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GROWING CUCUMBERS IN A HOME GARDEN
I have discovered that growing cucumbers in a home garden is not that easy. The plant is subject to many diseases,they are very frost prone,many gardeners plant them too early asking for trouble from a late spring frost. The growing need a 55-60 day period for growing which is from planting to picking. They like humid weather,warm soil and lots of sunshine. Now that I have covered those areas,I still maintain a fresh crop of growing cucumbers as an excellent dish on your summer salad table. There is a way to gain time by starting the plants indoors. This should be done 10 to 14 days prior to your calculation of the last freeze if this affects your area. You can avail yourself of peat pots or pellets to accomplish this method. The growing cucumbers should be planted by sowing two to three seeds per peat pot. This can be done with any good potting soil. The seeds should germinate within three to four days.At six to seven days thin the plants to one to a peat pot.There are some recommendations of planting three to four weeks prior to planting. I feel this is way too long for growing cucumbers. Your transplants could become too large and will not produce adequately in your garden. GROWING CUCUMBERS TRANSPLANTING OR DIRECT SOW
Transplanting your growing cucumbers from indoors to your garden can be a bit tricky. The important factor here is not to disturb the roots. This is a vine crop and like other vine crops you cannot transplant them with any success as a bare root plant. This is why I recommend peat pots because you can sink the entire pot into the ground without any disruption to the root system. If you are planting seeds directly into the garden plant them at a depth of one-half to one inch.Cucumbers grown on the ground should be planted at least 36 inches apart and space the rows at least two feet from each other because of the need for substantial space in which to grow and produce a good crop. YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER TRELLISING 
The majority of cucumbers are vines and as such enjoy climbing on a trellis or pole. It is a known fact that cucumbers grown on some type of trellis produce two-three times more cucumbers.Cucumbers grown on a trellis have the tendancy to be healthier and more uniform in size and also in shape. They are also cleaner at picking time and the air circulation certainly assists in the prevention of many diseases associated with the growing cucumbers. The trellising actually makes room for planting other crops that require shade such as lettuce under the trellis. I would like to point out that the trellis in the picture is a treated wood lattice. I don't think a treated lattice is a good product for your cucumbers. If you are going to use this type of material,I would purchased an untreated lattice. I actually recommend using a number 8 wire for the top and a number 12 wire on the bottom. The use of plastice or sisal twine tied between the two wires at each plant. The posts can be either a regular metal fence post or wooden one as long as it is not treated wood. The posts should be spaced at no more than fifteen apart with the top wire being very very tight. You may require additional braces as the growing cucumbers become a heavier load place these between the posts. 87 Page Step-by-step Gardening Manual For Beginners To Learn How To Grow Their Own Healthy, Organic Food - Saving Money And Eating Chemical Free! Great Bonuses With This E-manual. Revised Edition Just Released. Click Here!
GROWING CUCUMBERS REQUIRES GOOD SOIL
The cucumber soil should be loose and also be warm and moist. Growing cucumbers are best in a pH range of 6.0-7.0 and do enjoy moderate amounts of nitrogen and high amounts of phosphorus and potassium. They grow better in fertile clay soils with a lot of humus.I might caution here not to plant your cucumbers in constantly wet area as they dislike the roots being constantly soaked in extreme amounts of water.
MORE ABOUT FERTILIZER Before planting your cucumbers you should add a 5-5-10 to your soil according to the recommendations on the bag. I would additional one week after blossoming begins and again three weeks later. It is best not to over fertilize because encourages beautiful vine growth and slows down the cucumber from appearing on your vine. Growing cucumbers do well with mulching using either black plastic mulch earlier on in the spring to trap all available heat and then changing to an organic mulch during the summer. A LITTLE ABOUT WATERING I did not mean to imply that cucumber watering should be ignored. Cucumber plants that never recieve the proper amount of water produce disgusting small, bitter and deformed cucumbers. The soil should be soaked deeply during dry times with either soaker hoses or hand held soaker wands. It is important to water the base of the plant avoiding the leaves and if all possible do your watering in the morning especially if you are using an overhead sprinkling system. The presence of wet leaves and night really promotes the appearance of diseases.
A MAJOR WORRY ABOUT INSECTS AND DISEASES The weeds,diseases and insects are necessary to control if you desire to grow any kind of crop.We have a list beginning with cucumber beetle Click here to see a detailed discussion of cucumber beetle at the bottom of insects web page Aphids are also discussed on insects web page along with mites. The plant diseases include bacterial wilt caused by one of the species of cucumber beetle. A discussion of anthracnose,powdery mildew and leaf spot can be found by clicking here to review these plant diseases in detail There is a good discussion of bacterial wilt At the bottom of the insect page where the cucumber beetle is discussed NOW IT IS TIME TO HARVEST YOUR GROWING CUCUMBERS
The growing cucumber is ready for harvest at 50-70 days from actual planting. An interesting point here is the cucumber is usually eaten at an immature stage. The best thing about cucumbers is they maybe pickled based upon the use and variety. A cucumber can be pickled at a length of two inches for pickling,4 to 6 inches in length for dills and the delicious sliced pickle picture to the right at 6 to 8 inches for the slicing cucumber. The cucumber is at its best when has a consistent in green color as well as firm and crisp. The gardener should not allow the cucumber to become yellow since it will be extremely bitter to the taste. Any missed cucumbers should also be removed from the vine so that the young cucumbers have an opportunity to grow.If you have planted your growing cucumbers directly on the ground try to avoid smashing them doen with your feet. This is another reason why trellising is best. I would remove the ripen cucumbers at about one-quarter inch above the cucumber by cutting the stem. The cucumber is a rapid developer and as such should be picked at least every other day. Some good varieties of cucumbers
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