How to Grow Great Cucumbers

Cucumbers are one of several vegetables that gardeners love to grow. There are so many uses for this tasty vegetable they are a favorite in most gardens. They can be used in salads, in a veggie platter, and can be made into pickles. And, these are just a few of the uses for the cucumber. Here are some tips to help you successfully grow them in your garden.

Your cucumbers will grow best if they have lots of sun and warm soil. This means you should not plant them too early, or they will not grow well at first. If you do plant them in an area where it is cold, use some type of mulch to help keep the soil warm. Clear or black plastic is the most useful for this purpose.

The cucumber vines will be much more productive if you give them something to climb. This will keep the vegetables off of the ground and it is also easier to harvest. Because there are no restrictions on the cucumbers when they are grown this way, they will usually be much straighter. This is important if you plan to use them for pickles. A straight cucumber is also easier to cut up for salads or veggie platters.

Vines should be trained as soon as they get long enough to attach to the support frame. It might be necessary to tie the cucumber vines to the trellis. Old twist ties from bread loaves work great for this. Or you could also use left over ties from garbage bags. Once a vine begins to outgrow the support, pinch off the end. This will cause it to branch and you will have more vines to produce cucumbers.

Be sure to pick the cucumbers as soon as possible. A ripe cucumber will give off a hormone that will cause the plant to stop producing and eventually kill the vine. So, if you want your vines to continue to produce lots of vegetables all summer long, be sure to get those cucumbers off the vine as soon as they are big enough.