By Carol Feldman, NC State Extension Master GardenerSM volunteer of Durham County
When I first told my husband I was going to write a blog piece about cucumbers (Cucumis sativus) he said, “Hmm, that sounds like such a boring subject to write about.” I replied, “Oh, but it’s not!” And let me try to prove it.
May 29, 2025 at Briggs Community Garden!, first cucumber! (Image credit: Vicki Houck)
Introduction
How I started my love of growing cucumbers: It all started in late February when I volunteered to start some cucumber seeds indoors for the pantry at Durham Tech. As Master GardenerSM volunteers, we are always looking to “know more.” We decided to try an experiment with those seedlings. See my next blog post in August to learn about the whole story!
White board describing how to plant seedlings in each section. April 2025 (Image credit: Kathryn Hamilton)
Back to Cucumbers in General
First let’s take a minute to look at the history of these vegetables. Our cucumber’s ancestors come from Asia, especially the growing regions of the Himalayas to Northern Thailand. Cucumbers have been grown for food for at least 3000 years and are now grown on all continents. There are cucumber seeds from all around the world. Look for seeds from Japan, Armenia, and other countries. In India, they are often stir fried. You can find these seeds at your local seed store or anywhere seeds are sold. Gardeners can go wild looking for exactly what they want to grow!
There are so many hybrids/varieties, many with disease resistance and other attributes. There are burpless, seedless and those that are not bitter. There are even varieties that grow only female flowers. Now, a little biology. (I promise it is not very lengthy but interesting!)
More and more, you may hear or read about cucumber seeds that grow only female flowers (gynoecious) or cucumber plants that don’t require pollination at all (parthenocarpy). It’s so valued that female-flower growing and no-pollination plants have been developed into the same seed. The combination of all female flowers and not requiring pollination means that the plants will have seedless fruit and often higher production value. Those are specialized seeds. More common are cucumber seeds for plants that produce both male and female flowers. Some people call these self-pollinating, but they still need pollen moved from male flowers to female flowers to make nice, beautiful cucumbers! In this case, pollination is done by bees or other pollinators, or can be done by the gardener transferring pollen from male flowers of another cucumber plant to female flowers.
Cucumbers are “boring”? I think not!
The Nitty-gritty of Growing Cucumbers
Understanding their Basic Needs
They prefer a slightly acidic soil, 6.0-6.5 ph. As with most vegetables, they require sunny locations, well drained soil, and warm weather. They will benefit from mulching and compost. Feed your plants with an organic fertilizer every 2-4 weeks, depending on the commercial fertilizer used. Carefully read and follow the directions on the label.
Starting Seeds and Planting
You may start your seeds either by seeding indoors or directly sowing them outside.
Cucumis sativus seedlings beginning their growth before they are put in the ground when the soil temperature is 70 degrees Fahrenheit at 1 inch deep . (Image credit: Cristina Sanvito CC BY 2.0)
When seeding indoors start them 2-6 weeks before last frost date. It provides a nice head start on growth. It’s important to “harden off” your seedlings for at least 2 weeks before planting them in the ground. When direct sowing, you need to sow after the last frost date. Keep your seeds well watered particularly through germination.
For vining cucumbers: Sow seeds at 1/2″ deep and at least 2″ apart. Planting vertically (on a trellis) promotes air circulation, prevents certain diseases, and you will end up with straighter fruit since it will be hanging.
For bush cucumbers: Make a hill of soil, sow 3-5 seeds/hill. Make hills 2-3’ apart.
Regardless of using direct or indoor seeding, the seeds shouldn’t be in the ground until the soil temp is 70 degrees Fahrenheit at 1″ deep. You can help speed that temperature rise by covering the soil with sheets of plastic for a week or two ahead of your anticipated planting time.
Mulching will conserve moisture (which you want!), and deter weed growth. One cheap suggestion for mulching is to lay 3-4 sheets of newspaper on the ground around/under your cucumber plants. Another option is to use grass clippings.
Watering and Feeding
Cucumbers are about 95% water. They need food , of course, but first they need water, approximately 1” per week. Keep checking for dryness and replenish as needed. As always, water the soil and not the leaves. Cucumbers have long taproots and branching surface roots for water retention, so water deeply. Be especially careful if you see vines on the ground or if you are growing your plants without trellises. Be careful of roots growing along the vine (i.e. into the soil). If they are disturbed, the plant may die or stop fruit production.
The best suggestion for feeding is to carefully read and follow the recommendations of whatever commercial organic fertilizer you are using.
Harvesting
Harvest your cucumbers when they are the size specified for the variety or for the way in which you intend to use them. If the plan is to pickle the cucumbers, try to harvest when they are at a uniform size. They should be harvested before the seeds mature and become hard. Harvest often for good flavor and also to encourage further production. Avoid harvesting when leaves are wet to prevent spreading disease.
If fruit is yellow at harvest time, I’m sorry but you are too late. Both taste and flesh are adversely affected. Production will definitely stop as the plant “thinks” it has done its job by producing seeds.
Storing
Optimal conditions for cucumber storage include a temperature of approximately 55 degrees Fahrenheit along with some humidity. If you have it available in your home, store your cucumbers in a cool basement in perforated plastic bags. Cucumbers will keep about 1 week in a refrigerator. Don’t rinse them off before refrigeration. Just wipe off any dust/dirt, wrap in paper towels and put in plastic bags. Wash them well when you are ready to use them.
Consider pickling them. There are many “how to” recipes available online or in canning books but it is important to choose a resource based on best practices from scientific evidence to avoid food poisoning. The National Center for Home Food Preservation is an excellent resource for evidence based practices related to canning and pickling.
A Word about Some Favorite Cucumber Varieties
In 2023, an opportunity presented itself to taste test five specifically chosen, different varieties of cucumbers in August to see which if any resisted the bitterness of the summer heat. Briggs Garden volunteers wanted to look at cucumber taste by variety. At the end of the growing season we had an informal taste testing. Coming out on top were General Lee (noted for its taste) and Tokiwa (noted for being very sweet and never bitter). 1
And Finally Just to Whet Your Appetite a Bit
Here are two recipes using cucumbers that have both high nutritional points and taste so good. Think about trying Cucumber & Avocado Salad and/or Creamy Cucumber Dill Soup.
I’ve tried both and they are yummy.
Note 1: An excellent blog article by Kathryn Hamilton discusses the outcome of the 2023 taste test for cucumbers as well as other vegetables grown at Briggs Community Garden. https://durhammastergardeners.com/2023/11/18/briggs-avenue-garden-take-aways-2023/
Resources and Additional Information
Clemson University has developed an informative resource on cucumber pests. https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/cucumber-squash-melon-other-cucurbit-insect-pests/
If you want to know more about cucumber pollination, Penn State has a very good article, “Cucumber Pollination”. https://extension.psu.edu/cucumber-pollination
The University of Georgia provides a great review on how to grow cucumbers in a home garden.
NC State University has a great review of what might be happening if your home canned pickles don’t taste good. https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/pickle-and-pickle-product-problems
The NCSU Plant Toolbox has more information on cucumis sativus as well as other cucumber varieties. NCSU Plant Toolbox https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/cucumis-sativus/
Caution: There have been cucumber recalls, as recently as April, May and June 2025 for mass produced cucumbers. Of course, all vegetables should be washed thoroughly before eating.
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