Cucumber

Cucumbers are easy to grow, and just one plant will produce armloads of the crunchy, refreshing fruits. Use them to make cooling salads all through the hot summer. Add homegrown cucumbers to mixed leafy salads or mixed chopped vegetable salads. And try your hand at pickles, either the super easy refrigerator type or the canned type that Grandma used to make.

Cucumbers are grouped as slicers or picklers. All slicers are long and thin and are best eaten fresh. Picklers, which are shorter with more pronounced spines or bumps on their skin, are most often used preserved as pickles, but can be eaten fresh, too. Bush varieties produce vines only several feet long and are suited to growing in containers. Or grow them on trellises and along fences for super efficient use of space. Keep cucumbers watered well to avoid moisture stress, which can lead to bitterness.

Light:

Sun

Plant Type:

Vegetable

Plant Height:

1-6 feet tall

Plant Width:

1-2 feet wide

Top Varieties

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'Bush Pickle' cucumber

bears 5-inch-long fruits in just 45 days on compact plants. It adapts well to container culture.
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'Green Fingers' cucumber

features tender, smooth-skinned finger-size fruits with no bitterness. It has a small seed cavity and is highly flavorful. 60 days
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'Lemon'

is an heirloom that bears 2- to 3-inch diameter yellow fruits that can be used for pickling or slicing. 60 days
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'Marketer' cucumber

is an old-time favorite that was an All America Selections winner in 1943. Its 8-inch-long burpless fruits mature in just 45 days.
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'Salad Bush Hybrid' cucumber

is an 8-inch-long slicer on a compact plant. 57 days
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'Sweet Success' cucumber

develops fruits without pollination, so you can enjoy extra yields. It's also disease-resistant and burpless. 54 days
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'Tasty Jade Hybrid' cucumber

is a vigorous, high yielder with foot-long fruits. The plant must be trellised. 54 days
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Garden Plans

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Asian-Inspired Vegetable Garden Plan
All-American Vegetable Garden Plan
Heritage Vegetable Garden
Planting Plans Inspired by the White House Kitchen Garden

Harvest Tips

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Once fruits set, they develop quickly. Harvest every few days to prevent oversize fruits that may be seedy and bitter. Cut fruit stems with a scissors or pruning shears to avoid damage to the plant. Harvest picklers when they are 2-4 inches long. Start picking slicers when they become 6-9 inches long. Some Asian and greenhouse slicing types may grow to 12 inches long or longer.

Propagation

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Seed