Growing Cucumbers
Give a cucumber vine something to climb and it’ll reward you with straighter fruit, drier leaves, and a lot less bending over to pick. They’re one of the most reliable producers in our garden all summer long.
How to Grow Cucumbers
Planting
Direct-sow after soil has warmed past 65°F, generally late April through May here. We grow ours up a trellis or cattle panel whenever we can, it keeps the fruit straight, keeps the leaves drier, and it’s a lot easier on your back at picking time. Sow seeds an inch deep, about 6 inches apart along the trellis line.
Watering & feeding
Consistent moisture matters more with cucumbers than almost anything else we grow, uneven watering is the main cause of bitter fruit. Water deeply 2–3 times a week and mulch heavily to hold that moisture through July and August. Feed every 3 weeks once the vines start running.
Harvest
Pick often, every day or two once they start, cucumbers left on the vine too long turn seedy and signal the plant to slow down. Watch for cucumber beetles early in the season; they’re more than a nuisance because they spread bacterial wilt, which shows up as a vine that suddenly wilts even in wet soil and can’t be saved once it takes hold. A floating row cover until flowers appear keeps beetles off the youngest plants. For a fall crop, sow a second round in mid-July; it’ll keep producing right up to first frost.
Grows Well With
Cucumbers do well planted near beans, which fix nitrogen in the soil, or beside sunflowers for a little afternoon shade. See all our companion planting pairs →
When to Plant
Direct sow May through July. Watch for cucumber beetles as it heats up. See the full planting calendar →
Buy the Seeds We Use
From the Seed Center
Shop Cucumber Seeds
$1.25
From the Kitchen: Recipes Using Cucumbers
Mint-Cucumber Sweet Tea
A non-alcoholic porch cooler: sweet tea steeped with fresh mint and cucumber.
Cucumbers and Onions
Thin-sliced cucumbers and sweet onion in a tangy vinegar bath, a Southern icebox staple all summer long.
Garden Gazpacho
Cold, bright tomato-cucumber-pepper soup that tastes like the garden in a bowl.