"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.

They don't like wet feet though and water-logged soil will rot the roots very quickly.

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. Cucumber fruits are heavy and need a solid support system.

Planting

If you are growing cucumber outside a sub-tropical climate, you can start them off inside.

Plant seed in individual pots - Paper pots can be found at good garden suppliers or recycle old newspapers and make your own!: When seedlings are ready to plant out, transplant them straight into the garden in their bio-degradable paper pots. Great rainy day job!

Making pots in the UK (Thompson & Morgan)

Paper PotMaker -Amazon

Many small plants don't like being handled when they are young, and they are easily damaged during the planting out process. 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.

"Burpless" "Zeina" "Masterpiece"

browse through some available varieties before you buy.

All of the above types are available at Thompson & Morgan UK
Growing cucumber in the UK Type 'cucumbers' into the search box for their full range.

And if you're growing in the US..

"Pickling" "Early" "Straight eight"

Growing cucumber with Gurney's! Again, type cucumber into the search box on their homepage, or browse through all their tasty veggie pages!

Planting Out

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 though.

Growing cucumber in rows or hills provides a lot of ground cover and encourages frogs and toads to your garden who eat the slugs. 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!

After Care

Slugs LOVE cucumber plants. Watch out for them, 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.

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 (1/2 cm) 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!

Grow Your Own Winter Food: A good diet incorporating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables is a must if you want to stay fit and healthy and keep the bugs at bay during the cold winter months.

Growing your own winter food is just one way of ensuring you get the freshest, tastiest produce packed with goodness straight from the garden to the kitchen table. This easy-to-follow self-sufficiency book shows you how to grow your own fruit and vegetables for winter use and includes facts on each fruit, vegetable or herb as well as nutritional value, recipe ideas and storage suggestions.

Before the days of computer games and electronic pets, children used to have fun without rummaging about in the fridge every five minutes. Enjoy a few rainy-day games and crafts of yesteryear with today’s kids. They’ll love it and so will you! Granny's Book Of Good Old Fashioned Common Sense

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