Growing home garden cucumbers
Growing home garden cucumbers is an annual hobby of many gardeners. You have two types of cucumbers grown in our area. You have cucumber types grown for fresh slicing and types used for pickling.
As a county agent, one common call that I will receive on cucumbers is the complaints of bitter tastewhen a person is consuming a sliced cucumber. Many times, the bitter flavor is associated with lack of moisture when the fruit is maturing. Today,
I will be sharing home garden cucumber growing tips by way of a UGA publication by Bob Westerfield, UGA Extension Horticulturist.
Since it seems new garden varieties come out often for all vegetables, do your homework. I am happy to provide our UGA publication on cucumbers by email or mail on request that will list the fresh slicing bush and fresh slicing vine cultivar options and pickling cultivar options. I will get ahead of myself, but cucumbers are normally ready for harvest 50-70 days from planting depending on the variety planted.
It is recommended to harvest cucumbers depending on their intended use based on size of the cucumber. A ruleof-thumb is to not allow cucumber fruit to get to the stage where they start turning yellowish. They can become more bitter as they get larger. When you harvest cucumber, cut the stem 1⁄4 inch above the fruit and be careful that you do not trample the vines while harvesting the cucumbers. It should be also noted that frequent harvesting of cucumbers is key as they grow and reach great quality. It is stated that delayed harvest results in reduced quality and less productive plants.
When you harvest cucumbers, store them in the refrigerator. Cucumber plants will do better at temperatures between 75-85 degrees F. The plants can’t handle frost conditions so don’t risk planting cucumber too early in the season. Cucumber is considered a quick growing crop so they need plenty of moisture and nutrients in the growing season. Water is very critical for cucumber plants in the fruit stage of development. As I previously mentioned, you can get bitter tasting cucumbers if the plants do not have adequate moisture as fruit matures. Another tip is to harvest the cucumbers when young and immature to avoid bitter taste. Georgia overall is a great climate to grow cucumbers so if you follow some basic cultural practices, the growing season should be successful.
Cucumber plants are adaptable to many soil types, but they like areas where the soil is loose, well-draining with also a good amount of organic matter and nutrients. It is recommended that if you soil is void of organic matter, to work in 4 to 6 inches of finished compost or other humus to a depth of 10 inches. The soil pH ideally is in the 6.0-6.5 range for cucumber production. The soil temperature needs to be at least 60 degrees F before you should consider planting cucumber seed. Ideally, you should conduct a $9 soil test to obtain liming and fertilization recommendation. If you choose to not soil test, it is suggested to make a pre-plant application of 5-10-10 fertilizer at a rate of 3 pounds per 100 square feet. Side dress cucumber plants with and additional application of nitrogen fertilizer one week after blooming begins then again three weeks later using one pound of 33-0-0 per 100 square feet of cucumber bed. Apply this fertilizer along one side of the row and approximately 6 inches from the plant base. You should cover the fertilizer with soil using a garden hoe or rake. Make sure you do NOT over do it on fertilizer since overfertilization can stimulate excessive vine growth and reduce fruiting.
Westerfield states that you can get a head start on growing time by starting cucumber plants indoors 10-14 days before you plan on planting. You can use peat pots or pellets and avoid disturbing the roots when you transplant. Since, we are now close to May, starting indoors this year may not be an option for some. If direct seeding, you can plant cucumbers in hills with 4 to 5 seeds per hill spaced 4 -5 inches apart. If you plan on trellising the cucumber plants, plant 4 to 5 seeds per foot in rows that are 30 inches apart. When your plants are 5 inches tall, thin the plants so they are approximately 12 inches apart.
Mulch can be a great application to help conserve moisture, reduce soil compaction, reduce weeds and prevent rotting of fruit. It is recommended that newspaper placed around the plants about three sheets thick can make a great mulch. You can then cover the newspaper with organic mulch to help hold the newspaper down. Black plastic mulch or landscape fabric can also be an option to conserve soil moisture and reduce weeds. As the growing season goes, be on the lookout for common insect and disease issues such as cucumber beetles, pickle worms and bacterial wilt for example.