botanical Name

Cucumis sativus

Hardiness

Annual

Height

1 to 6 feet

Width

1 to 6 feet

Flowers

Mid summer to early fall: yellow

Fruit

Wide variety of sizes, shapes and colors

Light

Full sun

Soil

Moist, well-drained, fertile

Planting & Care

Cucumbers grow best and thrive in warm temperatures. Ideal soil temperature for germination and growth is between 65°F and 90°F.
Direct sow when danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed. Sow seeds 1 to 1¹/₂ deep, 2 inches apart in rows spaced 5 to 6 feet apart.
Thin plants to 8 to 15 inches apart. Or plant in hills. Sow 3 to 6 seeds per hill, space hills 3 to 5 feet apart. Thin to 2 to 3 plants per hill.
For an earlier harvest, start plants indoors 3 to 4 weeks before the last frost date and transplant outdoors when the soil has warmed. Sow 2 to 3 seeds per peat pot or other small container. Thin to one plant per container. Space transplants 1 to 2 feet apart in rows 5 to 6 feet apart.
Successive plant every 2 to 3 weeks until about 3 months before the first frost date for a continual harvest
Trellis to save space and improve air circulation
Adequate moisture is important to cucumber growth
Mulch the soil to retain moisture and suppress weeds

Problems

Cucumber beetles, aphids, squash vine borer, bacterial wilt, powdery mildew, cucumber mosaic virus

Varieties

Burpless - long fruit, good for trellising
Straight 8 - All-America Selections winner, 8" straight fruit
Fanfare - AAS winner, good disease resistance, high yield
Diva - crisp, sweet flesh, seedless, produces all female flowers, high yielding, AAS winner
Saladmore - semi-bush vine, good disease resistance, pick smaller fruit for pickles and larger for slicing and spears, AAS winner
Pick a Bushel - compact, bush-type, great for containers, great for pickling when harvested early, AAS winner
Parisan Gherkin - mini cucumber, semi-vining, good for staking in containers, good disease resistance, AAS winner
Green Light - mini cucumer, high yielding, spineless fruit, all female flowers, AAS winner