The More You Grow: Cucumbers

One of our favorite parts of the garden: CUCUMBERS!!

We grow cucumbers to have fresh early on, but when we start to get a bunch, we love to pickle them! Adding them as a side dish or slicing some to put in ice water can help you stay hydrated, which aids in digestion, joint pain, cognitive and kidney function, and regulating body temperature. Cucumbers are not only great to have for some extra hydration, but they also add several other vitamins and nutrients like vitamin C, A, and K, as well as fiber, potassium, and calcium! Stronger bones, staying regular, managing weight and blood sugar, and improving heart health are all ways that cucumbers can positively impact your overall health! (Source)

Sow cucumber seed directly into the soil when the weather is warmer at the same time as other Spring plants, around mid to late May. You can sow 1 seed every couple of inches in a row, or do like we do and plant 3-4 seeds in "hills" that are about 1 foot apart. You'll want to allow at least 2 feet on either side of the row for the cucumbers to vine out. Mound the dirt over the seed and pack it down with a garden hoe. You should start to see cucumbers sprouting within 2 weeks of planting!

When cucumbers begin to produce, they have these beautiful yellow blooms. Between the vine and the bloom, you'll be able to see tiny little cucumbers form. Cucumbers are low maintenance. They do, however, need a little water here and there, especially if you're in an area that is more dry. You don't want to soak them, but a little every now and then is all they'll need to continue to produce.

This year, we added panels on either side of the cucumber plants after they began to vine out a bit. We planted ours next to sweet potatoes, so our goal was to keep them contained enough that they wouldn't choke out the sweet potatoes. It was a success, as they began to climb the panels on either side and, for the most part, left the other plants alone.

Depending on what variety of cucumbers you plant, you'll want to pick them at sizes that you prefer. For instance, we found that Cool Crisp (GREAT for pickling!) are best picked when they reach the 6 inch mark. Marketmore (good for eating fresh and pickling) are more of a longer variety. The larger they get, the more bitter they are and the more seeds they will have in the middle, so we try to pick them around 8-10 inches.

Canning is the best way we have found to preserve cucumbers! Check out our pickle recipe here!