USA plant library · vegetable

Cucumber

Cucumis sativus · Cucurbitaceae

Fast and productive, with slicing and pickling types

Photo: H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sun: Full sun
Soil: Moist, rich, well-drained soil (sandy loam to clay loam, high in organic matter)
Soil pH: 6.0-6.5
Water: Keep consistently moist, about 1 in per week, soaking to 6 in. Water at the base and keep leaves dry
Hardiness: Frost-tender warm-season annual (USDA zones 2-11)
Height and spread: 8-18 in tall x 3-8 ft spread. Trellised vines grow upward

Guv's tipTrain cucumbers on a trellis to save space and reduce disease. Water at the base, keep the leaves dry, and pick often, before they yellow.

Through the year

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Sow or plant

Harvest

Months are a rough guide. Time it by your own frost dates: after last frost (warm season).

When to plant

Sow direct after the last frost when the soil is about 70°F: South Carolina coast mid Mar-mid May (fall Aug), South Carolina Piedmont mid Apr-early Jun (fall Aug-Sep), Minnesota late May. Can be started indoors 2-4 weeks before planting out

Harvest or flowering

Summer (about Jun-Sep, depending on region). 50-70 days to harvest. Pick often, before fruit turns yellow

Pruning

None needed. Train on a trellis to save space and reduce disease

Making more plants

Seed, sown direct or as short-season transplants (avoid disturbing the taproot)

Watch out for

Pest

Cucumber beetles (striped and spotted)

Look for: Yellow beetles with black stripes or spots feeding on seedlings, leaves, flowers; spread bacterial wilt

What to do: Row covers until bloom, remove weeds/debris, trap crops, hand-remove into soapy water; labeled insecticide if needed

Pest

Aphids

Look for: Colonies on undersides of leaves; curled, sticky leaves; can spread viruses

What to do: Conserve lady beetles; insecticidal soap or oils

Disease

Powdery mildew

Podosphaera xanthii (also Golovinomyces cichoracearum)

Look for: Pale yellow spots then white powdery patches on leaves and vines, mid-late summer

What to do: Resistant varieties; labeled fungicide when first found

Disease

Bacterial wilt

Erwinia tracheiphila

Look for: Vines wilt by day and recover at night at first, then die; sticky bacterial strands from cut stems

What to do: No cure; control cucumber beetles, remove infected plants

Disease

Downy mildew

Pseudoperonospora cubensis (water mold)

Look for: Angular pale yellow spots bounded by veins, gray-purple fuzz underneath

What to do: Resistant varieties, avoid overhead irrigation, remove diseased plants; fungicide if needed

Always read and follow the label on any treatment, and check it is approved for use where you live.

Safety and spread

Pets and people: Non-toxic to dogs, cats and horses (ASPCA)

Weed risk: Not on the federal noxious weed list. The USDA PLANTS database shows no federal or state noxious or invasive status

Checked against two or more reputable gardening sources. How we check our facts

Growing somewhere else? See this plant for the UK and Australia.

Keep it by the back door

The Plant Doctor and the Guv's book

Printable pest and disease charts with real photographs, and all 50 USA plants in one book.

Buy in the shop See all the guides