"Growing Cucumber"
Growing cucumber is quick and easy, and a wonderful addition to the summer salad bowl..
Cucumbers are a sub-tropical plant and like warmth and humidity.
Choose a sunny spot sheltered from the wind. Prepare the soil for growing cucumber about a month in advance of planting. Fork over the ground and dig in plenty of well rotted manure or organic compost and remove all weeds. Cucumber ( and other plants such as marrow and pumpkin ) will grow well in your compost heap. Prepare the ground well and remove all weeds. Cucumbers are a 'vine' plant and most varieties will climb. Use climbing plants in a limited space. Growing cucumber on a trellis can provide more fruit per plant than ground cover varieties. Erect a wooden trellis system. Cucumbers are fairly heavy and the trellis should be made sturdy.It must be sturdy and firm in the ground.
If you are growing cucumber outside a sub-tropical climate, you can start them off inside. Plant seed in individual pots - These paper pots are perfect for cucumbers...
Many small plants don't like being handled when they are young, and they are easy to damage during the planting out process. These paper pots eliminate the problem because you plant the whole pot into the soil! I have successfully transplanted cucumbers for years without this aid and have had great results, BUT I have to stress the need to be VERY gentle with your plants - and it does take a little longer.
Plant your cucumber seed in warm moist compost/soil and keep warm and watered. Make sure the water is draining freely through your pots to avoid water-logging.
All of the above types are available at Thompson & Morgan
After about two weeks or when the plants have four true leaves, plant into your prepared bed in the garden. If you use the paper pots method or equivalent, plant the whole pot into the ground - make firm and water well. Cucumbers can be grown in rows, on small hills, or trained up a trellis. Decide on the best method according to available space. Climbing cucumbers take up less ground space and you can grow lettuces up close in the shade of the large leaves. Keep an eye on the soil drying out around climbing plants. Growing cucumber in rows or hills provides a lot of ground cover and encourages frogs and toads to your garden who eat the slugs. Slugs LOVE cucumber plants. But growing cucumber this way does take up more ground space. If the temperature drops after planting your cucumbers, it's a good idea to cover with a cloche at night. If you fear a cold snap, prepare a cloche you can pop over the cucumber bed at night. Growing cucumber is often a labour of love!
Watch for slugs, and keep weed free during the early weeks, and try not to let the ground dry out. Cucumbers need lots of water to produce the fruits. There are many myths and methods over cucumber pollination; however, most hybrid seeds we buy are self-pollinating.
  Harvesting
Pick your cucumbers as soon as they are the approx. size the variety should be ( info on the seed packet ) and keep on picking! Cut the stalk about 1/4 inch or so above the fruit with a sharp knife. During high season, pick the cucumbers every day. If they begin to go yellow, they are past their prime and will possibly taste bitter. If you do miss a few, cut them up, collect half the seeds and dry them for growing next year. Feed the rest of the cucumber and seeds to your laying hens, or compost them. I heard of a recipe to make paper from cucumber slices. I'll have to see if I can find it!
Growing cucumber takes a little time in the beginning, but you are rewarded with a fairly fast growing crop that can produce huge yields.
Happy Gardening! More Cucumber Reading
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