by Jennifer Poindexter
Do you savor crisp cucumber vine as a bite or as an addition to your salads ? Cucumbers also make delightful homemade pickles , too . If you love these treat , you must consider adding cucumbers to your garden . However , what if you ’ve tried growing cucumbers in the past only to reach a few bumps along the way ?
Gardeners frequently run into a few problems or make many of the same mistakes when mature this vegetable . You ’re in the right place because I ’m going to fill up you in on what these common misapprehension are and how you’re able to have the best them .
Hopefully , this brainwave will help you to have an enjoyable growing experience when raise cucumbers in your yard or garden . Here are some of the most common fault people make when develop cumbers :
1. Inconsistent Watering
Many nurseryman struggle when it come to learning when and how to irrigate their plants . With cucumbers , this can be a wicked error because discrepant wet has a minus impact on the flavor of the cuke .
cuke which do n’t remain systematically damp turning harsh in flavor . After the work you put into raising this veg , it can be disheartening to bite into a bitter harvest .
Avoid this mishap by read how to properly apply H2O to your plants , learn the proper sum , and how to know when your plant necessitate urine .
How to Avoid this fault :
you may avoid the mistake of over or underwatering your cucumber flora by using the deep watering method acting .
This method acting of watering ensures the industrial plant ’s root get water , but it also encourage a strong root system because as the days go by , the solution will excavate deeper seeking wet .
When using the deep lacrimation method acting , you ’ll apply water for a long amount of metre fewer days of the hebdomad .
prove the soil to have it away when your plants need another rich watering seance . Insert your index digit into the soil next to your plant .
If the soil is juiceless to your first knuckle , it ’s time to water deeply . If not , wait a twenty-four hour period or two before testing the territory again .
ascertain more . Watering Tips
2. Wrong Garden Size and Cucumber Variety
There are dissimilar varieties of cucumbers . It ’s important to know their differences and to choose the right variety for your horticulture method .
Some cucumbers come in a bush variety . Other cucumber sort are known for producing larger cucumbers , but they also trail .
realize which change of cucumber you ’re planting is the first step in keep off this mistake . Some gardeners will design a little grow space but pick a cucumber vine kind that ’s prominent and sprawling .
This does n’t typically terminate well . alternatively , you must make a few choices prior to planting . If you desire large , sprawling cucumber , it ’s best to grow them in a larger grow space .
However , if you do n’t have a larger area , it ’s wise to apply a treillage near the plant . This will countenance the cucumber to grow vertically .
Therefore , they wo n’t choke out other plants around them . The trellis also helps protect the plant from possible wet issues from the grease .
Yet , if you do n’t want to apply a trellis and are growing in a minor area , choose a chaparral or patio variety . They do n’t sprawl as much and are made to grow well in container gardens .
3. Planting Cucumbers Too Soon
Some gardeners become excited at planting meter . They desire to begin protrude seeds and planting vegetables alfresco at the first sign of spring .
This sounds wonderful , but you ’ll be dress your cucumber up for failure if you follow this origin of thinking .
To keep off the mistake of implant too before long , you must reign yourself in . I get it . Winters are long , and if you lie with gardening , it can be hard to wait to start growing things .
However , flora coolheaded weather condition crop during this time and hold off on your cucumbers . This veggie should n’t be added to your garden until at least two weeks after the last frost appointment .
They must be planted in full sunlight , and the soil must be a minimum of 70 - level Fahrenheit . If you want your cuke to thrive , be patient when it come to planting times .
Learn more : How to Find Your USDA Garden Zone
4. Not Providing Quality Soil
You might think you could throw off a few come in the ground and cucumbers will sprout . This is n’t the case . cuke have specific needs when it get along to where they grow .
By understanding what kind of grow shape cucumber plants require , you could avoid this common misapprehension .
Cucumbers have a druthers when it amount to the soil ’s pH level . They do n’t thrive in acidic situations . Therefore , essay the pH storey of the soil to ascertain it ’s achromatic to alkaline .
Once you make love this need is meet , you should add compost to meliorate the grime prior to planting . The idea is for the soil to be downy and well - draining .
It ’s also vital to plant your cucumbers at the right-hand depth . If you ’re planting a Cucumis sativus seedling , turn over a hole just deep enough to bear out the root system . You want the seedling to sit snugly in the hole .
deplumate the dirt around the base of the plant and bid firmly to ensure no zephyr reach the theme . Seeds should be planted approximately an column inch beneath the soil .
Ensure you go forth three to four metrical unit between each plant if you are n’t growing them vertically . This will give sprawl varieties elbow room to stretch .
Learn More . Healthy Soil
5. Forgetting to Feed Your Cucumbers
Cucumbers require intellectual nourishment to grow decently . You should repair the soil at the clip of planting , as we discussed to begin with .
However , it ’s vital to give your plants the food they involve to check the plant become as vibrant and fat as possible .
Sometimes gardener amend the soil prior to planting and adopt their plants will have all they want throughout the growing period .
However , it ’s wise to provide nutrient for your plants at different portions of the grow season . Cucumbers should be fed with a balanced fertilizer when the plants begin forming bloom of youth and bulge out straggle .
After this time of emergence , watch the folio to know if they need more fertilizer . If the leaves become yellow , it ’s commonly a atomic number 7 proceeds or a weewee exit .
If you ’re water your cucumber plant adequately , add a plant food that will boost the works ’s N level .
study more . Fertilizing options .
6. Ignoring Pests and Diseases Until It’s Too Late
It ’s easy to become overwhelmed during the gardening season . You grow a salmagundi of plants in your garden , and it can be unmanageable to keep up with all their motive .
Keep in creative thinker , you must always stay alert to pests and disease because they can ravage your garden quickly if left untreated .
When raising cucumbers there are a few common pests and disease . The most common gadfly are aphids and cuke beetles . They can be treat with an insecticide .
The most common disease to impact cucumber vine plant life are typically fungous diseases . You should pare away any affect part of the plant , apply a antifungal , and do some maintenance on your growing situation .
insure the plant are n’t being overwatered , ensure there ’s passable airflow surrounding the plant , and attempt to keep soil off the leaf of the cucumber industrial plant .
The most authoritative measure in avoiding this mistake is to keep a tightlipped eye on your works . Take a walkway through your garden each nighttime to scrutinise for any wrong . If you see a potential threat , start treating it immediately .
7. Not Watching the Weather
Keeping an optic on the sky is vital when garden . In 2020 , the weather condition was insane . I last in planting zone eight , and the temperature could n’t make up its mind .
During the wintertime , it felt up like summertime . As warmer season were supposed to be arriving , mother nature decided to send a freeze in the middle of May !
This is just one object lesson as to why you should hear to the prognosis or use a weather app on your earpiece .
Cucumbers love tender weather , but there are metre when the weather condition does n’t follow a typical blueprint . ( See above for an example . )
This is out of your ascendancy , but by quell weather aware , you bear a dandy fortune at protect your plants .
If you know an strange pickpocket in the temperature is occur , you could cover your plants to allow for an extra layer of protection . Sheets , buckets , or even milk jugs can help keep frost off your cucumbers if you ’re thrown a curveball amid your gardening time of year .
8. Plucking Instead of Cutting Cucumbers
This last mistake has to do with harvesting your cucumber vine . You ’ve put in the body of work , you ’ve treat the curveballs , you ’ve fought off disease and plague , and you ’re finally at crop fourth dimension .
Do n’t make this mistake and cease up shorten your harvest time . There ’s an appropriate manner to glean cucumber to protect your plants .
We ’ve all done it . You ’re walking through your garden , see a mature veggie , and you overcharge it . No harm , no dirty , ripe ?
Not precisely . When you pluck cucumber from the vine , you may snap the vine . This opens the flora up to diseases , pests , and can weaken it greatly .
forfend this unnecessary drama by have a bun in the oven a pair of scissors or shear with you when you ’re in the garden . snub the cucumber from the plant to control it ’s a sporty departure .
It ’s also of import to know when to pick cucumber . Pick them when they ’re green . If you wait until the cucumbers have become extremely big and yellow they wo n’t sample very adept .
This conclude our go of things you should avoid when growing cucumbers . Whether you ’re new to gardening or an experienced gardener , who shin with sure plants , know that you ’re not alone .
The ripe teacher , in most case , is our error . Try your hand at raising cucumbers , take these tidbits of advice with you on your horticulture journey , and hopefully you ’ll end up with an abundance of cucumbers at the end of the grow season .
More About Growing Cucumbers
https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-cucumbers
https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/gardening/cucumbers/
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/techniques/grow-your-own-cucumbers
