Cucumbers are among the most popular vegetables among garden owners. They taste refreshing, have fewer calories but all the more vitamins and minerals. When growing cucumbers, a distinction is made between outdoor cucumbers and greenhouse cucumbers, and you should pay attention to this when growing and harvesting.

The right cucumber variety for every hobby gardener

You can simply choose the right variety according to your taste or the later use of the cucumbers. You can choose between a classic cucumber or a small, short pickled cucumber. The F1 hybrid varieties are generally high-yielding. They have been specially developed for cucumber cultivation outdoors or in the greenhouse and do not need to be pollinated.

  • Printo - the most cold-tolerant, refined mini cucumber for the balcony and tub
  • Bimbostar F 1 - bitter-free gherkin
  • Clementime F 1 - gherkin, ripens in 45 days
  • La Diva F 1 - sweet, bitter-free refined house cucumber, for outdoor use and greenhouse

In order to get resistant, more robust plants, you can graft cucumbers yourself or buy grafted cucumber plants. The advantage of pumpkin seedlings as a grafting base: They are more resistant to fungal diseases due to their stronger and less sensitive root system.

Cultivation of cucumbers in greenhouses and in open ground

Anyone who grows cucumbers in a greenhouse in early April should prepare the soil beforehand and attach shading nets and climbing cords to the roof. Cucumber plants can go outside in mid-May. Your location in the garden or on the balcony should be warm, sunny and sheltered from the wind.

Plant the cucumbers half a meter apart. In good weather and with sufficient nutrients, the cucumber plants shoot up quickly. With special climbing aids, growth and direction can be directed to where there is space. Cutting out the side shoots also prevents wild growth and the plant power remains in the flowers and fruits.

Can cucumbers be grown on the balcony?

You can grow cucumbers on the balcony in a tub or pot that is at least 20 liters in size. Fill the planter with substrate or potting soil, plant cucumbers, attach to a trellis and place in a wind-protected, sunny location.

Finally harvest time

Just two weeks after flowering - with early sowing in the greenhouse from the end of May - the first cucumber harvest begins. In the field, early cucumbers are ripe in mid-July. When the skin turns yellow, the ripening stage has passed. Cut off overripe fruit from the plant so as not to weaken it unnecessarily. If harvested regularly, cucumber plants will produce new fruits again and again. Ideally, you can harvest fresh cucumbers twice a week until September.

Growing cucumbers and choosing neighbors

Good neighbors are beans, garlic and dill. On the other hand, peas, cabbage and celery are less compatible with cucumbers.

tips and tricks

Snails love young cucumber plants. Immediately after planting, protect the plants with a slug fence or scatter slug pellets (€7.49).

Category:

Vegetable garden