Growing Cucumbers Successfully

Growing Cucumbers Successfully

At the beginning, it's necessary to get to know the cucumber from a historical perspective as well. The cucumber (lat. Cucumis sativus) is a plant from the gourd family and originates from India and China. Growing and especially pickling your own cucumbers, whether in a sweet-sour brine or according to grandma's recipe passed down through generations, is the dream of every gardener and their beloved spouse.

So how to grow cucumbers to achieve the highest yield, the healthiest fruits and plants, and maximum growing enjoyment.

The soil for growing cucumbers can be enriched with compost or farmyard manure. For cucumbers, warm (enriched with humus and compost), medium-heavy soils are more suitable.

If we have wet and cold soil, it's better to plant cucumbers on mounds, under which we place manure that warms the plant.

Cucumber roots need air, so they shouldn't be planted too deep. When growing cucumbers, we can also work with black non-woven fabric, either for covering the soil or for nighttime plant coverage (if we're growing in beds).

We most commonly grow two types of cucumbers:

• salad cucumber (snake cucumber) - larger in size with smooth skin, suitable as the name suggests for salads and direct consumption
• pickling cucumber - smaller in size, the skin is rougher, doesn't peel, and is intended for direct consumption and especially for pickling and preserving in jars due to its slightly sour taste

Pre-cultivation of Cucumbers

We sow cucumber seeds in boxes and after forming 2-3 leaves, we can transplant them further. If we want more resilient seedlings, we can transplant them one more time into individual pots filled 3/4 with soil and as the seedling grows, we can gradually add more soil.

Sowing Cucumbers

sowing - we sow pre-cultivated seedlings into beds with spacing of 20x30 cm.

watering - be careful with watering, water only at the roots, preferably drop by drop by preparing an irrigation hose with small holes. If we manage to water with water at 20°C temperature, that would be ideal. In cold weather, we should be sparing with irrigation.

pinching - we pinch the main shoot after the third or fourth leaf. This supports the formation of side shoots, which usually have more female flowers and therefore more fruits.

harvest - we harvest cucumbers at a maximum size of 6-7 cm. This prevents potential bitterness in cucumbers. However, nowadays seedlings are so well-bred that bitterness appears only rarely.

We can summarize cultivation into a kind of ten commandments, which are generally valid, and if you follow them, success is guaranteed.

• The foundation is selecting tolerant varieties (e.g., Karen, Dalila, Admira), which will partially overcome mildew with their stronger growth.
• Cucumbers also appreciate sunnier and more airy locations with humus-rich soil well-supplied with water. Unsuitable locations are those in shade, partial shade, or enclosed areas where air humidity persists for long periods.
• It always pays to follow crop rotation practices as indicated on the seed packet. Also rotate the plots where you grow cucumbers or other cucurbit vegetables every 3-4 years.
• Cucumbers need support to climb, whether horizontal or vertical. This is important for quick drying of leaves, preventing mildew from settling on them.
• For irrigation, maintain regular drip watering directly to the roots. This way, we don't wet the leaves as with sprinkler or spray irrigation. Always try to ensure that plant leaves dry as quickly as possible after watering.
• Uniform and sufficient plant nutrition supports their growth; even if partially affected by mildew, new shoots can outgrow it.
• Cucumber nutrition and spraying is entirely dependent on weather, which should always be carefully monitored. If several days of rain are approaching, treat plants preventively.
• Timely chemical protection is essential. However, don't use sprays more than 3 times per season, and not immediately before harvest.
• During the growing season, we can treat with products like Dithane. However, read the protection method carefully and observe the spray protection period.
• The mentioned products and procedures can also be applied to other cucurbit plants.

Cucumber and Its Uses

Cucumber consists of 90% water. It's low in calories, so we can consume it abundantly even during weight-loss diets. It's very suitable and refreshing in summer months, helping us maintain proper hydration. Due to its high water content and potassium, it acts as a diuretic and helps drain the body. This is important for people with high blood pressure or those suffering from gout or urinary tract inflammation.

Cucumbers are most commonly grown for further processing, namely pickling and canning. We preserve them in prepared brine, together with onion, carrot, and dill. Some add parsley or mustard seeds. Recipes vary from family to family; some ingredients and brine preparation methods are kept secret and depend on individual taste.

Salad cucumbers are most often used in cold dishes. They taste great raw, sliced into rounds in refreshing vegetable salads. Grated in classic Czech salad in sweet and sour brine with pepper, or we can prepare delicious tzatziki.

It's always right to use seasonal vegetables from the garden–whatever grows at the moment, we process and consume. This way, we get the most vitamins into our body.

RECIPE: Tzatziki is easy to prepare. Grate a cucumber, squeeze out the excess water, mix it with garlic, dill, salt, and white yogurt, stir everything together and serve as a dip with meat. Tzatziki is also suitable as a tasty snack with toasted baguette.

Cucumber peels can be used as a facial mask. The water contained in the cucumber hydrates the skin, which is also useful during summer months.

Do you pickle cucumbers - share your recipes with friends on Facebook!

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Cucumber with yogurt can also be used to treat sunburned skin from prolonged sun exposure in the form of compresses.

Author: Hana Michalíková