![]() Within a week or two, female flowers will also appear each one has a small cucumber-shaped swelling at the base that will become a cucumber. Male blooms usually appear first and then drop off, so don't be alarmed if this happens. First, make sure that you see both male and female blooms. If vines bloom but don't fruit, something is probably interfering with pollination. Either way, be sure to follow label directions. Both plant foods feed both your plants and the beneficial microbes in the soil that help them thrive. Or, you can use a continuous-release fertilizer, like Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® Edibles Plant Nutrition Granules, worked into the soil. You can fertilize with a water-soluble food, such as Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® Edibles Plant Nutrition, applying it directly to soil around plant stems. This helps prevent leaf diseases that can ruin the plant.įor best results, high quality plant food is just as important as starting with great soil. If possible, water your cucumbers with a soaker hose or drip irrigation to keep the foliage dry. Inadequate or inconsistent moisture causes oddly shaped or poor-tasting fruit. Just keep the soil consistently moist with an inch of water per week (more if temperatures sizzle and rain is scarce). Wire is easy for the tendrils of climbing cucumbers to grab as the plant grows.Ĭucumbers grow fast and don't demand a lot of care. A 12- to 18-inch diameter cage made from 4- or 5-foot welded wire fencing or hog wire will support 2 or 3 vines. This keeps the fruit clean and saves space. Straw mulch is also thought to be uncomfortable for slugs and creates an uneasy footing for cucumber beetles, helping to keep them at bay. Mulch is especially important to keep the fruit clean for bush types and vines not growing on a trellis. If the weather is unseasonably cool, you can wait a while to mulch until the ground is warmed by the sun. In areas where spring is long and cool, you can warm the soil 3 to 4 degrees by covering the hill or row with black plastic.If you do not plant in black plastic, then mulch with pine straw, wheat straw, chopped leaves, or your favorite organic mulch shortly after planting. For vines trained on a trellis, space plants 1 foot apart. (Compost or composted manure will work, too.) Plant seedlings 36 to 60 inches apart, depending on variety (check the stick tag). To improve the soil and help create the root environment needed for a big harvest, work several inches of aged compost-enriched Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® All Purpose In-Ground Soil into the top few inches of your existing garden soil. Harvest cucumbers when they are big enough to eat.Ĭucumbers need warm, fertile soil with a pH of 6.0 to 6.8, although they will tolerate a bit more alkaline soil to 7.6.When soil is warm, add a layer of straw mulch to keep fruit clean and help keep slugs and beetles away.Make the most of your food growing efforts by regularly feeding plants with a water-soluble plant food.Be sure they receive an inch of water every week. Cucumbers will grow quickly with little care. ![]() Improve native soil by mixing in several inches of aged compost or other rich organic matter.Space cucumbers 36 to 60 inches apart (12 inches apart for trellised plants) in an area with abundant sun and fertile, well-drained soil with a pH of 6.0 to 6.8.Plant cucumbers when average daily temperatures reach the mid-70s° F.Whichever cucumber variety you choose, you can rest assured that you'll get a strong start with Bonnie Plants, a company that has been around for over 100 years. The long Armenian cucumber is a specialty cucumber prized for taste and the fact that a single cucumber yields so many slices. Lemon cucumber offers smaller fruits perfect for a single serving, while Boston Pickling boasts classic heirloom taste. Whether you want a cucumber for slicing or pickling, Bonnie Plants® has a variety to suit your taste. You can increase the season's yield of bush varieties by planting several crops in succession 2 weeks apart. Bush selections are especially suited to containers and small gardens. ![]() Generally, vining cucumbers yield more fruit throughout the growing season. Vines scramble along the ground or clamber up trellises, while bush types, such as Burpless Bush Hybrid, form a more compact plant. ![]() Growing cucumbers is for warmer weather: Plants are so frost-tender that they shouldn't be set into the garden until soil temperatures are reliably in the 70-degree range (no less than 2 weeks after the last frost date).Ĭucumber plants grow in two forms: vining and bush. Final Thoughts 1.A tropical vegetable, cucumbers thrive when the weather is hot and water is plentiful.DIY Wooden Pea Trellis on a Raised Garden Bed DIY Pea Trellis made with Old Baby Crib Rails DIY Twin Mattress Frame used as Peas Trellis DIY Pea Trellis idea with Repurposed Bicycle Homemade Pea Trellis with Bamboo and Twine ![]()
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