A fine line separates joy and sorrow in the cultivation of cucumbers. The way to a rich harvest consists of important individual steps. These instructions explain clearly and comprehensibly how to plant cucumbers correctly. This is how you master the challenge with and without a greenhouse.

Cucumbers can be pulled using a climbing aid, otherwise they will crawl across the ground

Table of Contents

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  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Plant in the greenhouse
  3. Sites without a greenhouse
  4. Instructions for outdoor planting
  5. Types of cucumbers at a glance
  6. Instructions preculture
  7. Best planting time
  8. How much light and heat?
  9. Which earth?
  10. Climbing aid is mandatory
  11. Mixed culture tips
  12. Tips on care and harvest
  13. frequently asked Questions

    14. the essentials in brief

    • Cucumbers can be grown outdoors, in pots or in a greenhouse
    • In all cases, cucumbers need climbing aids, e.g. steel mats, plant stakes or chain link fences
    • Cucumbers can be grown at home from April, but may not be outdoors until mid-May
    • The cucumber is one of the heavy feeders and should be planted in nutrient-rich soil and fertilized at regular intervals

    Planting cucumbers in the greenhouse

    Before you dedicate yourself to the planting, please install the chosen climbing aid. This prevents you from having to enter a freshly planted greenhouse bed later. How to properly plant cucumbers in the greenhouse:

    1. Enrich the soil with mature compost, manure or bark humus
    2. Dig planting pits at a distance of 40 cm (row spacing 120-140 cm)
    3. Soak the growing pots (€16.68) in water until no more air bubbles rise
    4. Remove the pot from the root ball
    5. Insert the cucumber plant in the middle, press down on the soil and water
    6. Tie shoots to the climbing aid
    7. Mulch with grass clippings, nettle leaves or straw

    How deep you plant depends on the cucumber plant in question. Conventional species and varieties should be planted a little deeper so that additional roots form for optimized stability. Plant grafted cucumbers so deep that the thickened grafting point is above ground.

    Cucumbers grow particularly well in a greenhouse

    Locations beyond the greenhouse

    Home-grown crunchy cucumbers are also within reach for hobby gardeners without a greenhouse. Thanks to space-saving mini cucumbers, balcony gardeners can harvest aromatic fruits from their deck chairs. The following overview demonstrates the wide range of suitable locations beyond greenhouses and greenhouses:

    • Balcony/terrace: pot, hanging basket or large flower box
    • Outdoors: bed, raised bed, tub

    When growing cucumbers in the open air, the focus is on all sun-drenched, wind-protected locations. This can also be a south-facing wooden fence in the cottage garden, which the tendrils can green up in no time. In a garden that is close to nature, there is nothing wrong with not planting a trellis with roses, but simply converting it into a cultivation area for cucumbers. Just let your imagination run wild.

    tips

    If you plant cucumbers yourself, soil fatigue is a big issue. The maxim applies: useful plants from a botanical family must not be grown one after the other. In beds, raised beds and greenhouses, only a cultivation break of three years guarantees that the lovingly pre-grown cucumber plants will thrive and not languish. Alternatively, dig two spades deep into the depleted soil and fill in the pit with fresh garden soil.

    Outdoor planting - step-by-step instructions

    If you plant cucumbers outdoors, modified specifications must be taken into account compared to the greenhouse. At the earliest, after the ice saints in mid-May, it will be warm enough outside so that young plants do not suffer a cold shock. If in doubt, measure the ground temperature, because the signals only turn green from 15 degrees Celsius. Here’s how to do it competently, step by step:

    1. Digging spade deep, raking, weeding and incorporating organic fertilizer
    2. If planned, install climbing aids
    3. Measure and mark row spacing of 100 cm
    4. Dig planting pits within a row at a distance of 30 to 35 cm
    5. Pot out the root balls soaked in water and plant in the middle
    6. Plant ungrafted cucumbers deeper, otherwise leave grafting site above ground
    7. Press down the soil with both hands and water
    8. Mulch with nettle or comfrey leaves, compost, leaves or straw

    Even cucumber plants that have been brought forward or bought ready-made should go through a hardening phase beforehand. For this purpose, carry the young floral colony outside from the beginning of May in the morning to a warm, wind-protected and partially shaded place. The cool nights the plants linger behind glass.

    Cucumber plants should be gradually acclimated to the outdoor climate

    In the planter not without drainage

    Balcony gardeners always plant cucumbers in tubs and balcony boxes with drainage to protect against waterlogging. Before you fill the organic substrate into the planter, cover the bottom with broken clay, grit (€46.95) or expanded clay balls. A water- and air-permeable fleece separates the drainage and substrate so that no crumbs of earth get stuck in the inorganic material.

    The right type of cucumber for every location - an overview

    The first step on the way to a lush cucumber harvest is a well thought-out choice of variety. In general, a distinction is made between outdoor cucumbers and greenhouse cucumbers. Mainly robust species with a solid shell thrive in the bed, often covered with warts or spines. Controlled greenhouse conditions are obligatory for more demanding lettuce or snake cucumbers. These varieties inspire with a smooth skin, large fruits and a mild taste. If you can't decide, you can choose a species that is equally convincing in the field and in the greenhouse. The following table provides an insight into the selection options:

    Glasshouse special features outdoor special features greenhouse and field special features
    Helena every flower bears fruit, mild taste diamond no mildew, smooth, dark green pickling cucumbers solvent earth seedless, bitter-free, up to 20 cm long
    Eifel bitter-free, long cucumber, purely feminine Iznik Mini cucumbers, 10 cm long, for tubs and balconies Excelsior particularly aromatic, tastes fresh and pickled
    Euphya Resistant, slender fruits up to 35 cm long seed cell perfect cucumber for beginners Picolino smooth-skinned snack cucumbers, ideal for pots and balconies
    Loustik high yield, 40 cm long, weighs 400-600 g Green Fingers mixed flowering, robust, sweet fruit Jurassic Ancient cucumber, crunchy, 40 cm long, weighing up to 500 g
    karim crisp, 20 cm long, each bud a fruit Delf's No.1 early variety, 20 cm long, fleshy Dorninger green-yellow shell, 40 cm long

    A home game is the cultivation in the garden for any cucumber species. The distribution areas of popular Cucumis species from the pumpkin family extend over tropical and subtropical regions. Qualification as an outdoor cucumber does not imply that it is a hardy variety. Given a minimum temperature of 8 degrees Celsius, all cucumber plants perish in frost.

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    Modern varieties are self-fertile

    In many places, the area under cultivation in the bed and on the balcony is limited. This causes headaches for hobby gardeners, because historical and well-established cucumber plants are not self-fertile. Only when a male and female strain thrive side by side do female buds transform into crunchy cucumbers. Ingenious breeders have succeeded in creating modern varieties of cucumbers that bear only female flowers and reliably fruit without pollination. When purchasing seeds or young plants, pay attention to this attribute explicitly so that all plants give you juicy cucumbers.

    How does the preculture succeed?

    Cucumbers can be brought forward from April

    Do you want to accompany your cucumbers from seed to productive plant? In April, the time window for sowing and cultivation on the windowsill opens. In a bright location, the ideal germination temperature is 20 to 25 degrees Celsius. In airy, loose coconut soil and under constantly warm and humid conditions, the seed turns into vital young plants. How to sow cucumber seeds correctly:

    1. Soak seeds in chamomile tea or milk for 24 hours
    2. Fill seed pots (from 8 cm in diameter) halfway up with seed soil
    3. Press 2 to 3 seeds per pot into the soil, sieve over thinly and water
    4. Cover the transparent film or put the transparent hood over it
    5. place bright and warm at at least 20 degrees Celsius
    6. remove cover after germination
    7. keep slightly moist until mid-May and do not fertilize

    Anyone who doesn't like sowing by hand can get ready-made young plants from mid-May in garden centers and at weekly markets. Of course, you can also order pre-grown cucumber plants online. Specialist retailers offer many delicious, easy-care varieties as refined cucumbers. Practice has shown that grafted seedlings give you a better yield thanks to the rootstock's natural resistance to diseases.

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    When is the best time to plant?

    From when you can plant cucumbers depends on the cultivation and the chosen location. The following overview summarizes all important dates:

    • Sowing window sill: from the beginning of April
    • direct sowing: early/mid-May to early July
    • plant in the heated greenhouse: from the beginning/middle of March (unheated from the middle/end of April)
    • plant outside: mid-May to early July

    In the temperature-controlled greenhouse, the time window for direct sowing opens as early as March. For cucumbers, this has the particular advantage of an extra-long growth period until they are ready for harvest. Sowing and cultivation on the windowsill, on the other hand, should begin at the beginning of April at the earliest. Otherwise, the young cucumbers are much too big for successful planting in beds and raised beds.

    digression

    Direct sowing is a risky undertaking

    Cucumbers do not tolerate frost. Rather, the tropical plants breathe their life out when it is cold below 5 degrees Celsius. In the sowing and cultivation stage, even slight temperature fluctuations cause severe distress to the plants. Direct sowing in gardens north of the Alps is therefore associated with a high risk of failure. Gardeners looking for a challenge can sow small-fruited outdoor cucumbers or hardy pickling varieties directly in the sunny bed from the end of April/beginning of May. A mason jar slipped over buffers significant fluctuations in outside temperatures.

    How much light and heat is required?

    Cucumbers are sun worshipers with a penchant for moist warmth. For outdoor cucumbers, explicitly choose a wind-protected location in full sun with a soil temperature of more than 15 degrees Celsius. Mini cucumbers thrive in a pot on the south-facing balcony with many hours of sunshine and pleasant temperatures of over 20 degrees Celsius. Large-fruited cucumbers need a significantly longer vegetation period than robust outdoor varieties. Only in combination with warm, tropical conditions in the greenhouse do demanding cucumbers meet the high expectations. Nevertheless, in southern regions, shading from midday is strongly recommended to mitigate overly blazing sun.

    What should the earth be like?

    Cucumber plants are among the heavy feeders. In the bed and greenhouse, choose a location with humus-rich, nutrient-rich soil. Before planting, work mature compost, well-seasoned horse manure or bark humus into the soil. The high nutrient requirement makes cucumbers in raised beds the ideal candidates for first planting. Please use organic, nutritious vegetable soil without peat in pots and tubs. The substrate should be loose and well-drained and still have reliable water-holding capacity. A pH value of 6.5 to 7 perfectly rounds off the optimal soil quality outdoors and under glass.

    Climbing aid is mandatory

    Climbing aids are the gardener's secret weapon in the cucumber bed. Fungal diseases and pests have a bad hand when the long shoots climb up in the air. Ripening fruits dangle at a safe distance from the ground, which effectively prevents the formation of rot. Furthermore, the vertical cultivation area allows for a higher yield of crunchy cucumbers. Last but not least, hard-working hobby gardeners appreciate the back-friendly harvest. The following climbing aids have proven themselves in beds, greenhouses and tubs:

    • Narrow rods and bars with a rough surface
    • Spiral plant stick (known from tomato cultivation)
    • Vertically erected steel mesh or comparable lattice framework
    • Wire mesh stretched between wooden posts
    • Bamboo sticks tied together to form a tipi

    In the greenhouse, ropes act as simple climbing aids, which are fixed to the ceiling. In the large bucket, a trellis, pyramid or obelisk made of wooden sticks with a diameter of 20 mm offer the tendrils a chance to climb. Instead of using a self-made climbing aid, it is worth taking a look at the wide range available in garden shops, DIY stores and online shops. The figure below gives an insight into the many variants.

    Planting cucumbers in mixed crops - tips & tricks

    Mixed culture is highly valued in private kitchen gardens. Home gardeners with a passion for growing cucumbers are wondering: what to plant next to cucumbers? Which plants make themselves unpopular as bed neighbors? The following table sheds light on the darkness:

    good neighbors bad neighbors
    basil Potatoes (withered mushrooms)
    Comfrey cabbage
    borage paprika
    dill radish
    peas radish
    Kale Beetroot
    Nasturtium sage
    carrots celery
    leek Sunflowers (cast shadow)
    salad Candy Corn (Shadow)

    Good neighbors are gone when other cucurbits settle next to cucumbers. Members of the same plant family are not kind to each other. Therefore, refrain from planting pumpkins, melon or zucchini next to cucumbers.

    Plant cucumbers and tomatoes together - this is how it works

    Cucumbers and tomatoes go well together - not only in the salad

    In the list of recommended planting neighbors for cucumbers, you will look in vain for tomatoes - and with good reason. The requirements for location and care are too different. The warm and humid conditions for cucumbers are pure poison for tomatoes.

    With a clever trick, you can still keep both fruit vegetables together under glass. To do this, divide the greenhouse into two climate zones using a partition.

    Tips on care and harvest

    Nutrient deficiencies and drought stress cause cucumbers to taste bitter. The leaves turn yellow in the wet soil. Balanced fertilization and regular watering prevent the culinary dilemma. A harvest at the optimum time is what tips the scales. Cucumber friends do not sit back and relax after planting, but devote themselves to these important care measures until harvest:

    • Fertilize in beds and greenhouses: from June fertilize every 2 weeks with compost, horn shavings (32.93€) or nettle manure
    • Fertilize in the pot: Apply organic liquid fertilizer weekly between fruit set and harvest
    • pour: if dry in the early morning, water with lukewarm water
    • mulching: Regularly refresh a thin layer of straw, lawn clippings or compost
    • harvest time: from June in the greenhouse, from July outdoors
    • To harvest: Cut off ripe cucumbers with a sharp knife and do not tear off

    How often you water depends on various factors, such as location and weather. You can avoid all imponderables related to the water supply with a short finger test. Press your index finger or thumb into the soil about an inch. If no moisture can be felt in this area, rinse with stale water.

    tips

    Various pathogens get onto the leaves of cucumber plants via splashing water. This transmission route remains closed to diseases and pests if you remove the lower leaves to a height of 30 centimeters. You can read here when and how to cut cucumber plants.

    frequently asked Questions

    Lots of wilted, dry leaves on my cucumbers worry me, even though I water them regularly. What to do?

    If drought stress can be ruled out as a cause, wilted, dried leaves indicate a common plant disease. Cucumber wilt is an infestation with Fusarium oxysporum, a dreaded soil fungus. The pathogens get into the cucumber plant via the soil and clog the supply lines. Remove affected plants from the bed and replace the soil over a large area.

    How far apart should cucumbers be planted?

    Ideally, plant early young plants at a distance of 40 centimeters within the row. A planting distance of 140 to 170 centimeters between the rows has proven itself in practice. Shorter distances are not recommended. If cucumber plants come into close contact, diseases and pests are inevitable.

    What does the lunar calendar say about planting cucumbers?

    The theory of gardening according to the lunar calendar says that for cucumbers as fruit vegetables, a fruit day is better suited for sowing than a leaf day. To help seedlings take root quickly, write down a root tag as a deadline to prick out the seedlings. If you plant young plants with a strong root ball from May onwards, a fruit tag will come into focus. Consult a well-maintained online lunar calendar to determine the correct dates.

    Do cucumber plants grow in sun or shade?

    Cucumber plants are native to sun-drenched regions of Africa, India, Southeast Asia and India. In order for the tropical cucurbits to develop vigorously and productively in the Central European climate, they should be able to enjoy at least 6 hours of sunshine a day at temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius. Some leaves may sprout in the shade. You will look in vain for blossoms or even crunchy cucumbers.

    Cucumber plant has yellow leaves - what to do?

    If yellow leaves are hanging in abundance on a cucumber plant, there is an urgent need for action. The leaves have the vital task of being the control center for the supply of the desired fruits. They should be rich green and juicy instead of bright and yellow. The most common cause of the damage is a lack of nutrients. Between fruit set and harvest, cucumber plants outdoors and in greenhouses should be supplied with compost and horn shavings every one to two weeks. You can compensate for an acute deficit with nettle manure or an organic liquid fertilizer.

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    Like most cucurbits, cucumber plants benefit from occasional pinching. The focus is on majestic cucumbers and cucumbers in the greenhouse. In order for the plant energy to flow into selected, voluminous fruits, excess blossoms are pinched out with the fingers. For outdoor cucumbers and mini cucumbers, the effort is not worth it.

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Vegetable garden