How to Grow Cucumbers in Your Garden, the Easy Way
Cucumbers are an easy, delightful addition to a salad, a sandwich, the main dish, or a side dish. Growing your cucumbers ensures that you enjoy them year-round. Growing your cucumbers doesn’t have to be difficult. In this article, we’ll discuss how to grow cucumbers in your garden, the easy way.
What are Cucumbers?
Cucumbers are a crunchy, pickle-flavored vegetable that is indigenous to the eastern part of Asia and the Middle East. The cucumber was first cultivated more than five thousand years ago in India and was then spread by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Cucumbers were so important to European culture that the cucumber was considered the national fruit of Sweden and was a standard component of salads at the first dinner parties.
Grow cucumbers in your garden and you’ll enjoy fresh, home-grown cucumbers all year long. Cucumbers are easy to grow, requiring very little care. There are very few vegetables that you can grow in your garden all year round that requires less effort than cucumbers.
How to Grow Cucumbers in Your Garden
Here are some tips on how to grow cucumbers in your garden, the easy way.
Cucumbers need a lot of suns, and can’t handle shade. They also need well-drained soil to grow successfully, so if you have clay soil, you might want to amend it with sand or compost. For best results, always use a soil-less mix.
You can also grow cucumbers in a pot. Choose a large, deep, wide-mouthed container with a good drainage hole in the soil. You can also grow cucumbers in a pot with good drainage holes.
When planting your cucumbers, space them about two feet apart. This will ensure that each plant gets adequate sunlight.
To support your plant’s growth, water the soil deeply, but infrequently. Mulch your plants to keep the soil moist, but not soggy.
And that’s how you grow cucumbers in your garden, the easy way.
Cucumber varieties
There are many different kinds of cucumbers, and more are being developed all the time. Some cucumbers can be eaten fresh, while others can be eaten pickled, canned, or in an herbal tea. Choose a cucumber variety that best suits your growing area, the amount of sunlight your garden receives, and your personal preferences.
There are many different types of cucumber:
Asian – This short-season variety should be planted in early to mid-summer. It matures in about 60 days.
English – This is the classic cucumber, grown for its fruit, which can be eaten fresh or used for pickling. It matures in about 90 days.
Armenian – This short-season variety can be grown in about 60 days. It is sweet and crisp.
Cucumber harvesting and picking
Cucumbers can be harvested at various stages of maturity to suit your particular needs. You can pick them when they are quite young, when they are slightly bigger, or when they are fully grown.
Young cucumbers can be eaten raw, while slightly mature cucumbers are better suited for salads or can be eaten fresh. Fully-grown cucumbers can be stored for use in winter.
To pick your cucumbers, first look for signs of maturity, including leaves that are turning yellow or falling off the plant. Gently pull the entire plant out of the soil and check the cucumbers for ripeness. Remove any that are overripe or damaged.
