Cucumis sativus
Family Cucurbitaceae
Cucumbers move at garden speed's upper limit — vines hit stride within weeks and then it's a daily harvest from June into September, crisp fruit for salads and enough extras to fill a pickle crock. Homegrown ones snap; store ones bend.
A 6-foot vine on a trellis or fence takes almost no ground, and the yellow flowers keep bees on retainer all summer. Picking is the whole job, and it is a pleasant one. Run a vine up something vertical and start planning for pickles.
Full Sun
High water
Very Fast growth
Excellent edible
Attracts bees
None winter chill
From the print shop
Our Plant Library collection carries cucumber — Cucumis sativus, print Nº 142, “Cucumber.”
526 designsfrom $12.99white or black backgroundmatte poster, unframed
Will it fruit where you are?
Enter your ZIP — we look up your USDA hardiness zone (2023 map) and check it against what cucumber actually needs.
Life cycleAnnualCucumber · Common problems
5 problems on file
Cucumber Beetle (striped/spotted)Squash BugAphidsSquash Vine BorerLeafhoppers
13 problems on file
Bacterial Wilt (beetle-carried)Powdery MildewDowny MildewWhite MoldDamping OffAlternaria Leaf SpotPhytophthora BlightBacterial WiltAngular Leaf SpotBacterial Soft RotMosaic VirusRoot Knot NematodesBlossom End Rot2 problems on file
Cucumber · Growing & propagation
LightWaterBitter fruit = drought stress
Soil
FertilizerBalanced feed monthly.
PruningTrellis for straight fruit and airflow.
Spacing
Maturity
From seedPropagateCucumber · Harvest & keeping
Years to first harvestTypical yieldWhat you eatHow to tell it is readyHow long it keepsCucumber · Seasonal care & spray guidance
Growing season. Row cover until flowering (then remove for bees) beats spraying for beetles. Neem or spinosad if beetle pressure is severe. Resistant varieties beat fungicide for mildews.
early spring
4 jobsSowingIn springWait until soil at one inch deep reads 65-70F, then sow seeds an inch deep, 12-18 inches apart in rows about 4 feet apart. Black plastic mulch warms the soil and lets you start earlier; hold off on organic mulch until the soil is above 75F. Cucumber seed germinates between 65 and 85F and rots in cold wet ground, so seed sown into soil that has not warmed simply disappears rather than emerging.
Planting outIn springStart seed indoors no earlier than four weeks before your last frost date and use peat pots that go into the ground intact. Move plants out once frost danger has passed, transplanting carefully before the plant outgrows its container so the taproot is not damaged. Cucumbers resent root disturbance because of their taproot, and seedlings held indoors too long transplant poorly and stall.
What to watch forIn springFrom emergence through the third true leaf, look on stems, leaf undersides and at the base of each plant. The action threshold is two or more beetles per plant on a quarter of your plants at the cotyledon stage, or a quarter of a plant defoliated at the first to third true-leaf stage. Beetles that show up later in summer on established vines can be ignored. The beetles carry Erwinia tracheiphila in their gut and their feces, and it enters through fresh feeding wounds in rain or dew, so a few beetles on a seedling are a wilt infection rather than just chewed leaves. Plants are most vulnerable between emergence and bloom.
SprayingIn springOnly if scouting hits the threshold on pre-bloom seedlings, spray spinosad, directing it at the stem base and leaf undersides where the beetles hide rather than just over the canopy. Stop treating once flowering starts. Killing the vector during the cotyledon-to-third-leaf window is what actually prevents bacterial wilt, because once the bacterium is in the xylem the vine is unsavable and dies in a couple of weeks.
at bloom
1 job
ProtectionAt bloomRow covers laid over the bed at seeding or transplanting exclude striped cucumber beetles through the vulnerable seedling weeks, but take them off as soon as flowering begins unless you are growing a seedless parthenocarpic variety. Cucumbers need insect pollination to set fruit, and a cover left on past first bloom locks the bees out - you trade beetle damage for no crop at all.
the growing season
3 jobs
WateringIn summerGive 1-2 inches of water per week depending on plant size, deeply rather than in daily sips, using drip line or a soaker hose so the leaves stay dry. Inconsistent moisture is what makes cucumbers bitter and misshapen, and overhead water sitting on foliage is the film that downy mildew and angular leaf spot need to infect.
FeedingIn summerWhen the plants put out runners and before the first flowers open, sidedress 3-4 tablespoons of a nitrogen fertilizer such as 21-0-0 per plant, scattered beside the row rather than against the stem, then water it in. Cucumbers build their whole fruiting frame in a few weeks of vine growth, and the nitrogen that carries that expansion has to be in place before flowering starts, not after fruit is already sizing.
SprayingThrough summerWatch for yellow areas on the upper leaf surface that turn brown with irregular margins, with a gray mold on the underside. Fungicides only work preventatively, before symptoms appear, so if downy mildew is active in or near your garden, apply chlorothalonil and cover the leaf undersides. Downy mildew moves fast in cool humid weather and can strip a planting once it arrives. Resistant and tolerant varieties (Marketmore 76, Diva, Dasher II, Calypso) slow it down but modern strains have eroded that resistance, so tolerance reduces losses rather than preventing infection outright.
as it ripens, and picking
1 jobHarvestingAt harvestFruit is ready 5-7 days after flowering. Pick young and tender at your variety's size rather than letting fruit fill out, and keep picking on a one to two day cycle. Do not pick fruit while the vines are wet, because of the danger of spreading diseases. A cucumber left to mature on the vine signals the plant to stop setting fruit, and flavor drops as the seeds harden and the skin toughens. Handling wet vines spreads bacterial and fungal disease from plant to plant.
Cucumber · Companion plants
Underlined names have their own growing guide in this library.
Cucumber · Calculators & field guides
Cucumber · Yearly calendar
No calendar activity is listed for this month.
BloomHarvestBloomJune to August
HarvestJune to September
These are the species' typical months — expect them a few weeks earlier in warm zones and later in cold ones. Watch the plant, not just the calendar.
Cucumber · Ecology & uses
Cucumis sativus
AttractsMoisture
DeerProtect young plants
Origin✓ Commonly eaten
UseUseEdible valueJune - September. About 50-70 days from planting.
Edibility, identification, and traditional-use notes here are general reference — not medical or veterinary advice, and not a claim that any plant treats or prevents anything. Medicinal ratings record how strongly a plant features in herbal tradition, nothing more. Never eat or dose a plant you have not positively identified. More on how to use this library.
Cucumber · Varieties & cultivars
Named varieties of cucumber differ in days to maturity, disease resistance, flavor, and habit — pick one that fits your season and space.
17 varieties
Slicing — Bears mostly female blooms - plant the included pollinizer seed alongside it, or interplant a monoecious variety. Without pollen it flowers heavily and sets little.
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Burpless, mild — Monoecious - produces its own male and female flowers, so one plant can set fruit given bees. No pollinizer management.
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Pickling — Bush pickling type and the fastest here at 48 days. No trellis. Pick at 2 in or smaller - pickling types go seedy and blimp-shaped quickly.
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Also known as Bushcrop
Slicing — Bush habit - no trellis, suits patio containers and tight beds.
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Classic slicing — Vining - trellis it or allow room to run. Heirloom AAS winner.
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Self-fertile
Mild, stays dark green even under weather stress — Open-pollinated slicer bred at Cornell, so you can save seed. Cornell's resistant-cucurbit list credits it with the broadest resistance package of any OP slicer. Johnny's lists it at 58 days from direct seeding.
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Also known as County Fair 87
Self-fertile
One of the very few cucumbers carrying genetic resistance to bacterial wilt, which is the disease that ends most cucumber plantings where cucumber beetles are heavy.
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Also known as H-19 Little Leaf
Self-fertile
Carries bacterial wilt resistance alongside the widest disease package on Cornell's pickling list.
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Self-fertile
F1 pickler with the longest resistance list of any cucumber on Cornell's chart, including three mosaic viruses.
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Self-fertile
THE EXCEPTION to the pollinizer rule: being parthenocarpic it sets seedless fruit with no bees and no pollinizer. Ideal where bee activity is poor, or under row cover or in a tunnel where insects are excluded.
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Self-fertile
F1 slicer carrying six-way resistance; listed by extension among the cucumbers with downy mildew tolerance worth planting where the disease arrives every year.
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Self-fertile
Mostly-female flowers, so it needs pollen from a monoecious plant. Seed companies blend pollinizer seed into the packet, often dyed a different colour - do NOT discard those odd-looking seeds or fruit set collapses.
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Self-fertile
F1 slicer with five-way resistance including both mildews.
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Self-fertile
Bush type: grow in a container or small bed without a trellis, where a standard vining cucumber would need several feet of run or vertical support.
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Self-fertile
Mild, seedless when unpollinated — Listed by Utah State Extension among the excellent home garden cucumbers. A parthenocarpic type, so it can hold fruit under row cover after other varieties have to be uncovered for bees.
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Self-fertile
Monoecious, so it carries its own male flowers - no pollinizer needed. Semi-bush habit works in a small bed or large container without a long trellis. AAS winner.
Story Thyme Farms may earn a small commission from these links, at no cost to you — it never changes what we recommend.
Self-fertile
Heirloom open-pollinated pickler, named by Utah State Extension as an excellent home garden variety and credited by Cornell with cucumber mosaic virus and powdery mildew resistance. No bacterial wilt or downy mildew resistance, so lean on row covers and resistant neighbours such as County Fair where wilt is heavy.
Story Thyme Farms may earn a small commission from these links, at no cost to you — it never changes what we recommend.
Sources & plant identity
Cucumis sativus
Hardiness, size and timing vary with your cultivar, soil and climate.
University extension research, brought together with hands-on growing experience at Story Thyme Farms.
Publisher marks identify sources, not sponsorship or endorsement.
Cucumber questions, answered straight.
Cucumber is commonly eaten and isn't considered toxic, but "commonly eaten" isn't a guarantee for any particular person or animal — allergies, quantity, and which part you eat all matter. Never eat a plant you haven't positively identified, and check with a vet before letting pets or livestock graze anything new.
June - September. From planting, expect about 50-70 days to maturity.
Proven companions include beans, corn, radish — the full companion list, and what to keep away, is in the Growing tab above.
From seed.
Where cucumber sits in the library.
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