Growing Cucumbers: A Simple Guide
Cucumbers are straightforward to grow, and as climbing vines, they naturally reach upward as they develop.
Belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family, which also includes melons and squashes, cucumbers thrive in warm, well-drained soil.
Cucumbers can be enjoyed fresh or pickled. Fresh-eating varieties are known as slicing cucumbers, while those intended for pickling are called pickling cucumbers.
In addition to their refreshing taste, cucumbers provide nutrients that are particularly beneficial for the skin, hair, and nails, making them a healthy addition to your diet.
Preparation
Dig a fair amount of organic compost into the soil. The soil should be turned over down to about a spades depth.
Sowing
You can start your plants off indoors by sowing in biodegradable seedling pots that will ensure roots are not damaged when you plant out the seedlings. Do not plant out before the last frost.
Leave a gap of around 40cm between seedlings. If growing from seed, you can group sow 3 seeds in each hole to increase chances of germination success. Seeds should be planted 2.5cm deep.
If you are planting more than one row, then rows should be spaced at around 90cm.
Position
Cucumbers need a good amount of sunshine and warmth. They are a greenhouse favourite. Ensure that you have adequate space as Cucumbers can rapidly reach around 6 feet. Where space is limited train the plant against a wall, stake or trellice. They may also spread over the ground if you have the space.
Soil type
A well drained soil is important for cucumbers and so they are often planted in raised beds around 6 inches high. Cucumbers will thrive in a sandy loam soil. Ensure the soil has a good amount of organic matter within it, manure will give the plants the nutrients they require.
Tending
Weed regularly but be careful not to go below a couple of cm with your hoe as you may damage the root system, which will slow down plant growth.
Water the cucumbers well each week if you want them to be juicy and firm! The cucumber fruit itself has a very high water content.
The plant has both male and female flowers and the female flowers give rise to the cucumbers. You can aid pollination and increase the fruit count by using a cotton bud to transfer pollen from the male flowers onto the centre of the female flowers. The female flowers distinguished from the male flowers as the females have a tiny cucumber at their base.
Harvesting
You can harvest the cucumbers when they are a suitable size, this is normally around 50-60 days after planting. The skin should be dark green, do not wait until the cucumbers have turned yellow as this indicates that they are overripe and their quality of flavour will decline.
Twist the cucumbers off the plant or cut the stalk just above the cucumber tip.
Varieties
Pickling varieties tend to grow to around 7-10 cm long and up to 2.5cm wide. Slicing varieties grow bigger (up to around 35cm) but can still be picked for pickling when they are smaller. The Burpless variety is easy to digest and has a good flavour.
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